Providence Towards Providence

This is a true story of the grace of God at work in the life of a church:
As some of you may have heard, Providence Reformed Church burned extensively last week. This congregation is a group of Christians that split off from the Heritage Reformed Churches for reasons that were not related to doctrine or unbiblical practices on the part of the HNRC. They broke off of this congregation over a ministerial dispute with a pastor.

This week the HNRC offered the chapel at Puritan Seminary for Providence's Sunday services and educational instruction. The very minister that Providence Reformed opposed is now the one that is offering the use of 'his' building until Providence is able to have their building restored.

I see this as a great act of the grace of God in the life of a minister that has been very hurt by this schism. This is also to be seen as the grace of God in the life of a denomination- to offer their facilities to a group that publicly opposes them! May the Lord use this experience to heal this fracture within the body of Christ and call Providence to be reunited with their fellow believers.

Fire does $150,000 damages at Northeast Side church

Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Dave Murray The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Audrey Rusthoven pointed to the back corner of Providence Reformed Church as smoke poured through its windows. She thought of a day in 1960. "I got married in the chapel, right there," she said, fighting back tears. "It just makes you so sad to see this happen." Firefighters were called to the church around 12:30 p.m. Monday to put out a blaze that apparently started in the northeast corner of the basement and caused more than $150,000 in damage, officials said. Fire Chief John VanSolkema said firefighters broke windows along the back and side of the building to help knock down the fire, but he said stained glass windows and the sanctuary suffered only smoke damage. "I thought the guys really did an excellent job in there," he said. No one was in the building when the fire started, and a firefighter was treated at the scene for a minor injury. VanSolkema said the damage appeared to be contained to the basement and a room above the furnace that a parishioner called a "ladies' lounge." Investigators had yet to determine a cause. The church, at 1700 Coit Ave. NE, has been an anchor in the Northeast Side neighborhood since it was built in 1928. It was known as Bethel Reformed until 2000, when the congregation had dwindled to 35 aging members.
The building was passed on to a new congregation shortly afterward, said Irene Hart, who has worshipped with both groups. "I was just there yesterday," she said. "I've been going to church in that building for 50 years. My husband once worked as the janitor, so I know every square inch of it." It's the second large fire the church has endured. A 1994 blaze caused it to undergo a similar amount of repair. The church serves about 25 families, and is between pastors, although it has offered the job to someone, congregation member Elizabeth Rozeboom said. Neighbor Kirstyn Stevens said she came home for lunch, saw smoke and called firefighters. She ran into her house to grab her cat, Peanut, and some prized family photos. "It was pretty scary because I didn't know if anyone was inside the church," she said.

Sermon Quote

Concerning the fruit of Liberal Christianity and especially their view on Christology: "A devout Muslim believes more about Jesus Christ than the average Methodist, Congregationalist, or Presbyterian today".

-Rev. Ray Lanning

A Life Viewed Through Faith

By faith we believe that God is working all things to our good and to his glory. By faith we hold onto the promises of Scripture knowing that this world is not our home, knowing that we are mere pilgrims in this world, that we are seeking a city whose builder and maker is God. By faith we march on with confidence, knowing that which the Bible says is true. We believe by faith, we grow in grace by faith, we draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. By faith we sit at the feet of Christ learning in his school. We seek more of the Spirit's wisdom by faith and we view the world around us by faith. By faith we are saved, and by faith Christ will carry us to glory upon our departure from this world. By faith we anticipate the dead raised, the world judged, and eternity with our God and our King.

"Faith, I may well say, is the mother of all graces; it conceives and brings them forth, and takes care to promote their growth; it contributes life to them at first, and causes them to thrive and flourish afterwards. With faith our meaner services meet with a cheerful and favorable acceptance; and without it, all the most pompous devotions and all the most tedious and painful mortifications that we could ever practice would be of no value in the sight of God."
- Timothy Rogers, 1691

Free Seminary?

I have stated for a long time that I believe that a good Master's of Theology degree would be a great resource for all Christians.

Many Christians today do not have the proper theological instruction to trian their children, discuss with their spouse, or even enough theological knowledge to refute the Jehovah's Witness next door.

Well folks, as the Golden Age draws nigh, more and more theological resources are becoming available for the layman. Covenant Theological Seminary now has all of their lectures available in mp3 format.

Fire up the Ipod and dedicate an hour a day towards advancement in theological knowledge! (If you do not have an Ipod, you can listen on your computer or have someone burn them onto CD.)

A Lenten Reflection

So the proud and esteemed Right Reverend Bishop Prelato says to the lowly Pastor Presbyterio,

"What are you going to give up for God this Lenten season?"

The meek and humble Pastor Presbyterio says to the Right Reverend Bishop Prelato,

"For God, this Lenten season, I am going to give up...Lent."

Labels, Labels, Labels!

Charles Spurgeon is loved by many Baptists. He is by far one of the greatest Baptist preachers of all time. I think that this quote from Pastor Charles Spurgeon is one that would make many modern Baptists cringe. How could their beloved Spurgeon make such a comment? Spurgeon loved Christ and loved the Gospel and in this quote he tears through the labels and cuts at the heart.

"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."
-Charles Spurgeon, Defense of Calvinism

Meditation: Psalm 131

O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.
-Psalm 131, NASB

In the providence of God this Psalm has been on my heart and mind quite a bit lately. This Psalm was assigned for me to preach- but the text was in error and now I have Romans 12.1-2. In the past week I have spent much time meditating on this Psalm as well as hearing it expounded by Seminarian Bill Boekestein of the United Reformed Churches and Rev. Ray Lanning of my church.

The Psalm begins with the great king of Israel in humble submission to the Lord. He speaks of being humbled in areas of thought, word, and deed. David stands before God in humility. This is our calling as Christians as well- we are to be humbled before the Lord.

The second verse of the Psalm speaks of great trust. The weaned child is one who has learned to trust that his mother will provide nourishment in due time. The Christian rests in the arms of Christ knowing that all needs will be supplied; even in great hunger and calling out to God- the Christian can rest assured that the Lord will provide and give care.

The third verse is one that goes from the individual attention of David to the entire people of God. Not only does David rest and trust in the Lord, but he calls on all of Israel to have this great hope. As followers of Jesus Christ, we too, need to call-out for the Church to trust in the Lord. All those that love Christ will love His bride and have her care in mind. Not only should we rest peaceably on the chest of Christ, but we should call the Church to have this peace as well.

The vain desires with which men are carried away, originate in their seeking to be wise and careful above what is necessary. David adds accordingly, my soul over me is quieted, not as expressing the language of self-confidence, but speaking as if his soul lay sweetly and peacefully on his bosom, undisturbed by inordinate desires. He contrasts the wayward and tumultuous agitation which prevails in those of a discontented spirit, with the peace which reigns in the man who abides in the calling of the Lord. From the verse with which the Psalm closes, we see the reason why David asserted his having undertaken nothing in the spirit of a carnal ambition. He calls upon Israel to hope in the Lord, words which must have been abrupt had it not deeply concerned the common safety of the Church, to know that he sat upon the throne of the kingdom by Divine appointment, in which case the faithful would be certain of the bestowment of the promised blessing. Our hope is of the right kind when we cherish humble and sober views of ourselves, and neither wish nor attempt anything without the leading and approbation of God. -John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms, volume 5

Bible Works 7

Bibleworks newest version (7) has arrived, this has been available since the end of January. From the time that I have spent using it already, it is going to prove to be an invaluable resource. This will make studying the original languages much easier as it has many of the texts diagrammed for you and my favorite- all of the parsing is done for you! I saved a lot of time this week in doing work on I Corinthians 12.1-11. What usually requires a desk full of Greek lexicons and other aids can be done with my laptop. Check out how much this program has to offer. If you want to have a deeper understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek (even if you do not know any) than you should pick up a copy of Bibleworks.

