Dawg on the Lawn

Taking a Break

2010-11-14T15:17:00.005-05:00

To all the Dawg followers:

I'm going to take a break from Dawg on the Lawn for awhile and devote some undivided attention to my other blog, His Feet on the Street.

His Feet on the Street is a local evangelism ministry that I started back in the spring of '09 that takes the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets/jails/retirement homes/events, etc to the Cherokee and Pickens county areas here in my little space in north Georgia.

I want to spend more time on the His Feet blog and possibly overhaul the format to meet my ever changing ideas on how it should look and feel.

I will still post here occasionally and will be back sometime in the future full time again.

Thanks to all those who have followed closely and at a distance. Please feel free to drop by His Feet as often as you wish!

Dawg

Reid - "just saying no doesn't do the trick."

2010-11-04T06:37:00.002-05:00

From Yahoo News -

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says lawmakers of both parties need to start working together now that Republicans have reduced the Democrats' dominance in the chamber.

Reid said on NBC's "Today" show that he planned to speak Wednesday with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on ways to "build a consensus and move this country along."

Senate Democrats lost at least six seats on Election Day, but narrowly held their majority. Reid himself survived an aggressive challenge from tea party favorite Sharron Angle to win re-election.

The Nevada Democrat said he has a "good relationship" with McConnell, but he asked the Republicans to be more open to compromise, telling ABC's "Good Morning America" that "just saying no doesn't do the trick."

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American voters have stopped the Obama train. Now it's time to see if the bunch we sent to Washington can turn the train around and get it headed in the right direction again.

Reid says that "just saying no doesn't do the trick". Umm, not saying no enough is what put the train on the wrong tracks full speed ahead to begin with.

Neil Boortz said yesterday that Americans have put the republicans "on probation".

This may well be "Custer's last stand" or the "Invasion of Normandy" for the republican party.

We'll see...

SOLA GRATIA

2010-11-03T06:45:00.001-05:00

GRACE ALONE

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:7

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died,
much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
Romans 5:15

I think it well to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved." Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved.

It is not because of anything in them, or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb! What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breadth? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite.

- Charles H. Spurgeon, All Of Grace

From On Doctrine

SOLA FIDE

2010-11-01T15:34:00.000-05:00

FAITH ALONE

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2

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

The truth which we plead has two parts:

That the righteousness of God imputed to us, unto the justification of life, is the righteousness of Christ, by whose obedience we are made righteous.

That it is faith alone which on our part is required to interest us in that righteousness, or whereby we comply with God's grant and communication of it, or receive it unto our use and benefit; for although this faith is in itself the radical principle of all obedience,-- and whatever is not so, which cannot, which does not, on all occasions, evidence, prove, show, or manifest itself by works, is not of the same kind with it,--yet, as we are justified by it, its act and duty is such, or of that nature, as that no other grace, duty, or work, can be associated with it, or be of any consideration. And both these are evidently confirmed in that description which is given us in the Scripture of the nature of faith and believing unto the justification of life.

- John Owen, The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith

From On Doctrine

Sola Scriptura

2010-10-29T06:44:00.002-05:00

SCRIPTURE ALONE

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalm 19:7

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of,
knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:14-17

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, Having Been Given By Inspiration of God, Are the All-Sufficient and Only Rule of Faith and Practice, and Judge of Controversies.

Whatever God teaches or commands is of sovereign authority. Whatever conveys to us an infallible knowledge of his teachings and commands is an infallible rule. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only organs through which, during the present dispensation, God conveys to us a knowledge of his will about what we are to believe concerning himself, and what duties he requires of us.

Hat Tip: On Doctrine

Solo Christo

2010-10-28T06:43:00.001-05:00

CHRIST ALONE

And there is salvation in no one else;For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,who gave Himself as a ransom for all,the testimony given at the proper time.
1 Timothy 2:5-6

That there is no remedy but in Jesus Christ; there is nothing else will give you true quietness. If you could fly into heaven, you would not find it there; if you should take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth, in some solitary place in the wilderness, you could not fly from your burden. So that if you do not come to Christ, you must either continue still weary and burdened, or, which is worse, you must return to your old dead sleep, to a state of stupidity; and not only so, but you must be everlastingly wearied with God's wrath.

Consider that Christ is a remedy at hand. You need not wish for the wings of a dove that you may fly afar off, and be at rest, but Christ is nigh at hand, if you were but sensible of it. Romans 10:6, 7, 8. "But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach." There is no need of doing any great work to come at this rest; the way is plain to it; it is but going to it, it is but sitting down under Christ's shadow.

Christ requires no money to purchase rest of him, he calls to us to come freely, and for nothing. If we are poor and have no money, we may come. Christ sent out his servants to invite the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind. Christ does not want to be hired to accept of you, and to give you rest.

It is his work as Mediator to give rest to the weary, it is the work that he was anointed for, and in which he delights. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

- Jonathan Edwards, Safety, Fulness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ

Soli Deo Gloria

2010-10-22T11:43:00.000-05:00

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and joy are in His place.
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him; worship the Lord in holy array.
Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns."
1 Chronicles 16:23-31

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.
Amen.
Romans 11:33-36

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.
- Jonathan Edwards, God's Sovereignty In The Salvation Of Men

"I don't know how God creates. I don't know how we got here."

2010-10-21T06:44:00.004-05:00

Those words come from Glenn Beck yesterday on his radio show. Even though Beck says he would be shocked if he found out from God that he indeed came from monkeys, he would be "cool" with it.

From WND -

Glenn Beck addressed the question on his radio show today as he came to the defense of Christine O'Donnell, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Delaware under fire for challenging evolution.

"Did evolution just stop?" Beck asked rhetorically. "I haven't seen the half-monkey/half-person yet. ... There's no other species that's developing into half-people."

"I don't know how God creates. I don't know how we got here," he continued, wondering what God might tell him after he dies. "If God's like, 'Yup, you were a monkey once,' I'll be shocked, but I'll be cool with it."

Beck explained, "If God didn't create, if things evolve, then your rights evolve. You're not endowed by your Creator.

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No evolution Mr. Beck. Go back and read the Bible.

God created man.

Oh, and by the way, Jesus is God too.

Just for fun -

2010-10-15T19:30:00.002-05:00

How many ____________ does it take to change a lightbulb?

How many Charismatics?
One - since his or her hands are in the air anyway.

How many Calvinists?
None. God has predestined when the lights will be on..

How many Baptists?
CHANGE?? But we have NEVER done it that way before!

How many Neo-evangelicals?
No one knows. They cannot tell the difference between light and darkness.

How many TV evangelists?
One. But for the message of light to continue, send in your donation...

How many Dispensationalists?
Two - one to change the bulb and one to keep the promises to the old bulb.

How many Promise Keepers?
None - unless Coach McCartney says it's manly to do so.

How many Calvinists?
Every Calvinist knows only God can change a lightbulb.

How many Episcopalians?
None, they assume darkness is the nature of the bulb and it would be harmful and disrespecful to violate personality of the bulb.

How many Quakers?
Someone will, but there is no one officially called to be a bulb changer.

How many Arminians?
Only one, but first the bulb must want to be changed.

How many Baptists?
Two, one to change the bulb, the other to preach on tithing in order to pay for the new bulb.

How many Premillennialists?
While knowing where the lightbulbs are, they are persuaded to wait for the official lightbulb changer but no one knows when he will arrive.

How many Arminians?
Since the bulb has free will - it must make the decision.

How many Amillennialists?
Two, one to change the bulb, the other to remind others not to fear the
old darkness or trust the new light--both are only symbolic.

How many Postmillennialists?
One, but now he has to rethink his eschatology....

How Many Liberal Christians?
None - they don't think it needs to be changed.

How many Evolutionists?
None - it will change itself - it will just take billions and billions of years.

How many Lutherans?
17 - 5 to form a commitee to find and nominate 9 people to a committee which shall then discuss the issues of light bulb changing, from which that commitee shall appoint three other people to carry out the final resolution of the second committee - which is that one person shall supervise while one changes the bulb and one will follow up in one month's time to investigate the performance of the bulb.

How many Modern Evangelicals?
It doesn't matter as long as we love each other.

How many Seventh Day Adventists?
Just one - as long as it isn't Saturday.

How many Charismatics?
30 - 1 to change the bulb and 29 to laugh about it!

How many Mormons?
None - it's beneath the character of a god to stoop and change a light bulb.

How many Atheists?
1 - but they are still in darkness.

How many Independent Baptists?
Only one, anymore than that would be considered ecumenical.

O the preciousness of this truth!

2010-10-14T06:37:00.003-05:00

God is infinite in power, and therefore it is impossible for any to withstand His will, or resist the outworking of His decrees!!

Such a statement as that is well calculated to fill the lost sinner with alarm--but from the believer, it evokes nothing but praise.

Let us add a word, and see what a difference it makes--"My God is infinite in power, and therefore it is impossible for any to withstand His will, or resist the outworking of His decrees!!"

My God is infinite in power! Then "I will not fear what man can do unto me!"

My God is infinite in power! Then "whenever I am afraid--I will trust in Him!"

My God is infinite in power! Then "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep--for You alone Lord, make me dwell in safety!"

Psalm 4:8"There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you!" Deuteronomy 33:26, 27

O the preciousness of this truth! Here I am--a poor, helpless, senseless 'sheep,' yet I am secure in the hand of Christ! And why am I secure there? None can pluck me thence--because the hand that holds me is that of the Son of God, and all power in heaven and earth is His!

I have no strength of my own--the world, the flesh, and the Devil, are arrayed against me--so I commit myself into the care and keeping of my Lord Jesus. And what is the ground of my confidence? How do I know that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him? I know it because He is God Almighty--the King of kings and Lord of lords!

A.W.Pink

Jesus Plus Nothing

2010-10-06T06:49:00.002-05:00

"There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament
gospel of salvation than this: that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret to mean that… because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at
all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will
redound all the more to the glory of grace… If my preaching and presentation of
the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding then it is not
the gospel."

Martin Lloyd Jones

Quote of the Day -

2010-10-04T08:36:00.001-05:00

"We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could. I don't wonder apostolic miracles have died. Apostolic living certainly has."

Amy Carmichael - Missionary

Desperate times call for desperate measures -

2010-09-29T07:11:00.002-05:00

From The Caucus Blogs

ALBUQUERQUE — President Obama expounded Tuesday on the reasons he became a Christian as an adult, telling a group of residents here that he was a “Christian by choice” and that “the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead – being my brother and sister’s keeper.”

Mr. Obama, who has been criticized by conservative pundits who have questioned his Christian faith, gave a lengthy discourse on it in response to a woman who said she had three “hot topic questions” for him. The first was: “Why are you a Christian?” The second was on abortion — the president said it should be “safe, legal and rare” —and her third was whether Mr. Obama would accept her husband’s chili pepper. He said he would.

Christians cleared for witnessing to Muslims

2010-09-28T06:40:00.001-05:00

From WND -

Jurors in Michigan have rejected, at least for now, the concept of a "dhimmi" status for Christians, ruling that four evangelists who went to an Arab festival not just to be present but to "change minds" did not commit a breach of peace as police had claimed.

The word comes from the Thomas More Law Center, which defended the four Christians after they were charged for being at an Arab festival in Dearborn, Mich.

Officials said the verdict came from a jury of six Dearborn residents late Friday, who concluded that Nabeel Qureshi, Paul Rezkalla, Negeen Mayel and David Wood were not guilty of breach of peace charges.

The issue strikes directly at the heart of what many fear is developing across the nation: where Muslims are given a special treatment that subjects those of other faiths to second-class status.

Read rest of story here

Quote of the Day

2010-09-25T07:38:00.000-05:00

As God carries on the work of converting the souls of fallen men through all ages, so He goes on to justify them, to blot out all their sins, and to accept them as righteous in His sight through the righteousness of Christ. He goes on to adopt and receive them from being the children of Satan to be His own children, to carry on the work of His grace which He has begun in them, to comfort them with the consolations of His Spirit, and to bestow upon them, when their bodies die, that eternal glory which is the fruit of Christ's purchase.

Jonathan Edwards

Names - By Mark Cahill

2010-09-22T07:49:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, I played basketball back in the day. I really used to love that sport. It was such an idol in my life. The good news for me now is that sports have taken a huge back seat as I walk through this world. I follow them a little bit, but in no way does it have the same pull in my life like it used to, and I am very glad about that! Have you ever had an idol in your life that you have now put to the side? Isn’t it a great feeling knowing that it isn’t as important anymore? To me, It is one of the best feelings in the world!

I happened to read an article recently about Shaquille O’Neal. As I read it, I ran across a very interesting statement.

“I know I will play in the NBA next season,” said O’Neal. “International? No. The good thing about me and my career is I came in, did it my way, did more than expected. For every athlete or every great person, there’s a time when it has to end. When and if it ever ends it will be very graciously.”

“We’re going to have a big party. We’re going to have a ceremony, and the next thing I’ll be waiting for is the entrance into the place where your name will never be forgotten.”
(http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=5434969)

Now what got me about that last paragraph was ‘the place where your name will never be forgotten.’ Of course, he was talking about the Basketball Hall of Fame. And any basketball player knows that would be one of the major highlights of your career to reach that goal. For many it would be the pinnacle. Of course, there is only one problem. I dare you to go to the Hall of Fame and walk around. You will see these plaques with people’s names on them and you will ask the question, “Who is that?” So even if you got enshrined there, people would still forget who you are! You see, Shaq had set his sights very low.

Philippians 4:3 says,
“And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.”

Revelation 20:12 states,
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

What Shaq doesn’t realize is that there is a place where he really, really wants his name to be written.

It is the Book of Life.

God will be opening that book one day. It will have the names of people that are born again. Is your name in there? It is all that will matter the day you die. If it is written in there, what are you doing to make sure others names are written in there as well?

If you think about it, there are plenty of places where we don’t want our names written:

* A tax notice from the IRS
* A traffic ticket
* A disciplinary report from school
* Some will say an obituary page
* An eviction notice
* Bankruptcy papers
* A non sufficient funds statement from the bank

But also, there are tons of places where we do want our names written:

* A MVP Trophy
* A Report Card with Straight A’s
* A Promotions List
* The Dean’s list
* A Lottery Check

Those all sound really good in one sense, but if your name is not written in the Book of Life, it literally has been a life not worth living.

Jesus says in Luke 10:20 says,
“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

Mark Cahill

Lost Hymn of the Week: "Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder"

2010-09-21T06:53:00.001-05:00

Let us love, and sing, and wonder,
Let us praise the Saviour's name!
He has hushed the law's loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai's flame;
He has washed us with his blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

Let us love the Lord who bought us,
Pitied us when enemies,
Called us by his grace, and taught us,
Gave us ears and gave us eyes:
He has washed us with his blood,
He presents our souls to God.

Let us sing, though fierce temptation
Threaten hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqueror's crown,
He who washed us with his blood,
Soon will bring us home to God.

Let us wonder; grace and justice
Join, and point to mercy's store;
When through grace in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles, and asks no more:
He who washed us with his blood,
Has secured our way to God.

Let us praise, and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky:
"Thou hast washed us with thy blood;
Thou art worthy, Lamb of God!"

John Newton

Repent and believe the gospel -

2010-09-15T06:56:00.000-05:00

"Go with me to Scripture and show me, please. I would love you to stand up and tell me where anyone evangelized that way. The Scripture does not say that Jesus Christ came to the nation of Israel and said that “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, now who would like to ask me into their hearts? I see that hand.”

That is not what it says. He said, “Repent and believe the gospel.”

Paul Washer

Faces

2010-09-12T13:34:00.001-05:00

Tony Miano of The Lawman Chronicles

Quran burning??

2010-09-09T06:44:00.006-05:00

Updated: Flashback: Muslims burn Bibles and destroy crosses -

From 5ptsalt

However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.” – Matthew 17:27

In the passage above lies a small phrase that is often overlooked.

Jesus says, “However, not to give offense to them…”.

In context, the passage has to do with the payment of the Temple tax. Our beloved Peter has just finished a conversation with the tax-collector who has asked Peter, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” (v. 24) to which Peter replies “yes” (v.25).

