"Scripture is of no use to us if we read it merely as a handbook for daily living without recognizing that its principle purpose is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel for the salvation of sinners. All Scripture coalesces in Christ, anticipated in the OT and appearing in the flesh in the NT. In Scripture, God issues commands and threatens judgment for transgressors as well as direction for the lives of his people. Yet the greatest treasure buried in the Scriptures is the good news of the promised Messiah.
Everything in the Bible that tells us what to do is “law”, and everything in the Bible that tells us what God has done in Christ to save us is “gospel.” Much like medieval piety, the emphasis in much Christian teaching today is on what we are to do without adequate grounding in the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. “What would Jesus do?” becomes more important than “What has Jesus done?” The gospel, however, is not just something we needed at conversion so we can spend the rest of our Christian life obsessed with performance; it is something we need every day–the only source of our sanctification as well as our justification. The law guides, but only the gospel gives. We are declared righteous–justified–not by anything that happens within us or done by us, but solely by God’s act of crediting us with Christ’s perfect righteousness through faith alone."
- Michael Horton, Justified: Modern Reformation Essays on the Doctrine of Justification.
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Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Do it again!
H.T. Justin Taylor
G.K. Chesteron:
A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life.
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.
But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.
It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun: and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon.
It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.
It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.
—”The Ethics of Elfland,” chapter 4 in Orthodoxy.
G.K. Chesteron:
A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life.
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.
But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.
It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun: and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon.
It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.
It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.
—”The Ethics of Elfland,” chapter 4 in Orthodoxy.
Friday, August 27, 2010
When are you the most happy?
“I do not know when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross.”
- Charles Spurgeon
- Charles Spurgeon
Theses on how the Christian fulfills the law of liberty, by John Piper
• Our fulfilling of the law of liberty refers to a life of real love for people (Rom 13:8,10 / Gal 5:13-18)
• It is not the ground of our justification, it is a fruit of it.
• It is rendered NOT in our own strength, but by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
• It is rendered by FAITH as we trust Christ. This faith is the faith that justifiies - i.e. it is a gift.
• It is NOT a perfect love in this life. (Rom 7, Phil 3)
• It will become perfect when I die. (Rom 8:30 / Heb 12:23). It will be perfectly fulfilled in the future. But, we will be no more than justified sinners, and nothing more. Our righteousness is imputed. May Jesus' name be praised alone.
• It is sometimes called the "law of liberty", or "the law of Christ".
• It is performed by means of trusting another who's obedience was already perfect.
• It is always pointing away from me and towards Jesus.
"When you pursue love... pursue it as one who is free from the law as the ground of your acceptance with God. Pursue it as the law of liberty!"
Our pursuit of love is an "indirect pursuit". We first go through Christ, not directly to the commandment, to love God and neighbor.
Your God-dependent, Christ-exalting, Faith-based love for people which is based on your justification, is a REAL kind of love, it's really what the law requires.
The goal of the law is Christ for righteousness (Rom 10:4)
• It is not the ground of our justification, it is a fruit of it.
• It is rendered NOT in our own strength, but by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
• It is rendered by FAITH as we trust Christ. This faith is the faith that justifiies - i.e. it is a gift.
• It is NOT a perfect love in this life. (Rom 7, Phil 3)
• It will become perfect when I die. (Rom 8:30 / Heb 12:23). It will be perfectly fulfilled in the future. But, we will be no more than justified sinners, and nothing more. Our righteousness is imputed. May Jesus' name be praised alone.
• It is sometimes called the "law of liberty", or "the law of Christ".
• It is performed by means of trusting another who's obedience was already perfect.
• It is always pointing away from me and towards Jesus.
"When you pursue love... pursue it as one who is free from the law as the ground of your acceptance with God. Pursue it as the law of liberty!"
Our pursuit of love is an "indirect pursuit". We first go through Christ, not directly to the commandment, to love God and neighbor.
Your God-dependent, Christ-exalting, Faith-based love for people which is based on your justification, is a REAL kind of love, it's really what the law requires.
The goal of the law is Christ for righteousness (Rom 10:4)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
all you need is need
“If you want God’s grace, all you need is need, all you need is nothing. But that kind of spiritual humility is hard to muster.”
- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods
- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Why DID we crucify Jesus?
Question: If Jesus is just another great teacher, why did we kill him? William Willimon asks the same question:
“It is odd that we have made even Jesus into such a quivering mass of affirmation and oozing graciousness, considering how frequently, unguardedly, and gleefully Jesus told us that we were sinners. Anyone who thinks that Jesus was into inclusiveness, self-affirmation, and open-minded, heart-happy acceptance has then got to figure out why we responded to him by nailing him on a cross. He got there not for urging us to ‘consider the lilies’ but for calling us ‘whitewashed tombs’ and even worse.”
As someone else has stated, "God made man in his own image, and we've been returning the favor ever since."
“It is odd that we have made even Jesus into such a quivering mass of affirmation and oozing graciousness, considering how frequently, unguardedly, and gleefully Jesus told us that we were sinners. Anyone who thinks that Jesus was into inclusiveness, self-affirmation, and open-minded, heart-happy acceptance has then got to figure out why we responded to him by nailing him on a cross. He got there not for urging us to ‘consider the lilies’ but for calling us ‘whitewashed tombs’ and even worse.”
As someone else has stated, "God made man in his own image, and we've been returning the favor ever since."