Righteous Anger

Christians are to be angry people. We are to be angry at many things:

We are to be first, angry at our own sin. Our sin is that which nailed Christ to the tree of the cross. We are to be angry that after we have been redeemed, we still have difficulties living lives of gratitude and thankfulness. We continue to sin and to struggle with sin all of our days.
Christians are also to be angry at the sin of others. When we see that God is being blasphemed we should not take this lightly. We are not to act in ungodly ways towards others, but this should spur us on to confrontation and to evangelism. Anger should motivate us to defend the rights of Christ.
When we see that the Church remains in a miserable state, refusing God's commands, refusing to walk the way Christ walked, and refusing to be a submissive bride- we are to be angry and we are to call out to God to right these wrongs. We are to encourage teachers in the Church to defend the bride and we are to diligently pray that she is reformed to what Scripture requires of the Church.

The Apostle Paul said to be angry and sin not. This tells us that the Christian is entitled to this emotion. This emotion, when harnessed and used for the glory of God, can be a great tool in the quiver of God. Anger should not make us desire our way or our rights; but it should make us cry out for the rights and ways of God. Righteous anger should make us herald proclaiming that which is godliness.

Friends, when is the last time that you were angry at your sin? Angry at a backslidden church? Angry at a world that despises God and Christ? Be angry and sin not.

"I never work better than when I am inspired by anger; for when I am angry, I can write, pray, and preach well, for then my whole temperament is quickened, my understanding sharpened, and all mundane vexations and temptations depart." -Martin Luther

Meditation:Psalm 36.9

The moment one becomes a Christian their whole life begins to look differently to them. The new Christian sees him or herself in the light of God's Word. That light makes a tension in the life of the believer, a tension, which aides in sanctification. The Christian begins to see his or her sin in the light of the Word, which brings misery. The Christian also sees that he or she is an image bearer of God. The Psalmist said, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

This new light from Scripture, and applied by the Holy Ghost, causes a new new mind to see God's dealings in various disciplines and spheres of life. John Calvin said that when he was converted it was as if the Lord made his mind teachable. This is the truth for all those who truly love God. The mind becomes teachable and the mind begins to see things in the light of God's great standard.

There is an old Puritan way to discuss this light on the mind- a maid is cleaning the master's house because of a great gathering that he is having in the morning. She looks upon her work with joy, but in the morning she and the master are devastated. The home is a dusty mess! Why is the home so dusty? After night the sun rose and shone brightly into the estate. In the light of the sun, the maid was able to see the dust covering everything. This is how it is with humanity as well. Man thinks that he is pretty good, that he keeps his life in good order- but in the Light of The Son, man is revealed to be a filth covered sinner. In thy light shall we see light.

In thy light shall we see light.

Light is the glory of life. Life in the dark is misery, and rather death than life. The Lord alone can give natural, intellectual, and spiritual life; he alone can make life bright and lustrous. In spiritual things the knowledge of God sheds a light on all other subjects. We need no candle to see the sun, we see it by its own radiance, and then see everything else by the same lustre. We never see Jesus by the light of self, but self in the light of Jesus. No inward intelligence of ours leads us to receive the Spirit's light, but the rather, it often helps to quench the sacred beam; purely and only by his own illumination, the Holy Ghost lights up the dark recesses of our heart's ungodliness. Vain are they who look to learning and human wit, one ray from the throne of God is better than the noonday splendour of created wisdom. Lord, give me the sun, and let those who will delight in the wax candles of superstition and the phosphorescence of corrupt philosophy. Faith derives both light and life from God, and hence she neither dies nor darkens.
-Charles Spurgeon, 1885

Your True Love?

How much do you love the Lord Jesus today? How do you count him sweet to your life?

By looking unto Jesus we mean an inward experimental knowing, desiring, hoping, believing, loving, calling on Jesus, and conforming to Jesus. It is not a bare swimming knowledge of Christ; it is not a bare thinking of Christ. As Christ has various excellences in Himself, so has He formed the soul with a power of diverse ways of apprehending, that so we might be capable even as the creatures having their several uses. God has accordingly given us several senses, that so we might enjoy the delights of them all. What the better had we been for pleasant odiferous flowers, or sweet perfumes, if we had not possessed the sense of smell? Or what good would language or music, have done us, if God had not sent us the sense of hearing? Or what delight should we have found in meats or drinks, or sweetest things, if we had been deprived of the sense of tasting? So what pleasure should we have had even in the goodness and perfection of God in Christ, if we had been without the faculty and power of knowing, desiring, hoping, believing, loving, and enjoying? As the senses are to the body, so are these spiritual senses, powers, and affections to the soul the very way by which we must receive sweetness and strength from the Lord Jesus. -Isaac Ambrose, Looking Unto Jesus, 1680

What do theologians leave behind when they die?

If you were a world-famous theologian that was looked upon for wisdom and guidance by all of Europe what would you leave behind when you died?

THE WILL OF JOHN CALVIN.

In the name of the Lord – Amen. I, John Calvin, minister of the word of God in the church of Geneva, finding myself so much oppressed and afflicted with various diseases, that I think the Lord God has determined speedily to remove me out of this world, have ordered to be made and written, my testament, and declaration of my last will, in form and manner following: First, I give thanks to God, that taking compassion on me whom he had created and placed in this world, he not only delivered me by his power out of the deep darkness of idolatry, into which I was plunged, that he might bring me into the light of his gospel, and make me a partaker of the doctrine of salvation, of which I was most unworthy; that with the same goodness and mercy he has graciously and kindly borne with my multiplied transgressions and sins, for which I deserved to be rejected and cut off by him; and has also exercised towards me such great compassion and clemency, that he has condescended to use my labor in preaching and publishing the truth of his gospel. I also testify and declare, that it is my full intention to pass the remainder of my life in the same faith and religion, which he has delivered to me by his gospel; having no other defense or refuge of salvation than his gratuitous adoption, on which alone my safety depends. I also embrace with my whole heart the mercy which he exercises towards me for the sake of Jesus Christ, atoning for my crimes by the merits of his death and passion, that in this way satisfaction may be made for all my transgressions and offenses, and the remembrance of them blotted out. I further testify and declare that, as a suppliant, I humbly implore of him to grant me to be so washed and purified by the blood of that sovereign Redeemer, sited for the sins of the human race, that I may be permitted to stand before his tribunal in the image of the Redeemer himself. I likewise declare, that according to the measure of grace and mercy which God has vouchsafed me, I have diligently made it my endeavor, both in my sermons, writings, and commentaries, purely and uncorruptly to preach his word, and faithfully to interpret his sacred Scriptures. I testify and declare that in all the controversies and disputes, which I have conducted with the enemies of the gospel, I have made use of no craftiness, nor corrupt and sophistical arts, but have been engaged in defending the truth with candor and sincerity.
But, alas! my study, and my zeal, if they deserve the name, have been so remiss and languid, that I confess innumerable things have been wanting in me to discharge the duties of my office in all excellent manner; and unless the infinite bounty of God had been present, all my study would have been vain and transient. I also acknowledge that unless the same goodness had accompanied me, the endowments of mind bestowed upon me by God, must have made me more and more chargeable with guilt and inactivity before his tribunal. And on these grounds I witness and declare, that I hope for no other refuge of salvation than this alone – that since God is a Father of mercy, he will show himself a Father to me, who confess myself a miserable sinner. Further, I will, after my departure out of this life, that my body be committed to the earth in that manner, and with those funeral rites, which are usual in this city and church, until the day of the blessed resurrection shall come. As for the small patrimony which God has bestowed upon me, and which I have determined to dispose of in this will, I appoint Anthony Calvin, my very dearly beloved brother, my heir, but only as a mark of respect. Let him take charge of, and keep as his own, my silver goblet, which was given me as a present by Mr. Varanne: and I desire he will be content with it. As for the residue of my property, I commit it to his care with this request, that he restore it to his children at his death. I bequeath also to the school for boys, ten golden crowns, to be given by my brother and legal heir, and to poor strangers the same sum. Also to Jane, daughter of Charles Costans and of my half-sister by the paternal side, the sum of ten crowns. Furthermore, I wish my heir to give, on his death, to Samuel and John, sons of my said brother, my nephews, out of my estate, each forty crowns, after his death; and to my nieces Ann, Susan, and Dorothy, each thirty golden crowns. To my nephew David, as a proof of his light and trifling conduct, I bequeath only twenty-five golden crowns.