There are many amazing things in this passage. One being that our Lord was obviously aware of the conversation. In verse 25 we read that after Peter came into the house our Lord and His disciples were staying in, Jesus spoke to Peter first concerning the subject of paying the Temple tax! Our Lord knows all things!

In the news lately, much ado has been made concerning a Florida church which plans to burn the Quran on September 11, 2010. I’ve heard the reasoning’s of the fellowship’s pastor and associate pastor on the news, and I believe their reasons for burning the Quran are, in the end, more an act of intentional offense than anything closely resembling Christian motives. Burning the Quran is not spiritually beneficial for anyone; not in outreach to the Muslim community, not to Christians or their churches. It may be viewed as ‘patriotic’ by some, yet how patriotic is it to purposefully make others angry? More importantly, how Christian is it? How will burning the Quran proclaim the Gospel witness?

It won’t. It will simply inflame the anger of a lost people.

In the passage quoted from Matthew above, our Lord Jesus is willing to pay the Temple tax. The reason He gives is specifically “not to give offense to them.”

Not to give offense. There is a thought we would do well to heed daily. As Christians, we are to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not hinder it in any way. We are to be Christ-like in our behavior and indeed, in our thoughts. When it comes to our witness to the world, ‘patriotism’ and anything else must not supersede the furthering of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Burning the Quran will offend Muslims. It will offend them greatly. Now what is the wise thing to do here? What will be the most beneficial, for the Christian Church and for Muslims? What would be most Christ-like?

Don’t burn it.

It’s not necessary, doesn’t help, will bring more harm than good, and according to this passage in Matthew, is not Christ-like at all. It is quite the opposite of Christ-likeness.

You may have strong resentment towards the Islamic community; you may still be angry about 9-11. Yet brethren, burning the Quran is not a Christian act, it is carnal in the worst way. Let us search our hearts in light of the Scriptures and check our motives in this matter so that we, as representatives of the true Church of Jesus Christ, do not give unnecessary offense to those who need the Gospel so desperately.

See HERE for Ten Reasons NOT to burn a Quran - from Jimmy Kinnaird

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Remember, folks—the Muslims who are willing to riot and rampage over the burning of a few Qur’an’s in Florida do not need any provocation to destest the “kafirs.” They are offended by our mere existence. Think about it.

- James White

HT - Defending/Contending

The reason not to burn Qurans is that it's unkind – not to jihadists, but to Muslims who mean us no harm. The same goes for building a mosque at Ground Zero – in both cases, it's not a question of anyone's "rights," it's just a nasty thing to do.

Ann Coulter

"People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation -- much like building a mosque at Ground Zero,"

Sarah Palin

We have an Advocate!

2010-09-07T11:34:00.000-05:00

Be always greatly abased for your remaining sin, and never think that you lie low enough for it; but yet be not discouraged or disheartened by it; for, though we are exceeding sinful, yet we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; the preciousness of whose blood, the merit of whose righteousness, and the greatness of whose love and faithfulness, infinitely overtop the highest mountains of our sins!

Jonathan Edwards

Calvinism and Evangelism - Bill Welzien

2010-09-05T15:11:00.001-05:00

From Evangelism Matters

Many people think that "Calvinist evangelist" is an oxymoron. What do you think? Can someone be seriously Calvinistic and at the same time seriously evangelistic? Does a belief in the absolute sovereignty of God take the wind out of the sails of evangelism?

We live in a day of gross ignorance with regard to sound theology. We should continually yearn for sound (wholesome, healthy) doctrine (1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18). As we Christians learn and respond rightly to sound doctrine, we begin to think correctly, and our lives begin to demonstrate the resulting godly fruit. So how should a belief in Calvinism affect our belief in evangelism?

What Is a Calvinist?
Well, what is a Calvinist? A Calvinist believes in sola Scriptura. That is to say, he believes that the Bible, exclusively, is God's very word. Therefore, to him the Bible alone is the final court of appeal on all matters of faith and practice.

Additionally, a Calvinist believes that fallen humans can be forgiven of sin and receive a just standing before a holy God, only through faith alone in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, alone. This saving faith comes as a gift of God's grace (Eph. 2:8-9). The Calvinist believes that since fallen humans are dead in their trespasses and sins, they will never have God's life in them unless he takes the initiative and quickens these spiritually dead persons. When God does sovereignly quicken (regenerate) an individual, he will respond to the gospel in repentance and faith and be saved (Eph. 2:1-10). A Calvinist realizes that the only thing he contributes to his salvation is his sin. Salvation is of the Lord from first to last.

These events all take place in time and space. But preceding them all is what God determined in eternity past. Ephesians 1:4 tells us that God chose (elected) certain ones in Christ before the foundation of the world.

The Calvinist believes that God's election is unconditional. That means that almighty God did not base his election upon any good thing (such as faith, good works, etc.) that he foresaw in those he chose. His election could never be based upon anything inherently attractive or good in fallen man. Every last person that the omniscient God foresaw had inherited Adam's guilt and corruption, was totally depraved, and was choosing to sin. Hence, every last one of them justly deserved God's holy wrath.

God's election is based solely upon his own grace, love, and good pleasure (Eph. 1:4-5; Matt. 11:21-27). If God chooses to show mercy to some members of the human race, all of whom justly deserve his judgment, that is grace, and that is his prerogative (Rom. 9:10-23)! Because it depends completely on God, the number of God's elect is certain, definite, and cannot be increased or decreased.

The elect are the Father's gift to Christ. Jesus himself vows that of all the Father gives to him, he will not lose any (John 6:39). Since the elect are sinners both by nature and by choice, and since God is a holy God who will not tolerate sin, but must judge it, a substitutionary atonement needed to be made in order to reconcile God to his elect. And so, the Calvinist does not believe that Jesus Christ died for all men indiscriminately, but that he laid down his life for the elect, his sheep, his church (John 10:11; 14-16; Eph. 5:25).

This explains why the Holy Spirit must do his regenerating work in a person before he is able to repent and believe in Christ. In his natural, fallen mind, man is hostile toward God (Rom. 8:7). Until the Holy Spirit sovereignly replaces a sinner's heart of stone with a heart of flesh, he will continue to be spiritually impervious to the gospel (Rom. 8:7; Eph. 2:1; Ezek. 36:24-27). The Calvinist believes that every last one of those who were chosen in Christ before time will by the end of time be brought to saving faith and a vital relationship with God through the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Does Calvinism Nullify Evangelism?
At this point, the non-Calvinist infers that the impetus and urgency to proclaim the gospel is gone, or diminished at best. After all, if God knows who is going to be saved, and if he will save his elect no matter what, why waste our time evangelizing?

But it is important to recognize that the God of the Bible ordains not only the end (salvation) but also the means to the end (the proclamation of the gospel).

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. And through evangelism, he is calling his sheep to himself. He calls his own sheep by name, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice (John 10:3-4). They know his voice because, at God's appointed time, the Holy Spirit gives the elect ears to hear and hearts to understand (Matt. 13:23).

The ordinary means by which God gathers his people is through their hearing and believing the gospel message. In Romans 1:16, Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. In Romans 10:13, he states that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Then he adds, "How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!' " (Rom. 10:14-15 nasb).

Paul saw that it is the task of the church to proclaim the gospel. The exhortation Paul gives in Romans 10 is sandwiched between chapters 8-9 and 11. Take some time and reread those chapters. Note especially all they have to say about God's sovereign purposes in election.

Why am I, a Calvinist, so passionate about evangelism? Several reasons immediately spring to mind. First, my Lord Jesus Christ commands me to do so (Mark 16:15). Second, given that my chief duty (and delight) is to glorify God, I am moved by the fact that the Father is honored whenever the Son is honored. The supreme means of honoring the Father is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 5:22-23)! Third, I know that when the nonelect reject the gospel, as they are wont to do, preaching leaves them all the more without excuse when they receive the condemnation they justly deserve. And last, I know that God brings his elect to himself through the preaching of the gospel.

The apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:10, "Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." It is only when we recognize God's absolute sovereignty that we can be assured of results. God blesses the faithful dissemination of his word. He promises that his word will never return to him void or empty, but will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it (Isa. 55:11).

Does Calvinism take the wind out of the sails of evangelism? Properly understood and sincerely believed, it does exactly the opposite. Believing that God has a sovereign plan to bring all his elect to himself actually encourages evangelism. It gives confidence to us, God's people, to fulfill our God-given responsibility to spread his gospel. We know that our labor in the Lord is never in vain (1 Cor. 15:58)!

Spurgeon on open-air preaching

2010-09-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

“I proposed to them, on one occasion, that I should preach on Sunday evening by the riverside, and the remark was made by one of them “Ah! I do not like it, it is imitating the Methodists.” To him, as a sound Calvinist, it was a dreadful thing to do anything which Methodists were guilty of; to me, however, that was rather a recommendation than otherwise, and I was happy to run the risk of being Methodistical.

All over England, in our cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, there are tens of thousands who will never hear the gospel while open air preaching is neglected. I rejoice that God allows us to preach in churches and chapels, but I do not pretend that we have any apostolical precedent for it, certainly none for confining our ministry to such places.

I believe that we are permitted, if it promotes order and edification, to set apart buildings for our worship; but there is no warrant for calling these places sanctuaries and houses of God, for all places are alike holy where holy men assemble.

It is altogether a mischievous thing that we should confine our preaching within walls.

Our Lord, it is true, preached in the synagogues, but he often spake the mountainside, or from a boat, or in the court of a house, or in the public thoroughfares. To him, an audience was the only necessity. He was a fisher of sits souls of the true sort, and not like those who sit still in their houses, and expect the fish to come to them to be caught.

Did our Lord intend a minister to go on preaching from his pulpit to empty pews, when, by standing on a chair or a table outside the meeting house, he might be heard by hundreds? I believe not, and I held the same opinion that the very beginning of my ministry, so I preached by the river side, even though my good deacon thought that, by so doing, I was imitating the Methodist.”

(Vol 1, page 256, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES H. SPURGEON, American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia)

HT - Go Stand and Speak

Five Big Myths About Calvinism - by John Samson

2010-08-23T11:54:00.001-05:00

I speak for many when I say that I have not always embraced the doctrines of grace or what is commonly called Calvinism. Its actually unfortunate that a man's name is associated with the doctrines that came out of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin was not the first to articulate these truths, but merely was the chief systematizer of such doctrines. There was actually nothing in Calvin that was not first seen in Luther, and much of Luther was first found in Augustine. Luther was an Augustinian monk, of course. We would also naturally affirm that there was nothing in any of these men that was not first found in Paul and Peter and John in the New Testament.

Even now, I have no desire to be a Calvinist in the Corinthian sense of the word - a follower of John Calvin, per say. Though I believe Calvin was a tremendous expositor of the Scriptures and had many great insights, I am not someone who believes he was in any way infallible. I am with Spurgeon who declared, "There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer - I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it." (C. H. Spurgeon, a Defense of Calvinism)

In coming to understand these doctrines that are now so precious to me, I now realize that there were fortresses built in my mind to defend against the idea of God being Sovereign in the matter of salvation. Such was my total depravity! These fortresses were not made of stone and brick but of man made ideas – concepts that I believed Scripture taught with clarity. These fortresses did not come down easily. In fact, I believe it is a work of Divine grace in the heart not only to regenerate His people, but also to open hearts and minds, even of His own people, to the truth of His Sovereignty in election.

There are many false concepts about Calvinism. Here are five that are very common:

1. CALVINISM DESTROYS EVANGELISM

I think some Calvinists do have an aversion for evangelism, and this is something that needs to be addressed whenever this tendency is seen, yet both historically and biblically, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite easy to prove that the whole missions movement was started by Calvinists who believed Christ had His elect sheep in every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Romans 8 and 9 teaches election clearly, and Romans 10 tells us of the necessity of preaching the Gospel. How shall they (the elect) hear without a preacher? Romans 10 is in no way a contradiction to Romans 8 and 9.

Divine election is the only hope of evangelism. No one we speak to about Christ is beyond hope, for God may well have ordained from all eternity that our conversation or preaching is to be the very means by which He would achieve His ends - the gathering of one of His elect sheep into the fold! What a privilege to be used by God in this way.

Divine election should never undermine evangelism. In fact, the truth about election should cause us to continue to proclaim Christ, even when results may not come immediately. The concept of election should actually fuel our evangelism when mere human emotion wanes. We should remember that God has His elect sheep who will hear His voice and will follow Him when we preach the Gospel of Christ. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17).

Election is not a hindrance to evangelism. It simply explains to us why some believe the Gospel and why some do not. Jesus said to one group hearing Him “you do not believe because you are not My sheep” (John 10:26) and Luke explained the evangelistic results of the early church by declaring, “as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)

2. CALVINISM APPEALS TO THE PRIDE OF MAN

Sadly, some Calvinists do reek of pride and give off an air of being better than those around them, but such is a total betrayal of biblical Calvinism. If we recognize our total depravity or radical corruption, we understand that there was absolutely nothing in us that caused God to look down upon us to show us such favor. The only thing we can say in response to His electing grace is “Lord, why me?”

Romans 9:11-16 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad- in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call- 12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13 As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

"God intentionally designed salvation so that no man can boast of it. He didn't merely arrange it so that boasting would be discouraged or kept to a minimum - He planned it so that boasting would be absolutely excluded. Election does precisely that." - Mark Webb

3. CALVINISM STUNTS HOLINESS

I have heard this mentioned a few times recently and just scratch my head in wonder about it. One great example are the Puritans, who were strong Calvinists and yet were driven by a desire for holiness. But some see this as a contradiction in terms. Where they get this, I do not know.

God Sovereignly elects some people to salvation but this in no way diminishes our responsibility to make sure that we who profess faith in Christ, actually possess the faith that saves. If you and I do have the real thing and not some fraudulent kind of substitute for the genuine faith that saves.. if we really have the real thing.. there will be evidence to show it. The Scripture, and true Calvinism, teaches us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. I find this to be the biblical mandate rather than simply recalling a time when we raised a hand or walked an aisle, which is what most Christians have been taught. The call to holiness is a call all true Christians will heed for without it, no one will see the Lord. (Heb. 12:14)

4. CALVINISM TEACHES THAT MEN ARE MERELY ROBOTS

Calvinists believes in man’s will. Man always chooses what he most desires at the moment of choice. You are choosing now to read this sentence when there are literally billions of other sentences out there waiting to be read.

Why do you read this sentence right now?

The answer is because at this very moment, this is your strongest desire. It is impossible for you to be reading something else – right now anyway. And this will be the case until a stronger desire for something else (like answering the phone or taking a shower, or going for a walk) rises up in your heart. The heart and the will are inseparably connected.

What we need is not “free will” but wills made free. This is because by nature our hearts only want independence from Christ. We love darkness rather than light. Jesus said, “No man CAN come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). Calvinists take these words seriously as well as Christ’s words in John 3 which tells that unless a man is first born again (or born from above) he cannot enter or even see the kingdom of God.

"If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knows nothing of grace, and he has not learnt Jesus Christ aright." - Martin Luther

George Whitefield, perhaps the greatest Evangelist in church history once declared, “I hope we shall catch fire from each other, and that there will be a holy emulation amongst us, who shall most debase man and exalt the Lord Jesus. Nothing but the doctrines of the Reformation can do this. All others leave free-will in man and make him, in part at least, a Saviour to himself. My soul, come not thou near the secret of those who teach such things . . . I know Christ is all in all. Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to do of His good pleasure.” - Works, pp. 89-90

"If the final decision for the salvation of fallen sinners were left in the hands of fallen sinners, we would despair all hope that anyone would be saved." – R. C. Sproul

“I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself." My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will. Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

5. CALVINISM DIMINISHES THE GOD OF LOVE

I think for many, this is the big one. They have a concept concerning the love of God that while very popular, is not particularly biblical. They believe (as I once did) that if God is love, he loves all people in just the same way. I believe God does love everyone in some sense, but He has a love for His Son which is greater than His love for demons, and a love for His sheep which is greater than His love for the goats. Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. Christ gave Himself for the church in a way He did not for Walmart or McDonalds. No one would ever say about a husband “wow, look at the way this man loves his wife, and the great thing about his love for her is that he loves everyone else’s wife in just the same way.”