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Amaze them with God
by Kevin DeYoung
I beg of you, don’t go after the next generation with mere moralism, either on the right (don’t have sex, go to church, share your faith, stay off drugs) or on the left (recycle, dig a well, feed the homeless, buy a wristband). The gospel is not a message about what we need to do for God, but about what God has done for us. So get them with the good news about who God is and what he has done for us.
Some of us, it seems, are almost scared to tell people about God. Perhaps because we don’t truly know him. Maybe because we prefer living in triviality. Or maybe because we don’t consider knowing God to be very helpful in real life. I have to fight against this unbelief in my own life. If only I would trust God that God is enough to win the hearts and minds of the next generation. It’s his work much more than it is mine or yours. So make him front and center. Don’t preach your doubts as mystery. And don’t reduce God to your own level. If ever people were starving for a God the size of God, surely it is now.
Give them a God who is holy, independent, and unlike us, a God who is good, just, full of wrath and full of mercy. Give them a God who is sovereign, powerful, tender, and true. Give them a God with edges. Give them an undiluted God who makes them feel cherished and safe, and small and uncomfortable too. Give them a God who works all things after the counsel of his will and for the glory of his name. Give them a God whose love is lavish and free. Give them a God worthy of wonder and fear, a God big enough for all our faith, hope, and love.
Do your friends, your church, your family, your children know that God is the center of the universe? Can they see that he is at the center of your life?
Imagine you had a dream of someone sitting on a throne. In your dream a rainbow encircled the throne. Twenty-four men surrounded the throne. Lighting and thunder issued from the throne. Seven lamps stood blazing at the foot of the throne. A sea of glass lay before the throne. Four strange creatures were around the throne, giving thanks to him who sits on the throne. And twenty-four old dudes were falling down before the one who sits on the throne. You wouldn’t have to get Joseph out of prison to figure out the point of this dream. The throne is the figurative and literal center of the vision. The meaning of the dream is God.
This, of course, is no ordinary dream. It is John’s vision from Revelation 4. And it is reality, right now. More substantial and more lasting and more influential than your pain, or fear, or temptation, or opposition, or make-up, or clothes, or boyfriends, or video games, or iPods, or whatever else our culture says should be important to young people is God. What matters now and for eternity is the unceasing worship of him who sits on the throne.
As you try to reach the next generation for Christ, you can amaze them with your cleverness, your humor, or your looks. Or you can amaze them with God. I need a lot of things in my life. There are schedules and details and a long to-do list. I need food and water and shelter. I need sleep. I need more exercise and I need to eat better. But this is my greatest need and yours: to know God, love God, delight in God, and make much of God.
We have an incredible opportunity before us. Most people live weightless, ephemeral lives. We can give them substance instead of style. We can show them a big God to help make sense of their shrinking lives. We can point them to transcendence instead of triviality. We can reach them with something more lasting and more powerful than gimmicks, gadgets, and games. We can reach them with God.
Imagine that. Reaching the next generation for God by showing them more of God. That’s just crazy enough to work.
HT Brian Frahm
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Our Substitute brings peace
“From beginning to end what Jesus Christ has done for you he has done not only as God but as man. He has acted in your place in the whole range of your human life and activity... in all of which he has been fully and completely accepted by the Father, so that in Jesus Christ you are already accepted by him. Therefore, renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.”
- TF Torrance
Thursday, October 15, 2009
James, the Importance of Good Works and Seeking God
Here's a great excerpt from a sermon on James by Kim Riddlebarger:
"While some have thought that the Book of James is nothing more than warmed over Jewish legalism, we have seen how that sentiment could not be further from the truth. James does not contradict Paul when it comes to justification, and when interpreted correctly, James reminds us of the importance of good works, as well as the need for us to be more than mere “hearers” of the word. In fact, James has taught us that it is God who brings us forth (from death to life) through the preached word, then implants that word with in us, thereby ensuring that we hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. James exhorts struggling Christians to draw near to God, because James knows God’s promise that God will draw near to us whenever we seek his face. James reminds that when we humble ourselves, God responds by exalting us. James tells us that whenever we seek God’s grace, God is willing to give us even more grace. James is very clear that from beginning to end, the Christian life is grounded in the grace of God, who has promised to see us through all of the trials of life. And the way in which God sees us through the trials of life is through prayer..."
"While some have thought that the Book of James is nothing more than warmed over Jewish legalism, we have seen how that sentiment could not be further from the truth. James does not contradict Paul when it comes to justification, and when interpreted correctly, James reminds us of the importance of good works, as well as the need for us to be more than mere “hearers” of the word. In fact, James has taught us that it is God who brings us forth (from death to life) through the preached word, then implants that word with in us, thereby ensuring that we hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. James exhorts struggling Christians to draw near to God, because James knows God’s promise that God will draw near to us whenever we seek his face. James reminds that when we humble ourselves, God responds by exalting us. James tells us that whenever we seek God’s grace, God is willing to give us even more grace. James is very clear that from beginning to end, the Christian life is grounded in the grace of God, who has promised to see us through all of the trials of life. And the way in which God sees us through the trials of life is through prayer..."
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Christianity Declining in the West?
"If one is hapless enough to watch television or listen to conservative or religious (or conservative religious) radio, one hears endless rhetorical prefaces that assert the decline of Christianity in the industrialized West (or any of its sub-parts). In almost every case, this narrative of decline and fall is READ MORE
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