Plucking Eyes and Cutting off Hands

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
-Matthew 5.29-30

Christian reader:
What is your view of sin? Does the thought of remaining sin in your life pester you? Does the thought of offending the Lord Jesus Christ through your continued rebellion cause you to come to Christ in repentance? The fact is that we are to have a holy violence against the sin that causes us to stumble. The sin that makes the unconverted look upon you and me as a hypocrite is in need to be cut off as the Lord Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. Many so-called Christians today live in a state of rebellion against the savior, living as though grace was a license to sin; living as though they are under no obligation to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. What is that image? How did Christ live? Christ lived in perfect obedience to the law of God and we are to live in obedience to the general equity of the law. This is the will of God in Christ. We are to hate our sin, we are to fight against what the Apostle Paul calls the "old man". We are in need of daily repentance, daily conversion to Christ- we are to regard sin with such heinousness that we would be willing to enter heaven dismembered and maimed than to offend our true Love, Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, when was the last time that you repented and brought your sin before God with tears? When is the last time that you meditated upon your sin that Christ bore upon that cross of judgment?

Now to arm such Christians against their special sins, their peculiar sins- whose sins are advantaged against them, either by their constitutions and complexion, or else by their particular calling, or else their outward state and condition, or else by their distinct and peculiar ages, or else by their particular way of breeding and education- is my present work and business; for though the reigning power of this or that special peculiar sin be broken in a man's conversion, yet the remaining life and strength that is still left in those corruptions, will by Satan be improved against the growth, peace, comfort, and assurance of the soul. Satan will strive to enter in at the same door; and by the same Delilah, by which he hath betrayed and wounded the soul, he will do all he can to do the soul a further mischief. Satan will be still a-reminding of the soul of those former sweets, pleasures, profits, delights, and contents that have come in upon the old score, so that it will be a hard thing, even for a godly man, to keep himself from iniquity, from his special or peculiar sin, which the fathers commonly call, though not truly peacetime in daleks, a man's special daring and beloved sin.

Well, Christians, remember this once for all- that sound conversion includes a noble and serious revenge upon that sin which was once a man's beloved, bosom, darling sin: 2 Cor 7.11, "Yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea what zeal, yea what revenge." You see this in Cranmer, who when he had subscribed with his right hand to that which was against his conscience, he afterwards, as a holy revenge, put that right hand into the flames; so Mary Magdalene takes that hair of hers. Of all sins, saith the sound convert I am resolved to be avenged on my once beloved, bosom, darling sins, by which I have most dishonoured God, and wronged my own precious and immortal soul, and by which I have most endangered my everlasting estate.
-Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)

How to Rule Over Your Wife With an Iron Fist

"So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. " -Ephesians 5.28

Any fool can get married.

About half of them can stay married.

Some of those understand the requirements of scripture in how a man is to respond to his wife.

Even the Christian Church there is a huge problem with the proper understanding of how a husband is to respond to his wife in a Biblical manner. Men know that they are the heads over their wives. Often they will be more than willing to wield that title and to use that title to usurp his wife and her person. Often, especially in conservative (Reformed and Evangelical) churches, men will use this biblical title to oppress, enslave, and even harm their wives. Men can and do take this biblical idea and use it as a way to lift up their own sinful desires and to use their wives as one more way to get their own sinful desires fulfilled.

We, as husbands, need to learn how to respond to our wives in a biblical manner. There is more to Ephesians chapter five than husbands ruling and wives submitting. When a husband has a biblical understanding of himself and his own sinful desires he will be much more careful in his headship; making sure that he is desiring God's will and not his own will.

"The real cause of failure, ultimately, in marriage is always self, and the various manifestations of self. Of course that is the cause of trouble everywhere and in every realm. Self and selfishness are the greatest disrupting forces in the world. All the major problems confronting the world, whether you look at the matter from the standpoint of nations and statesmen, or from the stand point of industry and social conditions, or from any other standpoint- all of these troubles ultimately come back to self, 'my rights', to 'what I want', and to 'who is he?' or 'who is she'? Self with its horrid manifestations, always leads to trouble, because of its two 'selves' come into opposition there is bound to be a clash. Self always wants everything for it-self."
-Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life in the Spirit: in Marriage, Home, & Work, 1973

Way to Go! Cornerstone!

It makes a blogger happy when he can report that a Christian organization has held its standards higher than criticism from the outside world. Cornerstone University has fired a Roman Catholic employee for not fitting the University requirements of an evangelical Christian. (Of course my criticism would be why did they hire a Roman Catholic in the first place?)

Way to go Cornerstone University!

Catholic Fired

The Way to Build Wealth and Fame

All people on this earth are storing up treasures for themselves. Some do this by way of cars and toys. Others do this by way of education or in the serving of their family and children. Some people store up treasures in friendships and in entertainment. All men are investing in, valuing, and storing up treasures in something. With the right use, all things mentioned are fine, but Scripture requires us to be investing in, valuing, and storing treasures into eternal things. So many in this world think that things, friends, marriage, beauty, education, and/or love will fulfill them. This is simply a lie.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? -Matthew 6.19-25

"The whole design of God in all His Providence to us is to advance His own glory by drawing off our minds from the things which are seen, and which are temporal, to those that are invisible and eternal, and by all our earthly losses to teach us more the value of His own grace...what is more inexcusable than for a man , for a sinner, to dread poverty and outward meanness, and contempt, and not be afraid of hell, to live as if he were all body, and had no soul to save, to be fond of life, never to think of death, as if this would never perish, and that never come?" -Timothy Rogers (1658-1728)

Reason # 434

Yet another reason we here at PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS consider ourselves to be Reformed rather than Evangelical:

Mega Church: the video game

Ho, Everyone That Thirsteth

The Free Gospel Call
by Ralph Erskine (1685-1752)
from Isa. 55:1-3

"Ho, every thirsty soul, and all
That poor and needy are,
Here's water of salvation's well
For you to come and share.

Here's freedom from sin and woe,
And blessings all divine,
Here streams of love and mercy flow,
Like floods of milk and wine.

Approach the fountain head of bliss,
That's open like the sea,
The buyers that are moneyless,
To poorest beggars free.

Why spend you all your wealth and pains,
For that which is not bread,
And for unsatisfying gains,
On which no soul can feed ?

While vain ye seek with earthly toys,
To fill an empty mind,
You lose immortal solid joys,
And feed upon the wind.