This is a truth that needs to be taught with great care because so many have false concepts stemming from being raised on inaccurate teaching about the love of God. We must be patient with such people when pointing them to the biblical texts. Some people think John 3:16 destroys divine election, but of course it does not. Yet a false concept brought to the Scripture text often confirms people in their opposition to what the Bible actually teaches.

However we interpret the words, “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated” I think if we believe the Bible, we all have to admit that in some sense, God had a greater love for Jacob than He did for Esau, or else words mean nothing.

John 17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

God, moved by love for His name and for us, sent His Son into the world to actually save elect sinners, not to merely try to do so. He went all the way in His love for us and did all the work in raising us from spiritual death by a work of supreme, matchless, measureless grace. Because salvation is of the Lord, all the glory for our salvation - absolutely all of it, goes to God alone. Calvinism affirms this.

The doctrines of original sin, election, effectual calling, final perseverance, and all those great truths which are called Calvinism—though Calvin was not the author of them, but simply an able writer and preacher upon the subject—are, I believe, the essential doctrines of the Gospel that is in Jesus Christ. Now, I do not ask you whether you believe all this—it is possible you may not; but I believe you will before you enter heaven. I am persuaded, that as God may have washed your hearts, he will wash your brains before you enter heaven. - C. H. Spurgeon

Taken from Monergism

Don't miss the opportunity

2010-08-20T17:25:00.000-05:00

This is the greatest moment in history to be a Christian. Do not miss the opportunity to live your life for something worth dying for.

Paul Washer

There is a way to hell--even from the very gates of heaven!

2010-08-20T06:31:00.002-05:00

"You are not far from the kingdom of God." Mark 12:34

Many are in this dangerous position. They are not far from the kingdom of God--but not actually in it.

They have clear light in their heads--but have no grace in their hearts. They know the gospel in theory--but have no inward experience of its power. But no man can be saved by light in the mind; there must be the life of God within the soul.

They have not only clear light--but correct morals. The tongue is controlled. The temper is governed. The life is regulated. But with all this, the soul is dead in trespasses and sins. There may be morality--without spirituality. The life may not only be correct--but there may be a regular attendance on gospel ordinances. They may come as God's people, sit as God's people, hear and sing as God's people--and yet not be in the kingdom of God!

There may be no objection felt, or opposition shown to the doctrines or duties of the gospel. All may be admitted, professed, and even admired; but still the person may not be in the kingdom of God.

There may also be a form of prayer--but prayer without faith--prayer without the heart, without the soul.

They may be employed in teaching God's Word, either in the Sunday School, or in the pulpit--and yet not be in the kingdom of God.

O how solemn is the thought, how searching is the fact--that people . . .
may have correct views of truth;
may regularly attend on the means of grace;
may acquiesce in the doctrines and duties of Christianity;
may associate and unite with God's people;
may regularly bow the knee in prayer; and
may employ their time and talents in instructing others in the things of God--and yet never enter into the kingdom of God themselves!

Reader beware! for many rest short of vital religion. They know nothing of a broken heart for sin, of living faith in Christ, or fellowship with God through Him. They rest in a form of knowledge, or in a routine of religious services. Such may find out their mistake too late, as did the foolish virgins--when the door was shut! Or, like those referred to by our Lord when He said, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" Matthew 7:22-23

Many will come very near to the kingdom--but will never enter it. As John Bunyan says, "There is a way to hell--even from the very gates of heaven!"

But it must be dreadful to come near, so near to heaven--and yet to be thrust down to hell!

(James Smith, "Not Far from the Kingdom" 1859)

The Humility of Calvin's Calvinism by Burk Parsons

2010-08-18T06:55:00.000-05:00

It has not been my habit to refer to myself as a Calvinist; if memory serves, I have never done so, primarily because I don't think John Calvin would want me to. In fact, whenever another Christian asks me what I am (with the seeming hope of determining my particular denominational affiliation), I respond simply, "I am a Christian." Nevertheless, if I were ever truly pressed on the matter of being a Calvinist, I suppose I would respond by saying, "Yes, I am a Calvinist because I am a Christian, and I am a Christian because I believe the gospel."?

The nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon said it this way: I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus.2

A question remains, however, for many Calvinistically challenged Christians throughout the world: "What is a Calvinist?"

For many, the answer is as simple as a simplistic adherence to the five points of Calvinism. That may be a helpful starting point for some, but I would suggest it may not be the best place to start for most Christians in their pursuit of the fundamentals of Calvinism according to Calvin.

Read the rest here at Monergism

Wondrous it truly is!

2010-08-17T06:29:00.000-05:00

Scripture speaks of "the multitude of His loving kindnesses!" (Isaiah 63:7) And who is capable of numbering them?

Said the Psalmist, "How excellent is your loving-kindness, O God!" (Psalm 36:7) No pen of man, no tongue of angel, can adequately express it.

We read of God's "marvelous loving-kindness!" (Psalm 17:7) And surely it truly is!

David prayed, "Display the wonders of Your loving-kindness!" Wondrous it truly is--that One so infinitely above us, so inconceivably glorious, so ineffably holy, should not only deign to notice such worms of the earth--but set His heart upon them, give His Son for them, send His Spirit to indwell them, and so bear with all their imperfections and waywardness as never to remove His loving-kindness from them!

Well then, may we exclaim, "Your loving-kindness is better than life!" (Psalm 63:3)

A. W. Pink

Can anyone read and understand the bible on his own?

2010-08-10T15:22:00.001-05:00

The bible teaches that natural man will never be able to understand its truth on his own; for only the Spirit of God, who understands the mind of God, can reveal the truths of God, which are in direct opposition to the wisdom of the world (1 Cor. 2:10-16; cf. Acts 8:30-31). However, when the bible is read or heard, the Spirit works as he chooses, giving understanding and producing faith in many who hear (Jn. 3:4-12; 16:7-14; cf. Acts 16:14).

Therefore, it is of great benefit for anyone who so desires to study the bible, knowing that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), and that God gives his wisdom liberally to all men who ask him in faith (James 1:5-6); indeed, no one who hungers and thirsts for God's truth will be turned away, if he cries out to the Savior and applies himself to study the bible, for Jesus has invited us all with these words, “If anyone thirst, let him come unto me and drink” (John 7:37).

For all true believers, who have come to Christ in faith, there is every reason to be confident in studying the bible, for the apostle Paul tells us that “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16); and elsewhere, the apostle John tells us that we all have knowledge, and understand the truth, because the Spirit has given us an anointing so that we might not be deceived by the lies of the enemy (1 Jn. 2:20-27).

From Monergism.com

Homeschooled???

2010-08-05T18:47:00.000-05:00

2010-07-31T14:38:00.002-05:00

According to this report from Beliefnet, Anne Rice has quit Christianity.

Well, folks, this begs the question....

Was Anne Rice a Christian to begin with or can a born again believer up and walk away from Christianity?

What say you?

The Omniscient Eye and Omnipotent Arm

2010-07-28T11:58:00.002-05:00

"Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." (Psalm 2:12)

Sinners usually mock at God’s judgments and put the evil day far from them, but if they would just consider that God’s omniscient eye can find them out and His omnipotent arm can punish them, they may justly fear and tremble as the godly Psalmist does here in our text.

Indeed, if you do not fall down before Him and give glory to that God who has made the earth to tremble and so make confession of your sins and seek earnestly for peace with Him, He may not give you any further warning before he executes the fierceness of His anger upon you.

Cotton Mather

The Grand Object of the Eye of Faith

2010-07-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

"We fix our eyes not on what is seen--but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!" 2 Corinthians 4:18

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part--to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown--and onward is the goal. Whether it is for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love--the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith!

Looking into the future--the Christian see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of eternal glory. Looking further yet, the believer's enlightened eye can see death's river passed. He sees himself . . .
enter within the pearly gates,
hailed as more than conqueror,
crowned by the hand of Christ,
embraced in the arms of Jesus,
glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne!

Contemplation of my glorious future may well relieve, the darkness of the past, and the gloom of the present!

The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth!

Hush, hush, my fears!

Death is but a narrow stream--and you shall soon have forded it!

Death--how brief! Immortality--how endless!

Time--how short! Eternity--how long!

The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there!

"In the future, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day; and not only to me--but to all those who have loved His appearing!" 2 Timothy 4:8

C.H.Spurgeon

I am in eternity--and you are on the brink!

2010-07-23T06:44:00.001-05:00

Passing through a country graveyard the other day, an inscription on a head-stone struck my eye. The stone was by the side of the path, where everyone could see it, and it was placed there in memory of a young man who died at the age of seventeen. It was--

"Reader, one moment,
Stop, and think:
That I am in eternity!
And you are on the brink!"

In eternity! A young man, only seventeen years of age, in eternity!

In a fixed, a changeless, an eternal state!

In Heaven--or in Hell!

Saved with an everlasting salvation--or damned forever!

If it should be the latter, what a fearful supposition! And yet many have gone to Hell--before they have been seventeen years of age!

"I am in eternity--and you are on the brink!" Yes, though you may be young, apparently healthy, full of life and vigor--you are on the brink of eternity! A slight accident, a few days illness--and you are in eternity! What a solemn thought!

What will eternity be to you?

Where will you be in eternity?

Are your sins pardoned?
Are you reconciled to God by the death of His Son?
Are you sanctified by the Holy Spirit--and thus made fit for Heaven?

If not, remember that in Hell, there is . . .
no gospel,
no means of grace,
no way of escape from the wrath of God!
Once there--and your doom is fixed forever!

Think, O think . . .
Of the dreadful consequences of dying in your sins!
Of going down to the grave in an unconverted state!
Of dying under the curse of God!

"Behold, now is the accepted time!
Behold, now is the day of salvation!"

(James Smith, "A Solemn Admonition" 1859)

If it be your will...

2010-07-21T17:30:00.000-05:00

When we come before God, we must remember two simple facts — who He is and who we are. We must remember that we’re talking to the King, the Sovereign One, the Creator, but we are only creatures. If we will keep those facts in mind, we will pray politely. We will say, “By Your leave,” “As You wish,” “If You please,” and so on. That’s the way we go before God. To say that it is a manifestation of unbelief or a weakness of faith to say to God “if it be Your will” is to slander the very Lord of the Lord’s Prayer.

It was Jesus, after all, who, in His moment of greatest passion, prayed regarding the will of God. In his Gospel, Luke tells us that immediately following the Last Supper:

Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:39–44)

It is important to see what Jesus prays here. He says, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” Jesus was not saying, “I don’t want to be obedient” or “I refuse to submit.” Jesus was saying: “Father, if there’s any other way, all things being equal, I would rather not have to do it this way. What You have set before Me is more ghastly than I can contemplate. I’m entering into My grand passion and I’m terrified, but if this is what You want, this is what I’ll do. Not My will, but Your will, be done, because My will is to do Your will.”

I also want you to notice what happened after Jesus prayed. Luke tells us that an angel came to Him and strengthened Him. The angel was the messenger of God. He came from heaven with the Father’s answer to Jesus’ prayer. That answer was this: “You must drink the cup.”

This is what it means to pray that the will of God would be done. It is the highest expression of faith to submit to the sovereignty of God. The real prayer of faith is the prayer that trusts God no matter whether the answer is yes or no. It takes no faith to “claim,” like a robber, something that is not ours to claim. We are to come to God and tell Him what we want, but we must trust Him to give the answer that is best for us. That is what Jesus did.

Because Luke tells us that the Father sent an angel to strengthen His Son, I would expect Jesus’ agony of soul to have been alleviated. It appears, however, that with the coming of the strength from the angel came an increase in the agony of Christ, an increase so profound that He began to sweat so profusely that it was “like great drops of blood.” In a sermon on Luke 22:44, Jonathan Edwards said that this increase in Jesus’ agony was due to a full realization of the will of God for Him in His passion. He had come to the garden with the fear that He would have to drink the cup. Once He knew it was indeed God’s will that He drink it, He had a new fear—that He would not be able to do it. In other words, Jesus now was in agony that He not come short of complete and perfect obedience to the will of God.

But He did it. He drank the cup to the last drop. And in that moment, Jesus didn’t give us words to show us how to pray; He gave us His life as an example of praying that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

R.C. Sproul
Ligonier Ministries

Altar Calls In The First 1800 Years Of The Church

2010-07-19T06:45:00.002-05:00

From Street Fishing

One may read thousands of pages of the history of the Christian Church without finding a single reference to the 'old-fashioned altar call' before the 19th century. Most Christians are surprised to learn that history before the time of Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) knows nothing of this type of 'invitation'.

The practice of urging men and women to make a physical movement at the conclusion of a meeting was introduced by Mr. Finney in the second decade of the nineteenth century. Dr. Albert B. Dod, a professor of theology at Princeton Seminary at the time of Mr. Finney's ministry, pointed out the newness of the practice and showed that this method was without historical precedent.

The preceding words are from James E. Adams' work entitled
"Decisional Regeneration". Adam's historical review continues . . .

In his review of Finney's Lectures on Revival, Professor Dod stated that one will search the volumes of church history in vain for a single example of this practice before the 1820's. Instead, history tells us that whenever the gospel was preached men were invited to Christ - not to decide at the end of a sermon whether or not to perform some physical action.

The Apostle Paul, the great evangelist, never heard of an altar call, yet today some consider the altar call to be a necessary mark of an evangelical church. In fact, churches which do not practice it are often accused of having no concern for the lost. Neither Paul nor Peter ever climaxed his preaching with forcing upon his hearers the decision to walk or not to walk.

It is not only with church history, then, but with Scriptural history as well that the altar call is in conflict.

One may ask, 'How did preachers of the gospel for the previous eighteen hundred years invite men to Christ without the use of the altar call?'

They did so in much the same way as did the apostles and the other witnesses of the early Church. Their messages were filled with invitations for all men everywhere to come to Christ.

Surely it will be admitted that the first sermon of the Christian Church was not climaxed by an altar call. Peter on the Day of Pentecost concluded his sermon with these words 'Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.' Peter stopped. Then the divinely inspired record tells us 'Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' ' (Acts 2:36-37). This response was the result of the work of the Spirit of God, not of clever appeals or psychological pressure. That day the apostles witnessed the conversion of three thousand people.

C.H. Spurgeon invited men to come to Christ, not to an altar.

Listen to him invite men to Jesus Christ

'Before you leave this place breathe an earnest prayer to God, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner. Lord, I need to be saved. Save me. I call upon Thy name....Lord, I am guilty, I deserve Thy wrath. Lord, I cannot save myself. Lord, I would have a new heart and a right spirit, but what can I do? Lord, I can do nothing, come and work in me to do of Thy good pleasure. Thou alone hast power, I know To save a wretch like me; To whom, or whither should I go If I should run from Thee?

But I now do from my very soul call upon Thy name. Trembling, yet believing, I cast myself wholly upon Thee, O Lord. I trust the blood and righteousness of Thy dear Son.... Lord, save me tonight, for Jesus' sake.' ' 'Go home alone trusting in Jesus. 'I should like to go into the enquiry-room.' I dare say you would, but we are not willing to pander to popular superstition. We fear that in those rooms men are warmed into a fictitious confidence. Very few of the supposed converts of enquiry-rooms turn out well. Go to your God at once, even where you now are. Cast yourself on Christ, at once, ere you stir an inch!'

Invitations such as Spurgeon gave directing men to Christ and not to aisles are needed today. George Whitefield's sermonsJonathan Edwards, of the Reformers and of others in the past who were blessed with a harvest of many souls using Scriptural means of inviting men to Christ. Today the altar call has become the climax and culmination of the entire meeting. Many stanzas of a hymn are usually sung, during which time all kinds of appeals are made to the sinner to walk the aisle, and the clear impression is given to the sinner that his eternal destiny hangs on this movement of his feet. were long invitations to men to come to Christ, not to an altar. The same may be said of the preaching of

'Just As I Am,' the precious hymn perhaps most frequently sung for the altar call, was written in 1836 by Charlotte Elliott

Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

The phrase, 'O Lamb of God, I come, I come,' has been widely used to encourage people to 'come' down the aisle. But it is significant that Miss Elliott wrote the hymn for the infirm and that it first appeared in a hymnal prepared especially for invalids. To Miss Elliott, coming to Christ was not walking an aisle.