Incline your ear, and come to me;
Hear and your soul shall live:
For mercies sure as well as free,
I bind myself to give."

Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ

I have just completed a book review on Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ (c.1681) by John Bunyan. What a lovely and pastoral book. This book is based on this text in John: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. -John 6.37 AV Bunyan gives comfort as well as exhortation to both believers as well as unbelievers in this book. I would recommend this book to be given to one that is struggling with assurance of faith, or one who has back slidden and feels as though they are unable to come back to Christ. Bunyan shows the truth of the Gospel in bidding sinners- Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ.

"For there had not been a proneness in us to fear ‘casting out’ Christ would not have needed, as it were, to waylay our fear, as he does by this great and strange expression, ‘In no wise;’ ‘And he that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.’...For this word, ‘in no wise’, cuts the throat of all objections; and it was dropped by the Lord Jesus with that very purpose and to help the faith that is mixed with unbelief." (p149-150).

"The person speaking in the text (John 6.37) is he alone by whom poor sinners have entrance to and acceptance with the Father, because of the glory of his righteousness, by and in which he presents them amiable and spotless in his sight. Neither is there any way besides him so to come to the Father: ‘I am the way,’ he says, ‘the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me’ (John 14.6). All other ways to God are dead and damnable ; the destroying cherubim stand with flaming swords, turning every way to keep all others from his presence (Gen. 3.24). I say, all others but them that come by him. ‘I am the door; by me,’ he says, ‘if any man enter in, he shall be saved’ (John 10.9)". (p69-70)

"Sinner do you hear? You have it freely. Let him take the water of life freely. I will give him of the fountain of life freely. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both’ (Luke 7.42). Freely, without money and without price. ‘Ho! Everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come buy wine and buy milk without money and without price’ (Is.55.1). Sinner, are you thirsty? Are you weary? Are you willing? Come then and regard not your stuff; for all the good that is in Christ is offered to the coming sinner, without money and without price. He has life to give away to such as want it, and that has not a penny to purchase it; and he will give it freely. O what a blessed condition is the coming sinner in!". (p196)

Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.

I would like to finish the impromptu series on preaching with a quote. I believe that others are able to answer questions better than me, so I will leave this to a professional on the topic of preaching. If any are interested in further study on the topic of preaching and what preaching looks like in the scriptures, I would recommend, Feed My Sheep edited by Don Kistler. The need is so great for preaching to be founded in the scriptures, and the need is even greater for the people who are called by the name of God to reclaim the book of the Bible and to devour it and to fall in love with it. Preaching is the means by which men and women of God are able to eat the Words of the Lord.

"Perhaps that is why [expository preaching] is so rare. Only those will undertake it who are prepared to follow the example of the Apostles and say, " It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God and serve tables...We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the Ministry of the Word (Acts 6.2,4). The systematic preaching of the Word is impossible without the systematic study of it. It will not be enough to skim through a few verses in daily Bible reading, or only study a passage when we have to preach from it. No. We must daily soak ourselves in the Scriptures. We must not just study, as through a microscope, the linguistic minutiae of a few verses, but take out our telescope and scan the wide expanses of God's Word, assimilating its grand theme of Divine sovereignty in the redemption of mankind. "It is blessed," wrote CH Spurgeon, "to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your spirit is flavored with the words of the Lord, so that your blood is Bibline and the very essence of the Bible flows from you.'"

John RW Stott, The Preacher's Portrait, pp30-31

The Apostle Paul's View of Preaching

I find it to be expedient in the light of the last post (see post below) to allow the Apostle Paul, the New Testament theologian, to give his insights on preaching and the necessity of preaching well. Paul's view was that people would not BE SAVED without preaching (from a sent preacher)! If this is the case, and I believe that it is, then we should, as preachers and hearers of preachers, be careful to know what scripture says about preaching:

Romans 10.13-15

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

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

* There were a variety of questions in the last post that I will address this Sabbath evening.

Follow That Grasshopper...He KNOWS Something!

There are very few preachers who preach good biblical sermons today. The Christian minister should preach sermons that are exegetical in nature and give the congregation an understanding of what the text means, its historical context, as well as ways in which to apply the sermon to living out the Christian life. This is the pattern that is found within scripture- the preachers of scripture open the law and gospel and give the hearers its meaning as well as its application.

Here are a few unbiblical ways in which preachers preach today. We discussed these in Homiletics and they are quite fun (although they should be avoided):
Hobby horse sermons:
The minister relates every sermon to their favorite secondary or tertiary doctrine. (Examples: Satan, the Millennium, the Nation of Israel, Evangelism, etc.)
Rocket sermons:
This type of sermon is begun from the text but quickly launches into space and goes off on tangents that no-one can follow.
Heart on the sleeve sermons:
The sermon is preached with such great emotion that the hearers are moved to great emotional highs or lows....but they do not know what the text was about.
Sky scraper sermons:
Patchwork quilt of entertainment and other things. They are one story piled on top of another. The text is never really developed but the stories and illustrations are piled high as the sky.
Grasshopper sermons:
A preacher takes a text and he finds a theme and then hops all through the bible making the listener try to follow in their Bibles. It is a string of texts that are connected with a few sentences. (A child with a concordance can preach like this).
Sherlock Holmes sermons:
The preacher wows everyone with the depths and the mystery of the Bible but never really tells you anything about what the text means.

I think that all preachers tend to lean in one way or another to one of these errors. As a Calvinist I have heard some of these from time to time. Although I believe in the doctrines of grace whole-heartedly (and would die defending them) I do not think that every page of the Bible is talking about unconditional election!

Hypocrites and other fake Christians

Hypocrisy is when one claims to hold a belief that they do not really possess. The term hypocrite was used in Old French as a play-actor; someone pretending to be something that they were not. Hypocrisy has its roots in Greek and was someone who wore a mask; someone pretending to be someone that they were not or someone that had "two faces" concerning a belief.

Many non-Christians see the hypocrites in the church and they are rightly disgusted. Hypocrites make up a number of the members of the church; but these people are not genuine professors of religion, merely frauds playing the role of the Christian. The hypocrites are what the Bible calls tares and Jesus is quite content with allowing the tares to be in the Church. These hypocrites have always been a part of genuine religion, and they will remain a part of genuine religion until the day of judgment when the wheat is separated from the tares. Jesus speaks of this in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew:

Another parable put he [Jesus] forth unto them [his disciples], saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

What does this all mean for you and for me? How does this apply to our lives?
-If you are a genuine Christian, someone who has professed faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice for sins and are being renewed by the power of the Holy Ghost, then you should strive to be more and more conformed to the image of Christ. We should never allow the unbeliever to blaspheme Christ and his bride on account of our carelessness in sanctification.
-If you are not a Christian, then it is my Christian duty to warn you that your fate is the same fate of those tares. Hypocrisy and unbelief will be eternal bed-fellows in the fires of hell. Hypocrite: flee to Christ for redemption. Unbeliever: flee to Christ for redemption.

"Tell me, you vain professor [of Christianity], when did you shed a tear for the deadness, hardness, unbelief, or earthliness of your heart? Do you think that such an easy religion can save you? If so, we may invert Christ's words and say, 'Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to life.'" -JOHN FLAVEL

"Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell."
-THOMAS WATSON

Profiting from the Word

Earlier this month I gave the English Puritan, Richard Greenham's suggestions on how to read the Scriptures with diligence. (See: 4 Jan. 2006) I would like to give another Puritan, Thomas Boston (1676-1732) on how to profit from the reading of the scriptures. Thomas Boston was a Scottish Presbyterian and he was best known for his aid in the Marrow Controversy. Boston gives nine ways to improve on the reading of the scriptures:

1. Follow a regular plan in reading of them, that you may be acquainted with the whole; and make this reading a part of your private devotions. Not that you should confine yourselves only to a set plan, so as never to read by choice, but ordinarily this tends most to edification. Some parts of the Bible are more difficult, some may seem very barren for an ordinary reader; but if you would look on it all as God's word, not to be scorned, and read it with faith and reverence, no doubt you would find advantage.