Although most who use the altar call realize that coming to Christ is not synonymous with coming to the altar, they do give the impression to sinners that the first step in coming to Christ is walking the aisle. I am purposefully being very careful not to misstate the case. I understand the sincerity of those who practice the altar call, it having been a part of every service from my earliest memory until college. In fact, I grew up in Christian circles unaware that evangelical Christianity existed without the altar call.

In many services during this time my mind was centered on the glorious person of Christ and His suffering on the cross only to find the whole focus of the worship service suddenly changed at the conclusion from seeing the glories and sufferings of Christ to walking an aisle. Many others have spoken of the same experience -that the altar call and the clever appeals at the conclusion of meetings, the decision to walk or not to walk and the wondering how many will respond, have distracted them from seeking Christ and from worshipping God in spirit and truth.

Do you remember how the crowds physically followed our Lord Christ until He began to preach some unpopular truths? Then the crowds turned back (John 6:66). Why? Had they not come to Jesus with their feet? Yes, but this is not the coming to Him that is necessary for salvation. Christ said, 'All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out' (John 6:37). And again He said, 'No man can come to me except the Father draw him' (John 6:44). In neither of these instances was Jesus speaking of the physical movement of the feet.

Men today need to be reminded that coming to Christ is not walking an aisle, but is casting oneself on Christ for life or death. May God cause the Church to return to the Scriptures for its methods of winning men to Christ. May sinners be charged not to come forward in a meeting but to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

HT: Old Truth

Lost Hymn of the week: "What if it were today?"

2010-07-16T06:40:00.002-05:00

Jesus is coming to earth again; what if it were today?
Coming in power and love to reign; what if it were today?
Coming to claim His chosen Bride, all the redeemed and purified,
Over this whole earth scattered wide; what if it were today?

Refrain

Glory, glory! Joy to my heart ’twill bring.
Glory, glory! When we shall crown Him King.
Glory, glory! Haste to prepare the way;
Glory, glory! Jesus will come some day.

Satan’s dominion will then be o’er, O that it were today!
Sorrow and sighing shall be no more, O that it were today!
Then shall the dead in Christ arise, caught up to meet Him in the skies,
When shall these glories meet our eyes? What if it were today?

Refrain

Faithful and true would He find us here if He should come today?
Watching in gladness and not in fear, if He should come today?
Signs of His coming multiply; morning light breaks in eastern sky.
Watch, for the time is drawing nigh; what if it were today?

Leila N. Morris

Sovereignty of God

2010-07-13T06:22:00.003-05:00

A "god' whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity, and so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nought but contempt.

A.W. Pink

The Infestation Within

2010-07-09T11:39:00.002-05:00

From Defending /Contending

[Progressive/liberals] infest our theological seminaries, and our colleges, and fill our pulpits, across the United States and Canada, who know not God; do not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and will stand in the way of anybody that wants to preach it. That is the ultimate danger to [the visible] church; because it is inside the church, the cancer is within, and it eats away, and we don’t recognize it.

Or when we do recognize it, we don’t do anything about it, because we’re afraid that people will offended. We’ll be afraid that people will call us “narrow, bigoted, fundamentalists”… We are afraid that the Elks, the Odd Fellows, the Masons, the Shriners, the Lions, and the Rotary, and everybody else, will look down upon us and—somehow or other—we will do damage to the Gospel of Christ.

We are so careful to preserve the wolves in the church; and so slow to defend the Faith of the church… In the United States, right now [1987], you can be ordained in the Episcopal Church, the Methodist church, branches of the Baptist church, and the Lutheran church, the Congregational church, and a host of others, while denying the Trinity, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Birth, the Bodily Resurrection of our Lord, the Second Coming of Christ, and the Bible as the Word of God.

That translates into one word: Apostasy. We are more concerned in the United States of America about the rights of homosexuals than we are about Who Jesus Christ is and what He did. We’re more concerned with social issues in the United States in the Christian church, denominationally, the we are with those who are dying in their sins without the Gospel. We are very concerned with everything, except, the things that really matter…

The corruption of the shepherds—the pastors—is, if you will, the open door to the corruption of the congregations. And I have taught on every level of education; on the Bible school level, on the level of college—university—seminary and post graduate studies. I teach ministers how to be ministers; and I can tell you, right now, the Christian church is in full blown apostasy in the United States. And since I’ve been in Canada the last couple of years, I’m sorry to say that the disease is pandemic in Canada.

- Walter Martin

Dose of Ravenhill

2010-07-07T06:59:00.001-05:00

Is the fact not this, that we have underestimated the total war to which the devil has committed his horde of demons and men alike? Is it not true that cataracts have formed over our eyes (maybe with watching too much T.V.) so that we have completely misjudged the horror of that eternal hell to which at this moment millions of souls are marching? Does such a picture stir your soul and stab your conscience? Are you sleeping at the price of another's peril? Recently, when a hunting dog ferreted into a pile of rocks and was trapped, men fought with cold, rain, and fatigue for two days and nights to find the entombed dog. Are not men more than dogs? Will men be entombed in hell forever because you were playing instead of praying?

Leonard Ravenhill

Gone to the beach

2010-06-25T06:59:00.002-05:00

It's time for the beach again. :)

I know the postings are not coming everyday now and that's because I'm just too darn busy. And being too darn busy starts getting a little stressful on the old body.

So it's off to put my toes in the sand and a quality cigar in my hand.

Back in a week.

Here's a link from last year when I tried out my new metal detector for the first time on the beach - Click here

What is Monergism?

2010-06-21T11:44:00.002-05:00

From Monergism.com

Monergism: In regeneration, the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ independent of any cooperation from our unregenerated human nature. He quickens us through the outward call cast forth by the preaching of His Word, disarms our innate hostility, removes our blindness, illumines our mind, creates understanding, turns our heart of stone to a heart of flesh -- giving rise to a delight in His Word -- all that we might, with our renewed affections, willingly & gladly embrace Christ.

The Prophet Ezekiel inspired by the Holy Spirit asserted "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." (Eze 11:19, also 36:26)

The Apostle Paul said, "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." (1 Thess 1, 4, 5). I.e. In regeneration the word does not work alone but must be accompanied by the "germination" of the Holy Spirit. And again "...you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God." (1 Pet 1:23)

The Century Dictionary defines it as follows:

"In theology, the doctrine that the Holy Spirit is the only efficient agent in regeneration - that the human will possesses no inclination to holiness until regenerated, and therefore cannot cooperate in regeneration."

It means that the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly comes to us through regeneration -- and if anyone says that this belongs to us by nature and not by a gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending our will and turning it from unbelief to faith and from godlessness to godliness, he/she ignores the teaching of the Apostles, for Paul says, "...Even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved." and "...he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5) And again, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). or if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10).

It is in contrast to synergism which the Century Dictionary defines as

"...the doctrine that there are two efficient agents in regeneration, namely the human will and the divine Spirit, which, in the strict sense of the term, cooperate. This theory accordingly holds that the soul has not lost in the fall all inclination toward holiness, nor all power to seek for it under the influence of ordinary motives."

For more in-depth treatment of this topic click here....

A Poem On Law & Gospel:

2010-06-15T07:02:00.000-05:00

The law supposing I have all,
Does ever for perfection call;
The gospel suits my total want,
And all the law can seek does grant.

The law could promise life to me,
If my obedience perfect be;
But grace does promise life upon
My Lord's obedience alone.

The law says, Do, and life you'll win;
But grace says, Live, for all is done;
The former cannot ease my grief,
The latter yields me full relief.

The law will not abate a mite,
The gospel all the sum will quit;
There God in thret'nings is array'd
But here in promises display'd.

The law excludes not boasting vain,
But rather feeds it to my bane;
But gospel grace allows no boasts,
Save in the King, the Lord of Hosts.

The law brings terror to molest,
The gospel gives the weary rest;
The one does flags of death display,
The other shows the living way.

The law's a house of bondage sore,
The gospel opens prison doors;
The first me hamer'd in its net,
The last at freedom kindly set.

An angry God the law reveal'd
The gospel shows him reconciled;
By that I know he was displeased,
By this I see his wrath appeased.

The law still shows a fiery face,
The gospel shows a throne of grace;
There justice rides alone in state,
But here she takes the mercy-seat.

Lo! in the law Jehovah dwells,
But Jesus is conceal'd;
Whereas the gospel's nothing else
But Jesus Christ reveal'd.

Ralph Erskine, The Beauties of Erskine, 1745

HT Monergism

That's not salvation

2010-06-13T20:16:00.001-05:00

“Some people, when they use the word “salvation,” understand nothing more by it than deliverance from hell and admittance into heaven. Now, that is not salvation: those two things are the effects of salvation. We are redeemed from hell because we are saved, and we enter heaven because we have been saved beforehand. Our everlasting state is the effect of salvation in this life… What a great word that word “salvation” is!

It includes the cleansing of our conscience from all past guilt, the delivery of our soul from all those propensities to evil which now so strongly predominate in us; it takes in, in fact, the undoing of all that Adam did. Salvation is the total restoration of man from his fallen estate; and yet it is something more than that, for God’s salvation fixes our standing more secure than it was before we fell.

It finds us broken in pieces by the sin of our first parent, defiled, stained, accursed: it first heals our wounds, it removes our diseases, it takes away our curse, it puts our feet upon the rock Christ Jesus, and having thus done, at last it lifts our heads far above all principalities. and powers, to be crowned for ever with Jesus Christ, the King of heaven.”

C.H.Spurgeon

HT The Bible Christian

But Spiritual Discernment is Wholly Lost Until we are Regenerated

2010-06-10T06:54:00.002-05:00

From Monergism

We must now explain what the power of human reason is, in regard to the kingdom of God, and spiritual discernments which consists chiefly of three things - the knowledge of God, the knowledge of his paternal favour towards us, which constitutes our salvation, and the method of regulating of our conduct in accordance with the Divine Law. With regard to the former two, but more properly the second, men otherwise the most ingenious are blinder than moles. I deny not, indeed, that in the writings of philosophers we meet occasionally with shrewd and apposite remarks on the nature of God, though they invariably savour somewhat of giddy imagination.

Man's spiritual blindness shown from John 1:4-5

But since we are intoxicated with a false opinion of our own discernment, and can scarcely be persuaded that in divine things it is altogether stupid and blind, I believe the best course will be to establish the fact, not by argument, but by Scripture. Most admirable to this effect is the passage which I lately quoted from John, when he says, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not," (John 1: 4, 5.) He intimates that the human soul is indeed irradiated with a beam of divine light, so that it is never left utterly devoid of some small flame, or rather spark, though not such as to enable it to comprehend God. And why so? Because its acuteness is, in reference to the knowledge of God, mere blindness. When the Spirit describes men under the term "darkness" he declares them void of all power of spiritual intelligence. For this reason, it is said that believers, in embracing Christ, are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," (John 1: 13;) in other words, that the flesh has no capacity for such sublime wisdom as to apprehend God, and the things of God, unless illumined by His Spirit. In like manner our Saviour, when he was acknowledged by Peter, declared that it was by special revelation from the Father, (Matth. 16: 17.)

John Calvin

Read rest here

Helen Thomas to Jews: Go back to Poland.

2010-06-05T15:51:00.001-05:00

Should we expect anything less out of Helen?

The sacrifice of Himself!

2010-06-02T06:38:00.001-05:00

"But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself! " Hebrews 9:26

These rich words still follow me.

That word "sin" feels weighty to a sensible sinner.

But oh! that word "Himself!" seems a million times more weighty!

"Himself!" the mighty God, the precious Man Christ Jesus!

"Himself!" by whom all things were created, and for whom they exist!

"Himself!" whose smile is heaven, whose frown is hell!

"Himself!" whom all angels worship, and all devils obey!

"Himself!" the sacrifice for my sin!

Another such sacrifice could not be found! Sins as deep as hell and as high as heaven cannot overmatch it, for it is infinite! Sins of scarlet and crimson dye cannot resist its power, for it makes them whiter than snow!

See as much as you can of the vileness of self, and the demerit of sin--yet "Himself!" a bleeding sacrifice, exceeds it all! Here is the sweet-smelling savor both to the Lawgiver and the lawbreaker. The Lawgiver is honored, the lawbreaker is saved!

See how He stands most lovingly, as with open arms, saying to every laboring, weary, heavy-laden sinner, "Come!" "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest!" "I still receive sinners, to the uttermost I save them, and never am weary of healing their backslidings, forgiving all their iniquities, and multiplying pardons as they multiply transgressions against Me. I blot all out with My blood, and love them freely and forever!"

Sinner, will not this suffice? It will if the Spirit applies it--and opens in a little measure Christ and His sacrifice--in contrast to yourself and your sins. It will take eternity to know it fully; but that your heart may find rest and refreshing in it now, is my affectionate prayer.

"But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself! " Hebrews 9:26

Ruth Bryan

Category: Are you kidding me?

2010-05-26T13:57:00.003-05:00

From NY POST

Angry relatives of 9/11 victims last night clashed with supporters of a planned mosque near Ground Zero at a raucous community-board hearing in Manhattan.

After four hours of public debate, members of Community Board 1 finally voted 29-1 in support of the project. Nine members abstained, arguing that they wanted to table the issue and vote at a later date.

The board has no official say over whether the estimated $100 million mosque and community center gets built. But the panel's support, or lack of it, is considered important in influencing public opinion.

Holding up photos of loved ones killed in the Twin Towers and carrying signs such as, "Honor 3,000, 9/11 -- No mosque!" opponents of the proposed Cordoba House on Park Place called the plan an insult to the terror-attack victims.

"That is a burial ground," said retired FDNY Deputy Chief Al Santora, referring to the fact that victims' remains were scattered for blocks.

Santora's 23-year-old son, Christopher, was the youngest firefighter to die that day.

"I do have a problem with having a mosque on top of the site where [terrorists] can gloat about what they did," said Santora, with his wife, Maureen, by his side.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of all things to build there.....a mosque.

Man, how sad is that?

How to be sure

2010-05-26T11:35:00.001-05:00

From Street Fishing -

How tragic it would be if we went through life thinking we were saved and then woke up on Judgment Day to find out we were mistaken! But the Bible teaches that this will be the case with many people. Christ said, "Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt.7:22-23).

However, we do not have to go through life without the assurance of salvation. In 1 John 5:13 the apostle says, "These things have I written unto you...that ye may know that ye have eternal life." How then can we have this assurance? This is the most important question we will ever face in life because our eternal destiny is at stake! The Bible teaches that those who remain unsaved will spend eternity in a place of perpetual torment (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 14:9-11). The reason for this is because their sin has not been paid for, and God's perfect justice requires that payment be made for sin (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, it is vital that we know the answer to this question. This is why the Apostle Peter wrote, "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10).

It is true that we must believe in Christ in order to become saved (Acts 16:31), but how can we be sure we have genuinely believed in Him? Certainly we cannot rely upon our feelings since feelings can be misleading. Some might suggest we can be sure by acknowledging the facts of the gospel or saying the sinner's prayer. However, the Bible indicates it is not possible to believe without being regenerated because by nature we are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1 cf. 1 Cor. 2:14). This is why Christ said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Therefore, we cannot know we have truly believed until we know we are born again.

But what does it mean to be born again? Is this some kind of emotional experience? No, the Bible teaches that being born again means our life is changed. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." The Bible also tells us what changes will take place in our life when we are born again.

C.H. Spurgeon

Jury Duty

2010-05-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

This past Monday I was supposed to report to my local Courthouse for jury duty.

This past Friday morning, around 8 am, I was received a call at work from my wife that went something like this:

Wife – Did you not have jury duty this week?

Me – Please tell me that card on the refrigerator says the 24th and not the 17th!!!

Wife – Umm, no, it says you are to report Monday the 17th at 9:00am.

Me – I’m so dead. Is there a phone number on the card?

Wife – Yes; 555-555-5555 (not actual number). Maybe you ca

Click - (me hanging up on my wife in the shear panic to call the number she just gave me).

I call the number and an assistant to the Clerk of the Probate Court answers the phone. I give a two minute explanation about forgetting all about the date.

Lady on the phone – Oh dear.

Oh dear? I’m so dead.

I find out that there is a $1,000 fine and possible time in jail for not showing up for jury duty.

I’m so dead…..with my wife now.

Going to jail may not be so bad…I can always witness to my jail mates, but the $1,000 fine is not going to be well received with the better half.

The lady on the phone says that she will give a message for the Clerk of Probate to call me later that afternoon. “It’s been a busy, busy week here because of all the court cases, but I’m sure she will get back to you today.”

No call that Friday.

All weekend long I expected the Sheriff’s department to show up at my house with a bench warrant for failure to show.

I imagined a sweaty, red faced judge angry at the long drawn out court cases and on top of that, he couldn’t wait to slam down the gavel at those who had the audacity to just flippantly defy the law and not show up for jury duty.

The weekend went by without badges at the door.

Monday morning at work the phone rings and I don’t recognize the number.

Me –Hello?

Lady on the Phone (LOTP) – Hello, this is Mrs. So and So. I am the Clerk of the Probate Court. How are you this morning?

Me – I’ll let you know in a couple minutes depending on what you’re going to tell me. How are you?

LOTP – (Laughing) I’m fine, thank you. I got your message and wanted to call and let you know that everything is Ok; you’re not in any trouble.

Me – Whew.

After a few minutes of talking to this very nice lady, she told me she could set me up for another shot at jury duty during the second week of July. That’s cool because I really do like jury duty. I’ve only served once when we lived in another county and really enjoyed the deliberation and the discussion afterward.

I know…I’m weird.

Lost Hymn of the Week - My Jesus, I love thee

2010-05-25T06:43:00.000-05:00

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

William R. Featherston

A Reformation Refresher

2010-05-20T06:24:00.002-05:00

From Street Fishing

The differences between Protestants and Catholics demonstrated by the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation:

by Rick Appleton (Braniac)

Sola Scriptura

Scripture Alone, knowledge of salvation comes from the Bible alone; it teaches all that is necessary for salvation and holy living. Scripture is the final authority on all matters of doctrine and practice. This is contrasted with the Roman Catholic view of Papal or Magisterial infallibility. This doctrine is violated when any authority is placed alongside or over the Scriptures.

Sola Fide

Faith Alone, salvation is through faith alone. Faith is the only instrument through which the benefits of Christ’s atonement are applied. This is contrasted with the Roman Catholic view of faith and good works. This doctrine is violated when any other instrument becomes necessary for salvation.

Sola Gratia

Grace Alone, salvation is by grace alone. Salvation is entirely gracious. Sinners are saved without any merit in themselves. This is contrasted with the Roman Catholic view of cooperation and merit. This doctrine is violated when anything is added to or taken away from the unmerited favor of salvation.

Solus Christus

Christ Alone, salvation is in Christ alone. Christ is the exclusive author and mediator of salvation. This is contrasted with the Roman Catholic view of the intercession of saints and mediation of priests. This doctrine is violated when any man or institution is made necessary for salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria

To God Alone Be the Glory, salvation is to the glory of God alone. Salvation, from beginning to end is exclusively the work of God. Therefore, the credit and glory belong to God alone. This is contrasted with the Roman Catholic view that God and man cooperate in salvation, thus giving credit or glory to both God and man. This doctrine is violated when any merit, value, effort, credit or glory is ascribed to any other but God.

Dose of Ravenhill

2010-05-18T06:36:00.000-05:00

Asked why he was used of the Lord so greatly in China, Hudson Taylor replied, "God had looked long for a man weak enough, and He found me." He takes the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. Spiritual wisdom does not come with years; neither does maturity. The key to both is obedience. Whatsoever He saith unto YOU, do it.

Leonard Ravenhill

Quote of the Week -

2010-05-17T06:59:00.001-05:00

Those who have had their “tickets punched” and have been assured, mistakenly, of their salvation solely due to something they did, a card they filled out, a prayer they recited, are some of the hardest people in the world to reach with the real message of repentance and faith.

James White

Hat Tip - Defending Contending

Lost hymn of the week - Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

2010-05-14T06:52:00.000-05:00

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

Robert Robinson, 1735-1790

Human Inability

2010-05-11T11:42:00.002-05:00

From Monergism

Permit me to show you wherein this inability of man really does lie. It lies deep in his nature. Through the fall, and through our own sin, the nature of man has become so debased, and depraved, and corrupt, that it is impossible for him to come to Christ without the assistance of God the Holy Spirit. Now, in trying to exhibit how the nature of man thus renders him unable to come to Christ, you must allow me just to take this figure. You see a sheep; how willingly it feeds upon the herbage! You never knew a sheep sigh after carrion; it could not live on lion's food. Now bring me a wolf; and you ask me whether a wolf cannot eat grass, whether it cannot be just as docile and as domesticated as the sheep. I answer, no; because its nature is contrary thereunto.

You say, "Well, it has ears and legs; can it not hear the shepherd's voice, and follow him whithersoever he leadeth it?" I answer, certainly; there is no physical cause why it cannot do so, but its nature forbids, and therefore I say it cannot do so. Can it not be tamed? Cannot its ferocity be removed? Probably it may so far be subdued that it may become apparently tame; but there will always be a marked distinction between it and the sheep, because there is a distinction in nature. Now, the reason why man cannot come to Christ, is not because he cannot come, so far as his body or his mere power of mind is concerned, but because his nature is so corrupt that he has neither the will nor the power to come to Christ unless drawn by the Spirit.

But let me give you a better illustration. You see a mother with her babe in her arms. You put a knife into her hand, and tell her to stab that babe to the heart. She replies, and very truthfully, "I cannot." Now, so far as her bodily power is concerned, she can, if she pleases; there is the knife, and there is the child. The child cannot resist, and she has quite sufficient strength in her hand immediately to stab it to its heart. But she is quite correct when she says she cannot do it.

As a mere act of the mind, it is quite possible she might think of such a thing as killing the child, and yet she says she cannot think of such a thing; and she does not say falsely, for her nature as a mother forbids her doing a thing from which her soul revolts. Simply because she is that child's parent she feels she cannot kill it. It is even so with a sinner.

Coming to Christ is so obnoxious to human nature that, although, so far as physical and mental forces are concerned, (and these have but a very narrow sphere in salvation) men could come if they would: it is strictly correct to say that they cannot and will not unless the Father who hath sent Christ doth draw them.

Charles Spurgeon

Full text here

How Do I Know I am Elect by A.W. Pink

2010-05-08T15:26:00.000-05:00

"How may I know I'm elect?

First, by the Word of God having come in divine power to the soul so that my self-complacency is shattered and my self-righteousness is renounced.

Second, by the Holy Spirit convicting me of my woeful, guilty, and lost condition.

Third, by having had revealed to me the suitability and sufficiency of Christ to meet my desperate case and by a divinely given faith causing me to lay hold of and rest upon Him as my only hope.

Fourth, by the marks of the new nature within me - a love for God; an appetite for spiritual things; a longing for holiness; a seeking after conformity to Christ.

Fifth, by the resistance which the new nature makes to the old, causing me to hate sin and loathe myself for it.

Sixth, by avoiding everything which is condemned by God's Word and by sincerely repenting of and humbly confessing every transgression. Failure at this point will surely bring a dark cloud over our assurance causing the Spirit to withhold His witness.

Seventh, by giving all diligence to cultivate the Christian graces and using all diligence to this end. Thus the knowledge of election is cumulative."

- A .W. Pink, The Doctrines of Election and Justification [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974], pp. 140-41.

From Reformation Theology

Graham prays anyway

2010-05-06T12:03:00.001-05:00

From MSNBC -

WASHINGTON - Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions.

Graham's invitation to attend an event inside the Defense Department for national prayer day was withdrawn two weeks ago.

But he arrived in the Pentagon parking lot just before 8 a.m. EDT — his party of a half dozen people forming a circle on the sidewalk and praying with heads bowed for about five minutes.

Nine years ago, Graham called Islam "wicked" and "evil."

He told an impromptu press conference Thursday outside the Pentagon that he prayed for the men and women of the armed forces and that he doesn't feel his statements about other religions have been offensive.

'I am who I am'
In an interview with Newsweek, Graham said he still believed what he had said about Islam, but added: "I don't go out and speak about it."

"I am who I am. I don't believe that you can get to heaven through being a Buddhist or Hindu," Graham was quoted as saying by the magazine. "I think Muhammad only leads to the grave. Now, that's what I believe, and I don't apologize for my faith. And if it's divisive, I'm sorry."

"I think yelling 'Allahu Akbar' as you're flying jet airplanes through buildings and killing 3,000 Americans — that was evil and it was wicked," he added. "And I've not heard one Islamic leader around the world stand up and say that was a terrible thing … If Catholics had flown into these buildings in the name of Catholicism, the pope would have been on TV that night denouncing them, saying this was wrong and what they did was sin."

"It would be nice if we could just all sit around and hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya.' It would be great, but that's not the world we live in," he told Newsweek.

Graham also said he had been "disinvited" from the prayer service "because of my faith and what I believe."

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Amen!

Bentley is back with a Banker Angel

2010-05-01T08:31:00.002-05:00

Todd Bentley meets up with a Banker Angel to help bring you riches and glory!

Hat Tip - The Museum of Idolatry

What was wrong with him?

2010-04-22T06:53:00.002-05:00

"One thing you lack" Mark 10:21

Those words addressed by our Lord to the rich young ruler who had approached Him with such apparent eagerness and earnestness, and in whom there were some admirable qualities which are rarely found in young men, especially those of affluence.

Yet there was a fatal defect, for the sequel informs us that he turned from Christ, and "went away sad" (Mark 10:22). What was wrong with him? "'One thing you lack--Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.' At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth." (Mark 10:21-22).

There was a struggle between his convictions and his corruptions; he desired to serve two masters--God and mammon; and when Christ told him that was impossible, he was chagrined.

His fatal deficiency may be described in a variety of ways. He had no conviction that he was a ruined, lost and Hell-deserving sinner, no consciousness that he was a spiritual leper in the sight of God, no realization of his utter helplessness to better his condition. Though religious, he was still in nature's darkness, and therefore, his affections were not raised above the vanities of this world. There was no love for God within him; and consequently, he was unwilling to deny himself, abandon his idols, and give God His rightful place in his life--serving, pleasing, and enjoying Him. He lacked a real and unreserved surrender of his heart to God.

Is that the case with you, dear reader?

A.W. Pink

Election and Evangelism

2010-04-13T06:47:00.003-05:00

From Banner of Truth

Oh that they had such a heart in them that would fear me (Deuteronomy 5:29).

On October 23, 1740, after preaching the previous weekend in Northampton with Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, the great eighteenth century evangelist, made his way south along the Connecticut River to Hartford, then Wethersfield, and finally to Middletown. Nathan Cole, a farmer near Middletown, vividly records the excitement and power of Whitefield’s ministry on that occasion.[1] Cole had been an Arminian (an eighteenth century theological liberal) who believed he could save himself by his good works. He became troubled in his soul when he heard Whitefield at the meeting house in Middletown say that the gospel was offered freely to all men, even though all were totally unable to embrace Christ, that they could do nothing to save themselves, that only the electing grace of God could render them acceptable to a holy God. Cole was convinced of his lost condition and was terribly convicted of his sin, and came to believe the doctrine of election, that he was utterly lost unless God chose to save him. He later found peace with Christ, left the established church, and joined a small group of believers called New Lights in nearby Kensington.[2]

What do we mean by the doctrine of election and how does it apply in the proclamation of the gospel? First, by election we simply mean that God, according to his mere good pleasure and sovereign will, chose from all the peoples of the world, a peculiar people to be his own before he made anyone or anything. The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way,

Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto; and all to the praise of His glorious grace. Chapter III, paragraph 5.[3]

They did not choose Christ, rather he chose them, and appointed them that they should bear much fruit, and that their fruit should remain (John 15:16). Paul the Apostle repeatedly teaches this doctrine (Eph. 1:4-5, Rom. 8:29-30; 9:14-24, 2 Tim. 1:8-9) as do Peter (1 Pet. 2:9-10), and Jesus (John 6:35-39). It is not merely that God foreknew those who would choose to follow and obey him, rather it is that in spite of our rebellion and hard-heartedness, even though we would do nothing to deserve it, God, by a free act of his grace, according to the secret counsel of his most holy and wise providence, chose a people for himself from all the peoples of the world, making us into one family of God, transmuting time, space, ethnicity, and religion (Rev. 5:9-10, 7:9-12)

The benefit of God’s electing grace is to humble man and to exalt God. When believers truly understand that the entirety of their salvation, from beginning to end, is of God; and when unbelievers see that they are utterly lost, beyond hope in themselves, being stripped of their smug self-righteousness, then and only then will God smile with salvation on multitudes; for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Continue reading here

ONLY ONE WAY OF SALVATION

2010-04-12T06:23:00.001-05:00

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

In Christ alone God’s rich provision of salvation for sinners is treasured up: by Christ alone God’s abundant mercies come down from Heaven to Earth. Christ’s blood alone can cleanse us; Christ’s righteousness alone can clothe us; Christ’s merit alone can give us a title to Heaven. Jews and Gentiles, learned and unlearned, kings and poor men – all alike must either be saved by the Lord Jesus, or lost forever.

And the Apostle adds emphatically, "There is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." There is no other person commissioned, sealed, and appointed by God the Father to be the Saviour of sinners, excepting Christ. The keys of life and death are committed to His hand, and all who would be saved must go to Him.

J.C. Ryle

From Monergism

False Charges Filed against 47 Christians in Pakistan

2010-04-09T10:58:00.001-05:00

Police try to extract bribe after attacking home; in Rawalpindi, militants attack chapel.

By Jawad Mazhar

VEHARI, Pakistan, April 8 (Compass Direct News) – Police here filed false charges of alcohol possession against 47 Christians, including women and children, on March 28 in an attempt to intimidate and bribe them, Christian leaders said.

Police broke into and ransacked the home of Shaukat Masih at 10:15 p.m. on Palm Sunday, manhandled his wife Parveen Bibi, and threatened to charge them and 45 other area Christians with alcohol possession if they did not pay a bribe, said attorney Albert Patras.

The Christians refused.

Those charged include two children and eight women. Patras said that three of the 37 Christian men, Shaukat Masih, Moula Masih and Shanni Masih, secured pre-arrest bail and thus averted detainment by Dane Wall police in Vehari, in Punjab Province. None of the others named in the First Information Report is being held either.

“Police are not interested in their arrest, instead they were trying to extort some money from the destitute Christians,” Patras said. “Police thought that Christians, being a soft target, would readily be bribed to save their families, particularly their girls and women.

Rest of story here

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Please keep our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers.

He tried?

2010-04-07T11:58:00.000-05:00

He Tried?

Rapper Shai Linne gives us a great lesson in Particular Redemption

Verse 1

Here’s a controversial subject that tends to divide
For years it’s had Christians lining up on both sides
By God’s grace, I’ll address this without pride
The question concerns those for whom Christ died
Was He trying to save everybody worldwide?
Was He trying to make the entire world His Bride?
Does man’s unbelief keep the Savior’s hands tied?
Biblically, each of these must be denied
It’s true, Jesus gave up His life for His Bride
But His Bride is the elect, to whom His death is applied
If on judgment day, you see that you can’t hide
And because of your sin, God’s wrath on you abides
And hell is the place you eternally reside
That means your wrath from God hasn’t been satisfied
But we believe His mission was accomplished when He died
But how the cross relates to those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

God knows He tried (8x)

Verse 2

Father, Son and Spirit: three and yet one
Working as a unit to get things done
Our salvation began in eternity past
God certainly has to bring all His purpose to pass
A triune, eternal bond no one could ever sever
When it comes to the church, peep how they work together
The Father foreknew first, the Son came to earth
To die- the Holy Spirit gives the new birth
The Father elects them, the Son pays their debt and protects them
The Spirit is the One who resurrects them
The Father chooses them, the Son gets bruised for them
The Spirit renews them and produces fruit in them
Everybody’s not elect, the Father decides
And it’s only the elect in whom the Spirit resides
The Father and the Spirit- completely unified
But when it comes to Christ and those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

God knows He tried (8x)

Verse 3

My third and final verse- here’s the situation
Just a couple more things for your consideration
If saving everybody was why Christ came in history
With so many in hell, we’d have to say He failed miserably
So many think He only came to make it possible
Let’s follow this solution to a conclusion that’s logical
What about those who were already in the grave?
The Old Testament wicked- condemned as depraved
Did He die for them? C’mon, behave
But worst of all, you’re saying the cross by itself doesn’t save
That we must do something to give the cross its power
That means, at the end of the day, the glory’s ours
That man-centered thinking is not recommended
The cross will save all for whom it was intended
Because for the elect, God’s wrath was satisfied
But still, when it comes to those in hell
Well, they be saying:

God knows He tried (8x)

Thanks to Reformation Theology

Lost hymn of the week: God of grace and God of glory

2010-04-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.