2. Set a special mark, however you find convenient, on those passages you read, which you find most suitable to your case, condition, or temptations; or such as you have found to move your hearts more than other passages. And it will be profitable often to review these.

3. Compare one Scripture with another, the more obscure with that which is more plain, 2 Pet. 1:20. This is an excellent means to find out the sense of the Scriptures; and to this good use serve the marginal notes on Bibles. And keep Christ in your eye, for to him the scriptures of the Old Testament look (in its genealogies, types, and sacrifices), as well as those of the New.

4. Read with a holy attention, arising from the consideration of the majesty of God, and the reverence due to him. This must be done with attention, first, to the words; second, to the sense; and, third, to the divine authority of the Scripture, and the obligation it lays on the conscience for obedience, 1 Thess. 2:13, "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."

5. Let your main purpose in reading the Scriptures be practice, and not bare knowledge, James 1:22, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Read that you may learn and do, and that without any limitation or distinction, but that whatever you see God requires, you may study to practice.

6. Beg of God and look to him for his Spirit. For it is the Spirit that inspired it, that it must be savingly understood by, 1 Cor 2:11, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." And therefore before you read, it is highly reasonable you beg a blessing on what you are to read.

7. Beware of a worldly, fleshly mind: for fleshly sins blind the mind from the things of God; and the worldly heart cannot favour them. In an eclipse of the moon, the earth comes between the sun and the moon, and so keeps the light of the sun from it. So the world, in the heart, coming between you and the light of the word, keeps its divine light from you.

8. Labour to be disciplined toward godliness, and to observe your spiritual circumstances. For a disciplined attitude helps mightily to understand the scriptures. Such a Christian will find his circumstances in the word, and the word will give light to his circumstances, and his circumstances light into the word.

9. Whatever you learn from the word, labour to put it into practice. For to him that has, shall be given. No wonder those people get little insight into the Bible, who make no effort to practice what they know. But while the stream runs into a holy life, the fountain will be the freer.

A Plea for Justice

If feminism was defined as women having equal worth before a Triune God as well as equal worth before humanity than I can accept that as a definition. Feminism has gone well beyond its original intentions. Feminism was not intended to give women an authority over their own body that God does not even grant under his law.

In what the evangelical world calls "Sanctity of Life Sunday" may we pray that the Lord would serve justice as an estimated 40 million children have been slaughtered from the womb. (This is over 6 times the numbers of people murdered in the Holocaust.)


"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
-Elizabeth Cady Stanton


"The woman is awfully guilty who commits abortion...It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death."
-Susan B. Anthony

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
-Psalm 139.13-17 (NASB)

Whale Takes Presbyterian Tour of London

A tour of the Westminster Assembly's place of work is something that many Reformed Christians attempt to do in their life. The last time that a whale took this historic tour was in 1913.

Whale On the Thames

Calling the Sabbath A Delight

If one used one out of seven days to focus whole-heartedly on their relationship with Jesus Christ they would benefit greatly. Many Christians want to deny the Sabbath and say that it is rooted in the Mosaic law. This is untrue. The Sabbath day is a creation ordinance. Man was created to work six days and to spend a whole day in relationship with his maker. This is what Adam and Eve did, and this is what we are to do as well. The Sabbath is a perpetual obligation to the Christian-- Paul said in Hebrews that "there remains therefore a Sabbath for the Christian". We, as followers of Christ are in Sabbath in Christ, we look forward to our eternal Sabbath in glory, and we are to call the Sabbath a delight while here on earth being a testimony to the unbelieving world around us.

Q. 1. In what sense is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A. As it is dedicated by God, for man's sake and use that he may keep it holy to God.
Q. 2. In what manner should he keep it holy to God?
A. By a holy resting, and by holy exercises.
Q. 3. What should we rest from on the Sabbath?
A. Even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; or, which is the same thing, from all servile work, Neh. 13:15-23.

Q. 17. Is not the Sabbath a festival, or feast day; and consequently may not our conversation on it be cheerful and diverting?
A. It is, indeed, properly a feast day, but of a spiritual, not of a carnal nature: we may refresh our bodies moderately, but not sumptuously; and our conversation ought to turn wholly upon spiritual and heavenly subjects, or such as have that tendency, after the example of our Lord, Luke 14:1-25.
Q. 18. What should be the principal end of our six days' labour?
A. That it be so managed as in no way to discompose or unfit us for a holy resting on the Sabbath, or meeting with God on his own day.
Q. 19. What is a holy resting?
A. Not only an abstaining from our own work, or labour, but an entering by faith (in the use of appointed means,) into the presence and enjoyment of God in Christ, as the only rest of our souls, Heb. 4:3; that having no work of our own to mind or do, we may be wholly taken up with the works of God.
Q. 20. Why called a holy resting?
A. Because we should rest from worldly labour, in order to be employed in the holy exercises, which the Lord requires on this day; otherwise, as to bare cessation, our cattle rest from outward labour as well as we.
Q. 21. What are the holy EXERCISES in which we ought to be employed on the Lord's day?
A. In the public and private exercises of God's worship.
Q. 22. What are the public exercises of God's worship in which we should be employed?
A. Hearing the word preached, Rom. 10:17; joining in public prayers and praises, Luke 24:53; and partaking of the sacraments, Acts 20:7.
Q. 23. What is included under the private exercises of God's worship?
A. Family and secret duties.
Q. 24. What are the duties incumbent on us in a family capacity on the Lord's day?
A. Family worship, and family catechising, together with Christian conference, as there is occasion, Lev. 23:3. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your DWELLINGS, or private families; and therefore God is to he worshipped in them on that day.
Q. 25. What is family worship?
A. It is the daily joining of all that are united in a domestic relation, or who are dwelling together in the same house and family, in singing God's praises, Acts 2:47 reading his word, Deut. 6:7, and praying to him, Jer. 10:25.
Q. 26. How do you prove family worship to be a duty daily incumbent upon those who have families?
A. From scripture precept, and from scripture example.
Q. 27. How is family worship evinced from scripture precept?
A. Besides that this commandment enjoins every master of a family to sanctify the Sabbath within his gates, that is, to worship God in his family; there are also other scriptures, inculcating the same thing, by necessary consequence; such as, Eph. 6:18 -- "Praying always, with ALL prayer and supplication;" 1 Tim. 2:8 -- "I will therefore that men pray EVERY WHERE. "If with all prayer, then surely with family prayer; if EVERY WHERE, then certainly in our families.
Q. 28. What are the examples of family worship recorded in scripture for our imitation?
A. Among others, there are the examples of Abraham, Gen. 18:19; of Joshua, chap. 24:15 -- "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord;" of David, 2 Sam. 6:20; or Cornelius, Acts 10:2; and especially the example of our blessed Lord, whom we find singing psalms, Matt. 26:30, and praying with his disciples, who were his family, Luke 9:18.
Q. 29. What should be the subject matter of family catechising?
A. What they have been hearing through the day, together with the principles of our religion, as laid out in the Shorter Catechism, with the helps that are published upon the same, which masters of families ought to use for their assistance in this work.
Q. 30. What are the proper seasons of Christian conference on the Sabbath?
A. At meals, and in the interval of duties: our speech should he always, but especially on the Lord's day, "seasoned with salt," Col. 4:6.
Q. 31. What are the secret duties in which we ought to he exercised on the Lord's day?
A. Secret prayer, reading the scriptures, and other soul-edifying books, meditation upon divine subjects, and self-examination.
Q. 32. With what frame and disposition of soul should we engage in the public and private exercises of God's worship?
A. With a spiritual frame and disposition, Rev. 1:10 -- "I was IN THE SPIRIT on the Lord's day."
Q. 33. What is it to be in the Spirit on the Lord's day?
A. It is not only to have the actual inhabitation of the Spirit, which is the privilege of believers "every day," Ezek. 36:27; but to have the influences and operations of the Spirit "more liberally let out," Luke 4:31, 32, and his graces in "more lively exercise," than at other times, Acts 2:41.
Q. 34. What moral argument have we from the ceremonial law, for offering a greater plenty of spiritual sacrifices to God on the Sabbath, than upon other days?
A. The daily sacrifice, or continual burnt offering, was to be doubled on the Sabbath, Num. 28:9; intimating, that they were bound to double their devotions on that day, which was consecrated to God to be spent in his service.
Q. 35. How much of the Sabbath is to be spent in the public and private exercises of God's worship?
A. The WHOLE of it, from the ordinary time of rising on other days, to the ordinary time of going to rest; "except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy."
-From James Fisher's Catechism (on the fourth commandment)