Lo! the hosts of evil ’round us,
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days,
For the living of these days.

Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
Bend our pride to Thy control.
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.

Set our feet on lofty places,
Gird our lives that they may be,
Armored with all Christ-like graces,
In the fight to set men free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
That we fail not man nor Thee,
That we fail not man nor Thee.

Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.

Harry E. Fosdick

The power of the representatives cannot be greater than that of the people they represent

2010-04-05T11:35:00.003-05:00

I picked up a book called, "Selective Writings of Thomas Paine" at a local Goodwill store this past weekend. There are several well known writings in this book that was published in 1945 such as: "Common Sense" and "Death and Taxes".

But I found a great quote in a writing known as, "Government, Banks, Money"........

"Therefore, in order to know how far the power of an assembly, or a house of representatives can act in administering the affairs of a republic, we must examine how far the power of the people extends under the original compact they have made with each other; for the power of representatives is in many cases less, but can never be greater than that of the people represented; and whatever the people in their mutual, original compact have renounced the power of doing toward, or acting over each other, the representatives cannot assume the power to do, because, as I have already said, the power of the representatives cannot be greater than that of the people they represent."
(bolding mine)

Thomas Paine (Government, Banks, Money)

Thomas Paine is often cited as a radical revolutionary member of our founding fathers. I wonder how he would view (based on the above quote) our "representatives" today in light of the recent health care vote?

He Died - Paul Washer

2010-04-03T18:36:00.001-05:00

Happy Resurrection Day!

Monergism = Christ Alone

2010-04-01T16:53:00.002-05:00

From Reformation Theology

Recently a visitor seemed deeply troubled that we would equate our belief in Monergism with "Christ alone" -- that by doing so we were being tribal, because this communicates the idea that synergists do not affirm "Christ alone" and to make this claim is to stir up animosity between brothers. But our purpose is not to create bitter feuds, but to be faithful to Scripture on a foundational subject. For those of us who are persuaded of monergism didn't we all come to embrace monergistic regeneration because it best expresses the Biblical data regarding the extent of Christ's work in our salvation?

Doesn't he word "monergism" itself help us understand this concept? The word consists of two main parts: The prefix "mono" means "one", "single", or "alone" while "ergon" means "to work". Taken together it means "the work of one". That is, regeneration is the work of Jesus Christ alone (as applied by the Holy Spirit), not the cooperation of man and God and not the result of unregenerate man meeting a condition (like faith) before regeneration takes place. THE main difference between Monergism & Synergism, then, is that while synergistic theology affirms the necessity of Christ, yet they do not affirm the sufficiency of Christ. That is, synergists do not affirm that Christ provides everything we need for salvation, including a new heart to believe and understand the gospel. (1 Cor 2, John 6:63-65, 37, 44). Christ does most of what we need, but we still need to meet God's condition to be saved. If, as synergists may say, God grants grace to all men, then we must ask, why do some believe and not others? Did some make better use of Christ's grace than others? Does Christ make them to differ or something else (like our decision)? That 'something else' means that Christ may be necessary to them but not sufficient to provide all they need to be saved (including a renewed heart to believe). Thus 'Christ alone', as it was understood in the Reformation, is a monergistic distinctive. His cross is sufficient to provide all we need including the very faith required of us.

Is our faith, therefore, something we can thank God for, or is it the one thing we contribute to the price of our salvation? Is God's love for us conditioned upon whether we believe or not or does His love meet the condition for us in Christ, according to scripture? We affirm that God gives us this condition but Christ does for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. We are not, therefore, partly dependent on Christ for salvation but wholly dependent.

Example: Is God's love like a parent who sees his child run out into traffic and who merely calls out to him to get out of the way or is God's love like the parent who, at the risk of their life, runs out and scoops up the child to MAKE CERTAIN that his child is safe. We all know that true love gets the job done ... it doesn't merely sit on the sidelines when something so critical as ones life is at stake. God's love is unconditional for His people and He sends his Son to make certain His sheep are not lost.

Note: a large percentage of synergists who are Protestants would openly confess that there is no hope save in Christ alone - and for this we embrace them as our beloved brothers in Christ, but the debates come about when their theology blatantly contradicts this good confession, when they believe in Christ PLUS a condition we meet, apart from grace. When we deny the sufficiency of Christ to provide anything (for apart from Christ we can do nothing) then we are not faithfully giving witness to the Scriptural understanding of "Christ alone" .

Michael Haykin rightly said, "It is wrong to suppose that the doctrine of justification by faith alone, that storm center of the Reformation, was the crucial question in the minds of such theologians as Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, and John Calvin. This doctrine was important to the Reformers because it helped to express and to safeguard their answer to another, more vital, question, namely, whether sinners are wholly helpless in their sin, and whether God is to be thought of as saving them by free, unconditional, invincible grace, not only justifying them for Christ's sake when they come to faith, but also raising them from the death of sin by His quickening Spirit in order to bring them to faith."

'We can't save the planet'

2010-03-31T11:40:00.003-05:00

From the BBC news

Professor James Lovelock, the scientist who developed Gaia theory, has said it is too late to try and save the planet.

The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.

Interviewed by Today presenter John Humphrys, videos of which you can see below, he said that while the earth's future was utterly uncertain, mankind was not aware it had "pulled the trigger" on global warming as it built its civilizations.

What is more, he predicts, the earth's climate will not conveniently comply with the models of modern climate scientists.

As the record winter cold testifies, he says, global temperatures move in "jerks and jumps", and we cannot confidently predict what the future holds.

Prof Lovelock does not pull his punches on the politicians and scientists who are set to gain from the idea that we can predict climate change and save the planet ourselves.

Scientists, he says, have moved from investigating nature as a vocation, to being caught in a career path where it makes sense to "fudge the data". And while renewable energy technology may make good business sense, he says, it is not based on "good practical engineering".

At the age of 90, Prof Lovelock is resigned to his own fate and the fate of the planet. Whether the planet saves itself or not, he argues, all we can do is to "enjoy life while you can".

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There you go; it's too late to save the planet so James Lovelock has given you permission to, "enjoy life while you can".

While this planet cannot be saved by man, you can be saved from God's wrath on man.

One day, you will die and stand before a holy and righteous God who will demand an account of your life.

How will you fare?

Will you be innocent or guilty of breaking His law?

Click here for a full report of what will happen if you die in your sins.

You might be a Calvinist...

2010-03-30T11:42:00.003-05:00

From Tom in the Box

Atlanta, Georgia -- Note: TBNN is pleased to have Jeff Foxworthy as Saturday Morning's guest writer.

Jeff: I'm happy to fill in to today for Brother Slawson.

You know, between Lakewood and Lynchburg, there's over 30 million people who I'd call "my people." Many of these folks are Calvinists, they just don't know it. I've designed for today a few little test questions to help you determine if there is a large likelihood that you are a Calvinist. So, if sitting in a tub full of scissors sounds more appealing to you than listening to a Sunday School class share their personal gut feelings about a Bible verse, you are a good candidate.

If you have a Martin Luther Jell-O mold, you just might be a Calvinist.

If your child’s first word was “Westminster”, you just might be a Calvinist.

Or, if you send your mother tulips on Mother’s Day,

… you might be a Calvinist.

If you still remember the 8 speakers in order from the recent T4G conference, or

If a free Bible has ever arrived in the mail to you from John McArthur, or

If you have ever purchased 100 or more copies of the same John Piper book to hand out to random people you meet,

…you just might be a Calvinist.

If you purchased an MP3 player with the sole purpose of downloading sermons, or

If you were shocked to just discover that some people download MP3 files that are not sermons, or

If you have adjusted the default passage setting at www.biblegateway.org from “NIV” to “ESV”

… you might be a Calvinist.

If your preacher says to turn to Obadiah and you do not use the index, or

If you think a 50-minute sermon is too short, or

If you’ve ever heard a wave of groans sweep through Sunday School when you refer to Romans 9,

…you just might be a Calvinist.

If you find yourself talking to the Lord Jesus more than to your family, and

If you find yourself wanting to read your Bible instead of watching television, and

If quotes from Pink, Spurgeon, Luther, Piper, and McArthur pop into your head at random times during the day

…you might be a Calvinist.

If you are confused when someone uses the term “my Bible” as if they only have one, and

If your Bibles must be replaced in less than a year due to pages separating from the spine, and

If you smile, nod and hold your tongue with your teeth after a lively church service when someone says, “God showed up today”

…you might be a Calvinist.

If you’ve ever shouted “YES!” when the pastor says to turn to 1st Thessalonians, and

If you see 6:37 on a digital clock and think of the Lord Jesus’ words in John, and

If you’ve muted a Thanksgiving football game because it’s interfering with your family discussion of Ephesians 1

…you might be a Calvinist.

If you have bookmarked three or more preachers’ scripture index webpages, and

If you’ve ever been banned from a Sunday School class for quoting scripture, and

If you have ever purposefully sung a different word in a hymn to conform to scripture,

… you might be a Calvinist.

If your kids own more Bibles than televisions, and

If your children never ask you “Where are we going?” on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and

If you’ve ever read parts of “The Bondage of the Will” to children under ten and prayed that it would change their lives

…you just might be a Calvinist.

If your child received detention at his Christian school after shouting, “But I am a Hedonist Pyromaniac!” or

If your children argue and you require them to listen to a Piper Sermon as punishment, or

If you visit pyromaniacs, tominthebox, spurgeon.org, desiringgod.org, and gty.org, more than once a day, yes…

You just might…. I say you just might…. Yes… you just might be a Calvinist

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Now that is just some funny stuff!

Jack Bauer School Of Evangelism

2010-03-27T15:47:00.003-05:00

Hat Tip to 5 Point Salt

Crossing an ocean does not make a man a missionary

2010-03-27T15:38:00.001-05:00

"I preached on every street corner in the district where I lived. Then I went to every suburb in the city and to every district in the city, preaching in the open air. Crossing a frontier and crossing an ocean does not make a man a missionary. If the Holy Spirit does not use a man in his own town, He will not use him on Africa.”

~James A Stewart, from I Must Tell-The Story of a boy preacher ages 14 to 23 years

From Puritan Fellowship

"There is only one kind of Christian that God calls to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to others: ........"

2010-03-26T11:56:00.002-05:00

This is my Canadian brother in the Lord, Paul Latour. Paul and his wife faithfully preach, witness and hand out tracts on the streets of Ottawa in their efforts to reach the lost for the glory of God.

It's a blessing to know that there are many Christians, in local towns and communities around the world, who day in and day out serve the Lord with joy and gladness.

Paul is a huge encouragement for me and this ministry. I praise God that he and his wife are able to take the gospel to where the people are and faithfully proclaim it.

Visit Paul at his blog, "The Word Street Journal" for stories and videos of his ministry.

Lost Hymn of the Week - There is a fountain filled with blood

2010-03-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
lose all their guilty stains;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
wash all my sins away;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
shall never lose its power
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more,
be saved, to sin no more;
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.

E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die,
and shall be till I die;
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save,
when this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave,
lies silent in the grave;
when this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

2010-03-21T15:59:00.002-05:00

From Reformation Theology

If a judge acts justly, no crime is committed. It is in fact the judge's job to be just. He can actually lose his right to judge if he fails to dispense justice. Yet, here's the amazing Gospel truth - all the sins of everyone who would ever believe in Christ were transferred to our Substitute and the justice we deserved fell upon Him instead on the cross.

We not only received mercy (Christ bore our punishment) and not justice, but amazingly, He took our justice.. He bore our sins in His body on the tree, He was punished in our place. God's great mercy is shown in not giving us the justice we deserved, but God went even further and then gave us GRACE because of Christ, as the very righteousness of Christ - a life that kept the law of God perfectly for more than 30 years, blameless in thought, word and deed - was credited to our account.

This grace is not a heavenly substance of some kind, but is Christ Himself, of whom the Father said, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!" and what flows to us is totally unmerited favor - the very righteousness of the perfect God-Man, so that we can stand before God, right and clean and pure in His sight. God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Hear the Judge's words to every believer in Christ, "I declare you just in My sight, not guilty, reckoned righteous with the righteousness of My beloved Son, and this is your standing before Me, forever!"

Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The perfect Lamb took our place and bore our shame and punishment and His perfect, flawless and beautiful righteousness is now ours by God's grace alone received through faith in Christ alone, all to the glory of God alone. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

- John Samson

Prisoner Alert

2010-03-19T06:30:00.002-05:00

From Tony Miano at The Lawman Chronicles

I just received word that my friend and fellow evangelist, Shawn Holes is, at this moment, sitting in a Glascow, Scotland jail cell. His crime: he mentioned what the Bible says about homosexuality.

Here's what I know from very reliable sources:

Shawn is in Scotland with a group of European and American evangelists preaching the gospel. Earlier today, Shawn was preaching in the open-air to a crowd of people. According to accounts from other evangelists present, Shawn's presentation of his testimony and the gospel was loving and gracious. When Shawn finished preaching, a lady from the crowd asked, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?"

Shawn answered the lady's question by turning to the Scriptures. The crowd began to argue that the Bible doesn't speak against homosexuality, even though Shawn tried to show them the passages in the Bible.

Police officers were present and listening to the preaching. When Shawn shared what the Bible says about homosexuality, a police officer told Shawn that he was offending people in the crowd and that he couldn't preach about homosexuality.

Standing not far from Shawn was a young man in the crowd who was smoking a marijuana joint, which is illegal to do in public, in Scotland. One of the evangelists made mention of it and a police officers responded by saying, "Well, that's just Glascow youth these days."

Shawn was arrested for offensive preaching. He will remain in custody until he goes before the court, tomorrow.

According to Lisa Holes, Shawn's wife, segments of the evangelical church in Scotland plan to be outside the courthouse in protest of Shawn's arrest and in support of our brother in chains.

Knowing Shawn as I do, I have no doubt he is boldly and loving preaching the gospel to other prisoners.

Pray for Shawn and his family as Shawn denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows Christ.

And for my American Christian brethren reading this post: what happened to Shawn today in Scotland will soon happen to Christians in the United States. Stand firm. Speak the truth in love. Proclaim the gospel, no matter what the cost.

The Holes Family leads Luke 10:2 Ministries. Please consider supporting their missionary work to proclaim the gospel around the world.

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I believe Tony is right; it won't be long until this will happen here in the United States.

How much longer have we the freedom to openly preach the gospel? How much longer have we to openly read the Word of God on any public street? How much longer have we to be able to peacefully stand on a corner and hold a cross?

Time is short folks. Are you doing everything you can to reach people with the gospel? Hand out a tract today. Talk to the loved one who is lost. Share Christ with that co-worker is hell bound.

Prayers going up for Shawn and his family.

The Christian’s Prayer

2010-03-18T11:53:00.001-05:00

“Father, I have a problem. It’s weighing heavy on me. It’s all I can think about, night and day. “But before I bring it to you in prayer, I suppose I should pray for those who are less fortunate than me—those in this world who have hardly enough food for this day, and those who don’t have a roof over their heads at night. I also pray for families who have lost loved ones in sudden death, for parents whose children have leukemia, for the many people who are dying of brain tumors, for the hundreds of thousands who are laid waste with other terrible cancers, for people whose bodies have been suddenly shattered in car wrecks, for those who are lying in hospitals with agonizing burns over their bodies, whose faces have been burned beyond recognition.