Virtue Apart From My Own

Saint Augustine (354-430AD) is one of the greatest Christian thinkers of all time. He fought the fight for the true understanding of justification against the heretic, Pelagius. If Pelagius would have won the justification controversy the Christian understanding would be that man's will is free to choose God and with right training one can become a Christian. Augustine argued that man's will is in bondage to sin because of the fall in Adam and in order for man to be converted to Christ, his heart would have to be changed by Christ.

Augustine understood what has come to be known as irresistible grace. Augustine as a young man hated God and he did all he could to run away from the need that God had placed on his heart. Augustine was attempting to run from his own sinful heart. This is seen in the following Confession. While meditating upon this section from his writings, any converted sinner has to see himself in these words. Do you see yourself?

And what is there in me that could be hidden from thee, Lord, to whose eyes the abysses of man's conscience are naked, even if I were unwilling to confess it to thee? In doing so I would only hide thee from myself, not myself from thee. But now that my groaning is witness to the fact that I am dissatisfied with myself, thou shinest forth and satisfiest.

Thou art beloved and desired; so that I blush for myself, and renounce myself and choose thee, for I can neither please thee nor myself except in thee. To thee, then, O Lord, I am laid bare, whatever I am, and I have already said with what profit I may confess to thee. I do not do it with words and sounds of the flesh but with the words of the soul, and with the sound of my thoughts, which thy ear knows. For when I am wicked, to confess to thee means nothing less than to be dissatisfied with myself; but when I am truly devout, it means nothing less than not to attribute my virtue to myself; because thou, O Lord, blessest the righteous, but first thou justifiest him while he is yet ungodly.

My confession therefore, O my God, is made unto thee silently in thy sight--and yet not silently. As far as sound is concerned, it is silent. But in strong affection it cries aloud. For neither do I give voice to something that sounds right to men, which thou hast not heard from me before, nor dost thou hear anything of the kind from me which thou didst not first say to me.

-Saint Augustine, Confessions, 10.2

Purpose Statement

From the City of Destruction to the Celestial City

The Interpreter explains to Christian about his pilgrimage:

"The man whose picture this is, is one of a thousand: he can beget children, (1 Cor. 4:15), travail in birth with children, (Gal. 4:19), and nurse them himself when they are born. And whereas thou seest him with his eyes lift up to heaven, the best of books in his hand, and the law of truth writ on his lips: it is to show thee, that his work is to know, and unfold dark things to sinners; even as also thou seest him stand as if he pleaded with men. And whereas thou seest the world as cast behind him, and that a crown hangs over his head; that is to show thee, that slighting and despising the things that are present, for the love that he hath to his Master's service, he is sure in the world that comes next, to have glory for his reward. Now, said the Interpreter, I have showed thee this picture first, because the man whose picture this is, is the only man whom the Lord of the place whither thou art going hath authorized to be thy guide in all difficult places thou mayest meet with in the way: wherefore take good heed to what I have showed thee, and bear well in thy mind what thou hast seen, lest in thy journey thou meet with some that pretend to lead thee right, but their way goes down to death."

- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress (part I, stage II)

The Christian Directory

My dear and loving wife Lydia was reading a great paper on the ethics behind Christian marriage. The article dealt especially with the ways in which two people, who are both tainted by sin, are to live in harmonious unity.

The article was one that she printed, but had never seen the original source called "The Christian Directory". The book was a ten year enterprise by the Pastor Richard Baxter (1615-1691). Richard Baxter was a Puritan minister of great ability and love for the people to whom he ministered. He had some errors that were not excusable (he was known to be a neonomian in his view of justification), but we are to follow him as he follows Christ.

The Directory had come to be known as a great source of practical counsel and application for many Christians around England and even in the Colonies at that time. When a Christian had a question on how to apply a doctrine or how to behave in a certain moral situation they would look to the Directory for biblical counsel. It is much like having a counselor on hand at all times to walk you through difficulties of life and faith.

The Directory was written at the request of the Bishop Hall from the Church of England. Hall knew that this was something that Protestantism needed and knew of no other man as pastoral and practical as Richard Baxter.

There had been other directories written, but this one takes a special place as being thorough and complete. (More complete than Perkins or Ames 'Cases of Conscience' that were predecessors in this type of counseling manual.) In this time period there were also directories written by the Jesuits (a religious and militant order of priests that were set up to destroy the Reformed faith) and as the non-Protestant manual popularity grew, the need for a Reformed and evangelical directory grew alongside of it.

This is the result of this work.

"It is possible to see clearly the difference between the 'how-to' books of today's evangelicals and the 'how-to' teaching of the Directory, which is so much wiser and digs so much deeper. The sheer brilliance of Baxter's achievements in crystallizing a proper form for the life of faith, at a high level of intelligent, Bible-based, theologically-integrated wisdom, and with unfailing compressed clarity, is dazzling to the mind." - J.I. Packer

The Mercy of God Applied to Sinners

Psalm 130, A Song of degrees.

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Jehovah, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for Jehovah, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in Jehovah: for with Jehovah there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

When thinking on the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sin Psalm 130 immediately comes to mind for many Christians. This Psalm teaches us numerous things about God and the nature of the salvation that he bestows upon the elect. This Psalm is one that is dripping with God's goodness and his mercy. Here are a few things that can be gleaned from this text:
1. God is one who is a hearing God. He hears our cries and our voice.
2. No one would be saved if God looked upon his or her iniquity.
3. God saves his people so that they may fear him.
4. The godly wait for God's answers with diligence and with the use of means.
5. He will redeem and it will be a plenteous redemption!
6. He will save his church from all sin.

"It is to be noticed that the foundation upon which he would have the hope of all the godly to rest is the mercy of God, the source from which redemption springs. In the first clause he reminds them that although they bring with them no worth or merits of their own, it ought to suffice them that God is merciful. This mutual relation between the faith of the Church and the free goodness of God is to be attentively marked, to the end we may know that all those who, depending upon their own merits, persuade themselves that God will be their rewarder, have not their hope regulated according to the rule of Scripture. From this mercy, as from a fountain, the Prophet derives redemption; for there is no other cause which moves God to manifest himself as the redeemer of his people but his mercy."