“I pray for people with emphysema, whose eyes fill with terror as they struggle for every breath merely to live, for those who are tormented beyond words by irrational fears, for the elderly who are wracked with the pains of aging, whose only ‘escape’ is death.

“I pray for people who are watching their loved ones fade before their eyes through the grief of Alzheimer’s disease, for the many thousands who are suffering the agony of AIDS, for those who are in such despair that they are about to commit suicide, for people who are tormented by the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction.

“I pray for children who have been abandoned by their parents, for those who are sexually abused, for wives held in quiet despair, beaten and abused by cruel and drunken husbands, for people whose minds have been destroyed by mental disorders, for those who have lost everything in floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

“I pray for the blind, who never see the faces of the ones they love or the beauty of a sunrise, for those whose bodies are horribly deformed by painful arthritis, for the many whose lives will be taken from them today by murderers, for those wasting away on their deathbeds in hospitals.

“Most of all, I cry out for the millions who don’t know the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ...for those who in a moment of time will be swept into hell by the cold hand of death, and find to their utter horror the unspeakable vengeance of eternal fire. They will be eternally damned to everlasting punishment. O God, I pray for them.

“Now, for my problem...Strange. I can’t seem to remember what it was.

“In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

Hat Tip - Ponderings

Lost hymn of the week - Beulah Land

2010-03-17T11:55:00.001-05:00

I've reached the land of corn and wine,
And all its riches freely mine;
Here shines undimmed one blissful day,
For all my night has passed away.

Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!

My Savior comes and walks with me,
And sweet communion here have we;
He gently leads me by His hand,
For this is Heaven's border land.

Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!

A sweet perfume upon the breeze,
Is borne from ever vernal trees,
And flow'rs, that never fading grow
Where streams of life forever flow.

Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!

The zephyrs seem to float to me,
Sweet sounds to Heaven's melody,
As angels with the white robed throng
Join in the sweet redemption song.

Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!

A living sacrifice

2010-03-16T06:49:00.002-05:00

Romans 12, 1-6. 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God bath dealt to each man a measure of faith. 4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us.

As before said, the world cannot endure the sight or hearing of this living sacrifice; therefore it opposes it on every side. With its provocations and threats, its enticements and persecutions, it has every advantage, aided by the fact that our minds and spirits are not occupied with that spiritual sacrifice, but we give place to the dispositions and inclinations of the world.

We must be careful, then, to follow neither the customs of the world nor our own reason or plausible theories. We must constantly subdue our dis- positions and control our wills, not obeying the dictates of reason and desire. Always we are to conduct ourselves in a manner unlike the way of the world. So shall we be daily changed renewed in our minds. That is, we come each day to place greater value on the things condemned by human reason by the world.

Daily we prefer to be poor, sick and despised, to be fools and sinners, until ultimately we regard death as better than life, foolishness as more precious than wisdom, shame nobler than honor, labor more blessed than wealth, and sin more glorious than human righteousness. Such a mind the world does not possess. The mind of the world is altogether unlike the Christian's. It not only continues unchanged and unrenewed in its old disposition, but is obdurate and very old.

God's will is ever good and perfect, ever gracious; but it is not at all times so regarded of men. Indeed, human reason imagines it to be the evil, unfriendly, abominable will of the devil, because what reason esteems highest, best and holiest, God's will regards as nothing and worthy of death.

Therefore, Christian experience must come to the rescue and decide. It must feel and prove, must test and ascertain, whether one is prompted by a sincere and gracious will. He who perseveres and learns in this way will go for- ward in his experience, finding God's will so gracious and pleasing he would not exchange it for all the world's wealth.

He will discover that acceptance of God's will affords him more happiness, even in poverty, disgrace and adversity, than is the lot of any worldling in the midst of earthly honors and pleasures. He will finally arrive at a degree of perfection making him inclined to exchange life for death, and, with Paul, to desire to depart that sin may no more live in him, and that the will of God may be done perfectly in himself in every relation.

In this respect he is wholly unlike the world; he conducts himself very differently from it. For the world never has enough of this life, while the experienced Christian is ready to be removed. What the world seeks, he avoids; what it avoids, he seeks.

Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol. 7 Baker House

Taken from Peacemakers

He could not love you more!

2010-03-12T07:39:00.001-05:00

"I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself!" Jeremiah 31:3

He loved you without beginning. Before years, and centuries, and millenniums began to be counted--your name was on His heart! Eternal thoughts of love have been in God's bosom towards you. He has loved you without a pause; there never was a minute in which He did not love you. Your name once engraved upon His hands--has never been erased, nor will He ever blot it out of the Book of Life.

Since you have been in this world--He has loved you most patiently. You have often provoked Him; you have rebelled against Him times without number, yet He has never stayed the outflow of His heart towards you; and, blessed be His name--He never will. You are His, and you always shall be His. God's love to you is without boundary. He could not love you more--for He loves you like a God; and He never will love you less. All His heart belongs to you!

"As the Father has loved Me--so have I loved you!" John 15:9

Charles Spurgeon

Lost Hymn of the Week -

2010-03-10T07:56:00.002-05:00

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Heretics and false teachers?

2010-03-08T12:42:00.002-05:00

I have listed below some names that should be familiar with almost everyone who visits this site. The list is not exhaustive by no means.

These names are some of the greatest preachers, theologians and missionaries the world has ever known.

There is a common thread to all these names. Among other things, these men believed in the absolute sovereignty of God in all things.

Would you consider any (or all) of these men heretics and false teachers?

Jonathan Edwards
Charles Spurgeon
A.W. Pink
John Flavel
J.I. Packer
Thomas Watson
John Bunyan
William Shedd
John Owen
J.C. Ryle
Martyn Lloyd Jones
John Eliot
J.P.Boyce
Cotton Mathers
John Knox
George Whitefield
John Newton
William Bradford
Thomas Brooks
Isaac Watts
John Piper
Matthew Henry
Thomas Boston
R.C. Sproul
Phil Johnson
John MacArthur
John Brainerd
Augustine

What is your god?

2010-03-06T18:20:00.002-05:00

A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol.
That upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god.

Therefore I repeat that the chief explanation of this point is that to have a god is to have something in which the heart entirely trusts.

Ask and examine your heart diligently, and you will find whether it cleaves to God alone or not. If you have a heart that can expect of Him nothing but what is good, especially in want and distress, and that, moreover, renounces and forsakes everything that is not God, then you have the only true God.

If, on the contrary, it cleaves to anything else, of which it expects more good and help than of God, and does not take refuge in Him, but in adversity flees from Him, then you have an idol, another god.

Martin Luther

HT - Against Heresies

For whom did Christ die for?

2010-02-28T19:11:00.005-05:00

Ok, in light of discussions I have had on other blogs, and the maniacal way I sometimes just jump into the deep end of the pool with no idea how to swim, I decided to post this long apologetic from John Piper on limited atonement.

The debate over whom Christ died for (among extremely large brains) has spurned heated debates, split churches and ruined friendships.

I am not posting this work of Piper's for any of those reasons.

The arguments for limited atonement and unlimited atonement are many and each side have supporting Scripture that appears to justify either sides position.

I have studied both sides of the issue for about a year now. I have been on both sides of the fence and now I'm sitting on that fence.

I have prayed on this.

I have read many books and listened to many sermons from both sides. Do I think this post and the subsequent comments will help me off the fence and settle into the pasture of either side?

Maybe....maybe not.

I'll leave this post up for a while. Feel free, no matter which side you fall on, to offer your take on this doctrine of limited attonement.

Here is John Piper from Monergism.com

For Whom Did Christ Die?
& What Did Christ Actually Achieve on the Cross for Those for Whom He Died?

By John Piper

The atonement is the work of God in Christ on the cross whereby he cancelled the debt of our sin, appeased his holy wrath against us, and won for us all the benefits of salvation. The death of Christ was necessary because God would not show a just regard for his glory if he swept sins under the rug with no recompense.

Romans 3:25-26 says that God "put Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood...This was to demonstrate God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

In other words the death of Christ was necessary to vindicate the righteousness of God in justifying the ungodly by faith. It would be unrighteous to forgive sinners as though their sin were insignificant, when in fact it is an infinite insult against the value of God's glory. Therefore Jesus bears the curse, which was due to our sin, so that we can be justified and the righteousness of God can be vindicated.

The term "limited atonement" addresses the question, "For whom did Christ die?" But behind the question of the extent of the atonement lies the equally important question about the nature of the atonement. What did Christ actually achieve on the cross for those for whom he died?

If you say that he died for every human being in the same way, then you have to define the nature of the atonement very differently than you would if you believed that Christ only died for those who actually believe. In the first case you would believe that the death of Christ did not actually save anybody; it only made all men savable. It did not actually remove God's punitive wrath from anyone, but instead created a place where people could come and find mercy -- IF they could accomplish their own new birth and bring themselves to faith without the irresistible grace of God.

For if Christ died for all men in the same way then he did not purchase regenerating grace for those who are saved. They must regenerate themselves and bring themselves to faith. Then and only then do they become partakers of the benefits of the cross.

In other words if you believe that Christ died for all men in the same way, then the benefits of the cross cannot include the mercy by which we are brought to faith, because then all men would be brought to faith, but they aren't. But if the mercy by which we are brought to faith (irresistible grace) is not part of what Christ purchased on the cross, then we are left to save ourselves from the bondage of sin, the hardness of heart, the blindness of corruption, and the wrath of God.

Therefore it becomes evident that it is not the Calvinist who limits the atonement. It is the Arminian, because he denies that the atoning death of Christ accomplishes what we most desperately need -- namely, salvation from the condition of deadness and hardness and blindness under the wrath of God. The Arminian limits the nature and value and effectiveness of the atonement so that he can say that it was accomplished even for those who die in unbelief and are condemned. In order to say that Christ died for all men in the same way, the Arminian must limit the atonement to a powerless opportunity for men to save themselves from their terrible plight of depravity.

On the other hand we do not limit the power and effectiveness of the atonement. We simply say that in the cross God had in view the actual redemption of his children. And we affirm that when Christ died for these, he did not just create the opportunity for them to save themselves, but really purchased for them all that was necessary to get them saved, including the grace of regeneration and the gift of faith.

We do not deny that all men are the intended beneficiaries of the cross in some sense. 1 Timothy 4:10 says that Christ is "the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." What we deny is that all men are intended as the beneficiaries of the death of Christ in the same way. All of God's mercy toward unbelievers -- from the rising sun (Matthew 5:45) to the worldwide preaching of the gospel (John 3:16) -- is made possible because of the cross.

This is the implication of Romans 3:25 where the cross is presented as the basis of God's righteousness in passing over sins. Every breath that an unbeliever takes is an act of God's mercy withholding judgment (Romans 2:4). Every time the gospel is preached to unbelievers it is the mercy of God that gives this opportunity for salvation.

Whence does this mercy flow to sinners? How is God just to withhold judgment from sinners who deserve to be immediately cast into hell? The answer is that Christ's death so clearly demonstrates God's just abhorrence of sin that he is free to treat the world with mercy without compromising his righteousness. In this sense Christ is the savior of all men.

But he is especially the Savior of those who believe. He did not die for all men in the same sense. The intention of the death of Christ for the children of God was that it purchase far more than the rising sun and the opportunity to be saved. The death of Christ actually saves from ALL evil those for whom Christ died "especially."

There are many Scriptures which say that the death of Christ was designed for the salvation of God's people, not for every individual. For example:

John 10:15, "I lay down my life for the sheep." The sheep of Christ are those whom the Father draws to the Son. "You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep." Notice: being a sheep enables you to become a believer, not vice versa. So the sheep for whom Christ dies are the ones chosen by the Father to give to the Son.

In John 17:6,9,19 Jesus prays, "I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me...I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine...And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth." The consecration in view here is the death of Jesus which he is about to undergo. His death and his intercession us uniquely for his disciples, not for the world in general.

John 11:51-52, "[Caiaphas] being high priest that year prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." There are children of God scattered throughout the world. These are the sheep. These are the ones the Father will draw to the Son. Jesus died to gather these people into one. The point is the same as John 10:15-16, "I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice." Christ died for his sheep, that is, for the children of God.

Revelation 5:9, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." In accordance with John 10:16 John does not say that the death of Christ ransomed all men but that it ransomed men from all the tribes of the world.

This is the way we understand texts like 1 John 2:2 which says, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." This does not mean that Christ died with the intention to appease the wrath of God for every person in the world, but that the "sheep," "the children of God" scattered throughout the whole world, "from every tongue and tribe and people and nation" are intended by the propitiation of Christ. In fact the grammatical parallel between John 11:51-52 and 1 John 2:2 is so close it is difficult to escape the conviction that the same thing is intended by John in both verses.

John 11:51-52, "He prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

1 John 2:2, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

The "whole world" refers to the children of God scattered throughout the whole world.

If "the whole world" referred to every individual in the world, we would be forced to say that John is teaching that all people will be saved, which he does not believe (Revelation 14:9-11). The reason we would be forced to say this is that the term propitiation refers to a real removal of wrath from sinners. When God's wrath against a sinner is propitiated, it is removed from that sinner. And the result is that all God's power now flows in the service of his mercy, with the result that nothing can stop him from saving that sinner.

Propitiated sins cannot be punished. Otherwise propitiation loses its meaning. Therefore if Christ is the propitiation for all the sins of every individual in the world, they cannot be punished, and must be saved. But John does not believe in such universalism (John 5:29). Therefore it is very unlikely that 1 John 2:2 teaches that Jesus is the propitiation of every person in the world.

Mark 10:45, in accord with Revelation 5:9,does not say that Jesus came to ransom all men. It says, "For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Similarly in Matthew 26:28 Jesus says, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Hebrews 9:28, "So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." (See also 13:20; Isaiah 53:11-12.)

One of the clearest passages on the intention of the death of Christ is Ephesians 5:25-27. Here Paul not only says that the intended beneficiary of the death of Christ is the Church, but also that the intended effect of the death of Christ is the sanctification and glorification of the church. This is the truth we want very much to preserve: that the cross was not intended to give all men the opportunity to save themselves, but was intended to actually save the church.

Paul says, "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor."

Similarly in Titus 2:14 Paul describes the purpose of Christ's death like this: "He gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." If Paul were an Arminian would he not have said, "He gave himself to redeem all men from iniquity and purify all men for himself"? But Paul says that the design of the atonement is to purify for Christ a people out from the world. This is just what John said in John 10:15; 11:51f; and Revelation 5:9.

One of the most crucial texts on this issue is Romans 8:32. It is one of the most precious promises for God's people in all the Bible. Paul says, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?"

The crucial thing to see here is how Paul bases the certainty of our inheritance on the death of Christ. He says, "God will most certainly give you all things because he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for you." What becomes of this precious argument if Christ is given for those who do not in fact receive all things but instead are lost? The argument vanishes.

If God gave his own Son for unbelievers who in the end are lost, then he cannot say that the giving of the Son guarantees "all things" for the those for whom he died. But this is what he does say! If God gave his Son for you, then he most certainly will give you all things. The structure of Paul's thought here is simply destroyed by introducing the idea that Christ died for all men in the same way.

We can conclude this section with the following summary argument. Which of these statements is true?

1. Christ died for some of the sins of all men.

2. Christ died for all the sins of some men.

3. Christ died for all the sins of all men.

No one says that the first is true, for then all would be lost because of the sins that Christ did not die for. The only way to be saved from sin is for Christ to cover it with his blood.

The third statement is what the Arminians would say. Christ died for all the sins of all men. But then why are not all saved? They answer, Because some do not believe. But is this unbelief not one of the sins for which Christ died?

If they say yes, then why is it not covered by the blood of Jesus and all unbelievers saved?

If they say no (unbelief is not a sin that Christ has died for) then they must say that men can be saved without having all their sins atoned for by Jesus, or they must join us in affirming statement number two: Christ died for all the sins of some men.

That is, he died for the unbelief of the elect so that God's punitive wrath is appeased toward them and his grace is free to draw them irresistibly out of darkness into his marvelous light.