-John Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 130

Book recommendation:
The Forgiveness of Sin: A Practical Exposition of Psalm 130
by Dr John Owen.

A Trinity of Filth

Three Denominations: Three Serious Problems.

Episcopal Church (ECUSA): Still angry about a gay bishop from 2003. What is the big deal about a gay bishop...He was a gay priest for years? Unfaithful priests are okay...But not bishops?

Presbyterian Church (USA): A clause which would allow for ministers of the Gospel to not have "chastity and fidelity" standards? Okay..Ministers do not have to be loyal to their wife (or husband in the PC(USA)...Based on "conscience reasons"? Disgusting.

American Baptist Churches (USA): Gay churches are angry because as Baptists they are not held to any creed or standard. Hm. They are right...This is the problem with non-confessional congregationalism.

Come Lord Jesus in judgment and reform! Make your bride holy, pure, and spotless.

Mainline Mess

Man's Days Are As the Grass

The idea of taking advantage of time is something that is lost in today's culture and even in modern Christianity. The idea of youth and even the worship of youth is something that fosters immaturity of faith as well as practice. There was a time in Christian thought (and I suppose that many still think within these categories) when maturity and proper use of one's time was important to one's relationship with Christ.

It is recorded in the private diary of Rev. George Whitfield, the powerful 18th century revival preacher, that he lamented the fact that he wasted a half hour of time in a day. This was seen as a great sin. The seriousness of life, the preciousness of time, and the fact that man pines and dies in a few short years was on his heart and mind. Jonathan Edwards uses this idea of time wasted to call the converted and unconverted alike to take into account the fact that their time is pining away and that soon they will have to give account for how well they used this great gift from our God and Father in Heaven:

You are one to whom God has committed that precious talent. You have had a great deal of time. You have had a great deal of time that has past. And time is worth much to you as to others whether you are so sensible of the worth of it or no. You are the one that has an eternity before you. When God created you and gave you a reasonable soul, He made you for an eternity; and he gave you time here in order to prepare for eternity. And your future eternity depends on the improvement of time. Consider therefore what you have done with your past time. You are now beginning your time; but a great deal of your time is past and gone, and all the wit and power of the universe can't recover it. How have you spent it? Let your own conscious make your answer. There are many of you that may well conclude that half you time is gone. If you should to live to the ordinary age of man, your glass is more than half run, and perhaps there may be but few sands remaining; your sun is past the meridian, and perhaps just a setting, or going into an everlasting eclipse. Consider, therefore, for what account you can give of your improvement of your past time. How have you let the precious golden sands of your glass run?

Discussion Points:
-How have you used this gift of time to God's glory?
-Are you seeking maturity of faith, or are you content with what little experience of God you have?
-What areas of your life should be purged so that you have more time to develop your spiritual life?
-What are some scripture passages that can encourage us to use time properly?

e-Reformers

PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS has become all the rage amongst the Roman Catholic Church. I think that when the Gospel is presented with clarity and the truths of the Protestant Reformation are show to be experiential as well as scholastic- people listen!


An Examination of Roman Catholicism is worth the read for anyone who is working through issues regarding the Catholic Church.

(Heidelberg Catechism) Question 80. What difference is there between the Lord's supper and the popish mass?

Answer: The Lord's supper testifies to us, that we have a full pardon of all sin by the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself has once accomplished on the cross; and, that we by the Holy Ghost are ingrafted into Christ, who, according to his human nature is now not on earth, but in heaven, at the right hand of God his Father, and will there be worshipped by us. But the mass teaches, that the living and dead have not the pardon of sins through the sufferings of Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by the priests; and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of bread and wine, and therefore is to be worshipped in them; so that the mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry.

Teens Living Out the Glory of God

"The goal of all of this is to root our children's identity in the existence and glory of God. We want them to understand that they were made by him, that they belong to him, and that they are called to live for his glory. We are called by God to do theology, that is, to live our lives with a moment-by-moment consciousness of God. He is the reality that gives sense and shape to every other fact we discuss and consider".

-Paul Tripp (p 55)

Reading the Word with Profit

Richard Greenham was an English Puritan who ministered in Dry Dayton, England from 1570-1590. He was known to have a fantastic ministry in which he aided in the training of many young Puritan ministers. He was also known for his extensive counseling ministry. In his book titled, A Profitable Treatise For the Reading and Understanding of the Scriptures, he gives eight states of person with which we are to approach the scriptures.

We are to read with:

1. Diligence. If you read diligently it will make your rough places plain. Most of the time when we have difficulty with scripture it is because we do not read it with diligence.
2. Wisdom. Do not spend the most amount of time in the difficult passages of Scripture. Do not be in difficult parts without balancing with easier passages. That is a matter in wisdom. You need a whole Bible to make a whole Christian. We are to use wisdom in the manner of the use of time. Do not ever let a day go by without reading the scriptures.
3. Proper Preparation. You must approach the bible with a reverential fear. We are to lay up God's word in our heart. We are to approach in preparation desiring to learn of God. Do not come to your Bible without a heart for sitting at the master's feet.
4. Meditation. We can read, but without meditation we will not receive depth. The difference between reading and mediation is the difference between drifting and rowing in a boat. Do we want to drift through life, or do we want to row towards a goal? Meditation makes the Scriptures to be our own.
5. Conference. We are to get together for spiritual conversation. We are to speak with others about that which we are reading and experiencing in the Christian life. This is for the sake of iron sharpening iron. Conference is to be done with ministers as well as lay people.
6. Faith. Without faith the reading of Scripture is an empty practice. We are to mingle all of our reading with Faith as Paul tells us to do.
7. Practice. We are not to just hear a sermon or the reading of Scripture, we are to live that which we read.
8. Prayer. Prayer is indispensable. We are to pray before, during, and after reading. We are to pray for more understanding and for light to discern. All reading is to be mingled with prayer. We are to have a conversation with God as we read his written Word.

"To neglect the reading of the Word is to neglect the Lord. That is a very dread thing."

Of Filthy Brides and Bloody Grooms

A new catechism on the Trinity is the focus of the new addition of Credenda Agenda. The focused catechism was for the purpose of "filling gaps" of older catechisms. It seems that Wilson does not find the historical catechisms to suffice on this head of doctrine. His catechism is poetic as well as in a biblical form called iambic pentameter and chiasm. (I will not explain, but may do a post on this later). Below is a section that I have found to be an appropriate meditation on the relationship of Christ to the Church. It is a marvelous piece to meditate upon. How could the dirtied bride enter the Son's wedding?
Christ killed her sin upon His bloody cross;
Like Father and the Spirit, triune life
is death and gift, a dance of sacrifice.

Where did the Son take her? What does she do?
United to His wife, He raised her from
the dead, ascended into heaven, and joined
the dance, the fellowship of Trinity.

How can the bride not fall again, like in the Garden or the desert?
Unlike Mosaic saints, who strained without
a will, God poured the Spirit in His Church,
empowering us for loyalty and love.

What is the purpose of this marriage of Son and Church?
This new Adam and Eve pick up the work
abandoned by the first to raise a godly
seed, expand the feast, and build a garden city.

How does God send us from the wedding?
He loads our arms with water, wine, and bread
and sends us cheering down the highway,
to fill the wedding hall with guests.

An Old Year's Night Meditation

The Puritans were known to take seasons as times for meditation on life and one's relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The turning of a new calendar year, to the Puritans, meant an opportunity to know Christ afresh and to grow more in love with Him. The book of Psalms was a favorite place from which to glean meditation on God's faithfulness and the weakness of our own faith and loyalty to Christ. It is important to follow this tradition as we welcome in the year 2006. May 2006 be a testimony of the faithfulness and goodness of Christ to His Church. Plead on the promise that Christ will answer for those that knock and will be found by those that seek. PSALM 90 (Selections from the United Presbyterian Psalter, 1912)

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place Through all the ages of our race; Before the mountains had their birth, Or ever Thou hast formed the earth, From everlasting Thou art God, To everlasting our abode.
At Thy command man fades and dies And new born generations rise; A thousand years are passed away, And all to Thee are but a day; Yea, like the watches of the night, With Thee the ages wing their flight.
Man soon yields up his fleeting breath Before the swelling tide of death; Like transient sleep his seasons pass, His life is like the tender grass, Luxuriant 'neath the morning sun, And withered ere the day is done.
Man in Thy anger is consumed, And unto grief and sorrow doomed; Before Thy clear and searching sight Our secret sins are brought to light; Beneath Thy wrath we pine and die, Our life expiring like a sigh.
For threescore years and ten we wait, Or fourscore years if strength be great; But grief and toil attend life's day, And soon our spirits fly away; O who with true and rev'rent thought Can fear Thy anger as he ought?

Discussion Points:
-If you are a Christian, have you used the means of grace sufficiently in the year 2005?
-If you remain without Christ-do you know that your life may expire this coming year? Are you prepared to stand before Christ's judgment seat?
-What are your goals for a more experiential relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in 2006?

Youth Ministry For Adults

As a student of divinity, I have opinions on almost all topics that deal with religion and theology. As any good theologian and aspiring theologian- the study of God and His Word is taken very seriously in my home.

If you are a veteran of this weblog, you know that the issue of youth ministry comes up often. Youth ministry is something that I take with a grain of salt and feel strongly that it does little lasting good to those that are involved. For the most part I see many of these programs doing nothing more than producing immature Christian adults (which is often evidenced by the number of Christian college students who use the NIV Student Bible.) I am also under the impression that "youth ministers" are often annoying 20 year olds with their roots bleached blond(e) and their noses pierced. I find this to be of little use in the kingdom of God, even though this is the norm for those doing ministry.

(Harsh? Maybe...True? Definitely.)

I have often thought that youth ministry needed to be reformed so that it could be done in the context of the covenant of grace. We know that the promise of the covenant is for us as well as for our children; and in some way genuine ministry to the youth of the church needs to be a reflection of that fact. Mark DeVries, who is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, has written a fantastic book that made me say out loud (on numerous occasions) "that is exactly what I have been trying to say!"

Pastor DeVries uses his 25 years of experience with youth and explains the "crisis" that this discipline is currently in, as well as gives his analysis of what it is going to take to reverse the damage that we are doing to our covenant children through current youth ministry. This book is worth the time for anyone that is interested in what could become the new model for youth ministry. He challenges those that are in the church to reach out to the youth and to build the relationships that are needed to aid in the maintaining of a living and active faith in Jesus Christ.

"Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rule. And family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove ineffectual. If these are duly maintained, all the means of grace will be likely to prosper and be successful."
-Jonathan Edwards

Would it kill ya to try it?

Our culture is one that is rebellious and has little respect for morality or of the law (which is a reflection of a people's morality). In the covenant that God made with Noah, he established the punishment of wicked crime would be punishable by death.
This was reaffirmed with Moses and the death penalty was expanded beyond the shedding of human blood.
The New Testament affirms this penalty for crimes in the writings of Paul. The magistrate was equipped with the sword for the punishing of evil doers.

In Puritan New England many crimes were to be punished by either death or banishment. (Banishment would lead to death). This was to ensure that the society would be one that outwardly reflects the morality of Christ- while praying that inwardly they would have hearts converted to Christ. John Cotton gives us look into the early civil practices as well as the crimes and punishments of this early era of American history. We may not be a Christian nation, the framers of our constitution may have been humanists (or HUME-anists); but Puritan New England was different. This was a time when the number one printed book was the Bay Booke of Psalmes and the people loved the Lord Jesus Christ. What did their laws look like?

Of Crimes. And first, of such as deserve capital punishment, or cutting off from a man's people, whether by death or banishment.

1. FIRST, blasphemy, which is a cursing of God by atheism, or the like, to be punished with death.
2. Idolatry to be punished with death.
3. Witchcraft, which is fellowship by covenant with a familiar spirit, to be punished with death.
4. Consulters with witches not to be tolerated, but either to be cut off by death or banishment.
5. Heresy, which is the maintenance of some wicked errors, overthrowing the foundation of the Christian religion; which obstinacy, if it be joined with endeavour to seduce others thereunto, to be punished with death; because such an heretick, no less than an idolater, seeketh to thrust the souls of men from the Lord their God.
6. To worship God in a molten or graven image, to be punished with death.
7. Such members of the church, as do wilfully reject to walk, after due admonition and conviction, in the churches' establishment, and their christian admonition and censures, shall be cut off by banishment.
8. Whosoever shall revile the religion and worship of God, and the government of the church, as it is now established, to be cut off by banishment. [I] Cor. 5:5.
9. Wilful perjury, whether before the judgment seat or in private conference, to be punished with death.
10. Rash perjury, whether in public or in private, to be punished with banishment. Just is it, that such a man's name should be cut off from his people who profanes so grosly the name of God before his people.
11. Profaning of the Lord's day, in a careless and scornful neglect or contempt thereof, to be punished with death.
12. To put in practice the betraying of the country, or any principal fort therein, to the hand of any foreign state, Spanish, French, Dutch, or the like, contrary to the allegiance we owe and profess to our dread sovereign, lord king Charles, his heirs and successors, whilst he is pleased to protect us as his loyal subjects, to be punished with death. Num. 12:14, 15.
13. Unreverend and dishonorable carriage to magistrates, to be punished with banishment for a time, till they acknowledge their fault and profess reformation.
14. Reviling of the magistrates in highest rank amongst us, to wit, of the governors and council, to be punished with death. I Kings 2:8, 9, & 46.
15. Rebellion, sedition, or insurrection, by taking up arms against the present government established in the country, to be punished with death.
16. Rebellious children, whether they continue in riot or drunkenness, after due correction from their parents, or whether they curse or smite their parents, to be put to death. Ex. 21:15, 17. Lev. 20:9.
17. Murder, which is a wilful man-slaughter, not in a man's just defence, nor casually committed, but out of hatred or cruelty, to be punished with death. Ex. 21:12, 13. Num. 35:16, 17, 18, to 33. Gen. 9:6.
18. Adultery, which is the defiling of the marriage-bed, to be punished with death. Defiling of a woman espoused, is a kind of adultery, and punishable, by death, of both parties; but if a woman be forced, then by the death of the man only. Lev. 20:10. Deut. 22:22 to 27.
19. Incest, which is the defiling of any near of kin, within the degrees prohibited in Leviticus, to be punished with death.
20. Unnatural filthiness to be punished with death, whether sodomy, which is a carnal fellowship of man with man, or woman with woman, or buggery, which is a carnal fellowship of man or woman with beasts or fowls.
21. Pollution of a woman known to be in her flowers, to be put to death. Lev. 20:18,19.
22. Whoredom of a maiden in her father's house, kept secret till after her marriage with another, to be punished with death. Deut. 22:20, 21.
23. Man-stealing to be punished with death. Ex. 21:16.
24. False-witness bearing to be punished with death.