©Desiring God Ministries
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do NOT alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 1,000 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by Desiring God Ministries.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. ©Desiring God Ministries. Website: http://www.desiringgod.org/. Email: mail@desiringGOD.org. Toll Free: 888-346-4700.

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Ok, there you go.

Newton on the Law

2010-02-27T09:05:00.000-05:00

. . . . . The law is lawfully used as a means of conviction of sin: for this purpose it was promulgated at Sinai. The law entered, that sin might abound: not to make men more wicked, though occasionally and by abuse it has that effect, but to make them sensible how wicked they are. Having God's law in our hands we are no longer to form our judgments by the maxims and customs of the world, where evil is called good, and good evil; but are to try every principle, temper and practice, by this standard. Could men be prevailed upon to do this, they would soon listen to the Gospel with attention.

On some, the Spirit of God does thus prevail: then they earnestly make the jailer's inquiry," What must I do to be saved?" Here the work of grace begins, and the sinner, condemned by his own conscience, is brought to Jesus for life.

John Newton

Lost hymn of the week - Blessed Assurance

2010-02-25T12:38:00.001-05:00

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Frances J. Crosby

The business of the church

2010-02-23T12:36:00.001-05:00

“She is a traitor to the Master who sent her if she is so beguiled by
the beauties of taste and art as to forget that to ‘preach Christ...
and Him crucified’ is the only object for which she exists among
the sons of men. The business of the Church is salvation of souls.”

C.H. Spurgeon

Grace is not a "Thing"

2010-02-22T07:49:00.001-05:00

From Reformation Theology

It is legitimate to speak of “receiving grace,” and sometimes (although I am somewhat cautious about the possibility of misusing language) we speak of the preaching of the Word, prayer, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper as “means of grace.” That is fine, so long as we remember that there isn’t a thing, a substance, or a “quasi-substance” called “grace.” All there is is the person of the Lord Jesus — “Christ clothed in the gospel,” as Calvin loved to put it. Grace is the grace of Jesus. If I can highlight the thought here: there is no “thing” that Jesus takes from Himself and then, as it were, hands over to me. There is only Jesus Himself.

Grasping that thought can make a significant difference to a Christian’s life. So while some people might think this is just splitting hairs about different ways of saying the same thing, it can make a vital difference. It is not a thing that was crucified to give us a thing called grace. It was the person of the Lord Jesus that was crucified in order that He might give Himself to us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

- Sinclair Ferguson

Going to Mardi Gras!

2010-02-13T10:04:00.003-05:00

It's an exciting day!

Tomorrow morning my ministry partner and I head down to New Orleans for a few days of street evangelism in the Big Easy!

We have been looking forward to this for quite a few weeks and many prayers have gone up (and are still going up) for this trip.

We have been blessed by a number of dear Christians who have sacrificially given us the funds to make this trip possible. We received enough money to pay for a rental car and the place we will be staying at.

Because we are meeting up with a student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, we were able to take advantage of staying at the Providence House (don't you love that name?) across the street from the campus. While most people are paying any where from $250 to $350 a night (and more) to spend a night during Mardi Gras, we are able, through our association with the seminary student, to stay at the Providence House for only $55 a night.

With the Providence House located right across the seminary, we are only 5-10 minutes from all the popular Mardi Gras spots.

We are taking a few thousand tracts, a video camera, a digital camera and my "Are You Ready" cross.

Please pray with us that God will plow many hearts in preparation for the gospel, grant us many opportunities to do 'One to One' witnessing, and allow us to openly read from the Bible for Project Ezra. Pray that we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey what we hear. Pray that God gives us the privilege of winning souls to Christ.

Also, please be in prayer for our families that we are leaving behind to go on this mission trip.

We are greatly excited and a little scared. We know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Back in a few days!

Capt. Phil Harris of TV's 'Deadliest Catch' dies after stroke

2010-02-10T07:42:00.002-05:00

From CNN

(CNN0 -- Capt. Phil Harris of the Discovery Channel show "The Deadliest Catch" died Tuesday of complications from a stroke suffered late last month. He was 53.

Harris, the tattooed and gruff captain of the Cornelia Marie, was a fan favorite in the reality show about crab fishing off Alaska.

"Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris. He was more than someone on our television screen. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him," a statement from the network said. "We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart."

Harris suffered a massive stroke on January 29 while his crew offloaded crab at St. Paul Island, Alaska.

"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad -- Captain Phil Harris," said a statement from his sons, Jake and Josh Harris. "Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end."

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Captain Phil was one of my favorites on the show. A hard worker and great fisherman who knew his way around the Bering Sea.

But it doesn't matter who you are or where you are when death comes for you.

It will come for you.

Are you ready for death?

Are you ready to face God on Judgment Day?

To find out if you are prepared to make your final stand, go to Need God and take the Good Person Test right now.

The Glorious Exchange

2010-02-06T19:05:00.001-05:00

From Banner of Truth

My mom reminds me of Jesus. Not because she always acts likes Jesus. In fact, she would be the first to admit that, in her attempts to behave the way Jesus behaved, she fails more often than she succeeds. She reminds me of Jesus because she birthed me. Let me explain.

The very process of giving birth is a beautiful picture of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for sinners like me. In his remarkable book Jesus Ascended, author Gerrit Scott Dawson puts it this way: "A child is conceived through the loving communion of husband and wife. The child grows inside the sheltering womb of the mother. But the child cannot live there forever. He is made for another world, a world of daylight and air, starlight and sky. So in the hours of her labor, the mother offers a new and living way. The way to life as a human being into the world passes through the curtain of her flesh. The curtain must be torn that the child might live and reach the daylight world. The mother is the new and living way. By her pain, the child is born."

This is precisely the way the Bible speaks of Christ's work on the cross. In Isaiah 53, the prophet foretold of a "suffering servant" who would one day bear the sin of many. He tells of a "man of sorrows" who would take on himself the punishment we sinners deserve. He would carry our sickness and swallow our disease. He says in v.6, "All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all." He goes on to say in v.5, "He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed." Approximately 750 years later, the apostle Peter assures his readers that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (1 Peter 2:22-25). It was Christ who accomplished a glorious exchange: his death brings life. In the same way that we were brought into this world through the pain and suffering of another, we are brought into fellowship with God through the pain and suffering of Christ.

The way to true everlasting life passes through the curtain of Christ's flesh. Because of my sin, he had to die so that I might live. He is the one who passed through the "valley of the shadow of death" so that I might enjoy the "still waters" and "green pastures" that friendship with God brings.

So when I think about my mother, I can't help but think about the suffering she endured to give me life. I was born because, in love, my mom spent herself in pain and agony. Her blood, literally, brought me into this world. Similarly, Christ's blood brings sinners into fellowship with God. Jesus is the new and living way (Heb. 10:20). He not only provides passage to God, he is the passage to God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

What good news!

W. Tullian Tchividjian

US debt to hit proposed ceiling by end-February: Treasury

2010-02-04T07:31:00.002-05:00

From Google News

WASHINGTON — The US debt is on track to hit a congressionally proposed debt ceiling of 14.3 trillion dollars by the end of February, the Treasury said Wednesday, a day ahead of a key vote to raise it to that level.

"Based on current projections, Treasury expects to reach the debt ceiling as early as the end of February. However, the government's cash flows are volatile, making it difficult to forecast a precise date," the Treasury said in a statement.

The current limit on the public debt of the United States is 12.374 trillion dollars.

The US debt exceeded 12.349 trillion dollars on Monday, according to Treasury data.

The US House of Representatives will vote Thursday on whether to raise the US debt limit to a historic 14.3 trillion dollars, allowing the United States to borrow another 1.9 trillion dollars.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said representatives would take up the measure a week after the Senate approved the higher debt ceiling in a 60-39 vote.

In December, both houses agreed to increase the debt limit by an interim amount of 290 billion dollars to ensure the US government would continue to function.

The Senate also last week passed an amendment to legislation raising the debt ceiling that requires new budget items to be paid for, dubbed "pay-as-you-go."

The measure is intended to prevent the federal government from spending money it does not have and to control the massive US budget deficit.

The House has adopted a similar measure.

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I thought that this news story was interesting after Joe A's last comment on the "Ironic" post from the other day.

Joe A said, "Also, we're not going to pay off the debt, especially if we increase it. Let's not forget the unfunded liabilities of the grand government pyramid scheme known as social security and its relations. That's been estimated at around $50 trillion.

Ya, I find truth in the rhetoric of this question, to be frank: "Is America a society of law or is it simply one more corrupt and crumbling oligarchy about to collapse into the dustbin of history?"

Ironic??

2010-02-02T19:36:00.003-05:00

From Las Vegas Now

President Obama is catching heat from Nevada lawmakers and business leaders regarding his comments Tuesday criticizing trips to Las Vegas.

During the president's town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, he discussed the need to curb spending during tough economic times. "When times are tough, you tighten your belts," the president said. "You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college."

Rest of story HERE

(Italics and bolding mine)

Tebow versus the left -

2010-02-02T07:33:00.003-05:00

From The Christian Post

Though people complain that the upcoming Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad is divisive and controversial, the commercial is simply allowing a family to tell its personal story, contends a theologian.

Dr. Darrell Bock, research professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, said there is a push back on the ability of someone to tell a personal story, or the right to free speech.

“Some people use the word hate speech [to describe the ad] and they haven’t even seen it,” Bock told The Christian Post Friday. “This is particularly odd in a society where all kinds of free speech that would be uncomfortable for a lot of people [are aired]. But someone tells a personal story and they try to cut that off.”

Bock said the ad should be aired and be part of the continuing conversation about the issue of abortion.

Read rest of story HERE

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Why are so many on the left opposed to this commercial when they have not even seen it yet?

What could possibly be wrong with Tebow's mom explaining why she chose life over death?

The Alter Call

2010-01-31T16:12:00.001-05:00

We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly, there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people -

Early in the 1970s Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones was the speaker at a ministers' conference in the USA and at a question session was asked the following question:

Q During recent years, especially in England, among evangelicals of the Reformed faith, there has been a rising criticism of the invitation system as used by Billy Graham and others. Does Scripture justify the use of such public invitations or not?

A. Well, it is difficult to answer this in a brief compass without being misunderstood. Let me answer it like this: The history of this invitation system is one with which you people ought to be more familiar than anyone else, because it began in America. It began in the 1820s; the real originator of it was Charles G. Finney. It led to a great controversy. Asahel Nettleton, a great Calvinist and successful evangelist, never issued an "altar call" nor asked people to come to the "anxious seat." These new methods in the 182Os and were condemned for many reasons by all who took the Reformed position.

One reason is that there is no evidence that this was done in New Testament times, because then they trusted to the power of the Spirit. Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost under the power of the Spirit, for instance, had no need to call people forward in decision because, as you remember, the people were so moved and affected by the power of the Word and Spirit that they actually interrupted the preacher, crying out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" That has been the traditional Reformed attitude towards this particular matter. The moment you begin to introduce this other element, you are bringing a psychological element.

The invitation should be in the message.

We believe the Spirit applies the message, so we trust in the power of the Spirit. I personally agree with what has been said in the question. I have never called people forward at the end for this reason; there is a grave danger of people coming forward before they are ready to come forward. We do believe in the work of the Spirit, that He convicts and converts, and He will do His work. There is a danger in bringing people to a "birth," as it were, before they are ready for it.

The Puritans in particular were afraid of what they would call "a temporary faith" or "a false profession." There was a great Puritan, Thomas Shepard, who published a famous series of sermons on The Ten Virgins. The great point of that book was to deal with this problem of a false profession. The foolish virgins thought they were all right. This is a very great danger.

I can sum it up by putting it like this: I feel that this pressure which is put upon people to come forward in decision ultimately is due to a lack of faith in the work and operation of the Holy Spirit. We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly, there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people. And of course He does. Some may come immediately at the close of the service to see the minister. I think there should always be an indication that the minister will be glad to see anybody who wants to put questions to him or wants further help. But that is a very different thing from putting pressure upon people to come forward. I feel it is wrong to put pressure directly on the will.

The order in Scripture seems to be this - the truth is presented to the mind, which moves the heart, and that in turn moves the will.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Courtesy of Banner of Truth

Blessed Lord Jesus Christ

2010-01-30T17:55:00.002-05:00

Before thy cross I kneel and see

the heinousness of my sin,

my iniquity that caused thee to be

‘made a curse’,

the evil that excites the severity

of divine wrath.

Show me the enormity of my guilt by

the crown of thorns,

the pierced hands and feet,

the bruised body,

the dying cries.

Thy blood is the blood of incarnate God,

its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought.

Infinite must be the evil and guilt

that demands such a price.

Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,

born in my birth,

alive in my life,

strong in my character,

dominating my faculties,

following me as a shadow,

intermingling with my every thought,

my chain that holds me captive in the

empire of my soul.

Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light,

the air supply breath,

the earth bear my tread,

its fruits nourish me,

its creatures subserve my ends?

Yet thy compassions yearn over me,

thy heart hastens to my rescue,

thy love endured my curse,

thy mercy bore my deserved stripes.

Let me walk humbly in the lowest depths

of humiliation,

bathed in thy blood,

tender of conscience,

triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation.

Courtesy of Banner of Truth

Would Jesus have the sinner die?

2010-01-28T07:48:00.002-05:00

Would Jesus have the sinner die?
Why hangs He then on yonder tree?
What means that strange expiring cry?
(Sinners, He prays for you and me)
“Forgive them, Father, O forgive,
They know not that by Me they live,”
“They know not that by Me they live!”

Jesus descended from above,
Our loss of Eden to retrieve,
Great God of universal love,
If all the world through Thee may live,
In us a quickening Spirit be,
And witness Thou hast died for me,
And witness Thou hast died for me!

Thou loving, all-atoning Lamb,
Thee—by Thy painful agony,
Thy bloody sweat, Thy grief and shame,
Thy cross and passion on the tree,
Thy precious death and life—I pray,
Take all, take all my sins away,
Take all, take all my sins away!

O let me kiss Thy bleeding feet,
And bathe and wash them with my tears!
The story of Thy love repeat
In every drooping sinner’s ears,
That all may hear the quickening sound,
Since I, even I, have mercy found,
Since I, even I, have mercy found.

O let Thy love my heart constrain!
Thy love for every sinner free,
That every fallen soul of man
May taste the grace that found out me;
That all mankind with me may prove
Thy sovereign everlasting love,
Thy sovereign everlasting love.

Charles Wesley

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Why don't we sing hymns like this anymore? Would one or two of these kinds of hymns really cramp our style on Sunday every week? These kinds of hymns were filled with a real passion for our Lord unlike some of the shallow songs that fill the air on the Lords day now.

Bring back the great hymns of the Wesley's, Watt's, Newton's, Kenn's and all.........

Let's get back to singing hymns where Jesus is the main subject and not "us" or "I" or "me".

Spurgeon moment -

2010-01-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

When you are in good health any form of religion may satisfy, but a dying soul wants more than sand to rest upon. You will want the Rock of Ages. Then let me assure you, that in light of the grave, all confidence, except confidence in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, is a clear delusion.

C.H.Spurgeon

"It" will always be a human baby.

2010-01-22T16:45:00.003-05:00

50+ million babies that never saw the light of day since Roe...

What is the gospel? - by John Hendryx

2010-01-21T07:41:00.001-05:00

"...Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?...If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
- Matthew 19:15-17

"God bids us do what we cannot, that we may know what we ought to seek from him."
- Augustine

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."
- Rom 3:20

In short, the Gospel is the life-altering news that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, lived a sinless life under the Law, died for sinners and rose again to reconcile them to himself, eternally victorious over every enemy that stood between God and man. Now, because of this redemptive work, there is nothing that separates those who believe from their Creator and all the benefits that He promises in him. D.A. Carson says the gospel centers "upon Jesus Christ and what God has done through him. The essential points of the gospel are Jesus Christ's status as the Son of God, his genuine humanity, his death for our sins, his burial, resurrection, subsequent appearances, and future coming in judgment. That no one is justified but in the gracious work of Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. It is not merely a recital of theological truths and historical events; rather, it relates these truths and events to situations of every individual believer."

But in order to fully understand what the Gospel is, it is important to understand why the Gospel is needed.

Read rest of article here at Monergism.com