Lord's Day a'Brakel

This love [for Christ] will cause a minister to pray much for the congregation and pray that he himself might receive grace to communicate this to the congregation. He will study for his sermons prayerfully, and he will prayerfully traverse the street towards the pulpit. His prayer is not that he may avoid disgrace or shame, nor that he may speak in a manner pleasing to the congregation, rendering him honor and respect and enabling him to draw crowds. If such is his secret motive (even if he does not say so expressly) and he pretends to have another motive while praying for the honor of God and the edification of the congregation, he frequently does this to satisfy his conscience, but his own honor is his primary motive. Love, however, will cause him at all times to pray for the congregation, thereby seeking her benefit. "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith" (1 Th. 3:10) [II: 134].

Parson's Hebrew Tutor

I have found a Hebrew Tutorial that I think will help me with my studies. I am also receiving private tutoring from Dr. Bilkes who is a master of these Semetic languages. I am having a difficult time with it though. Semetic languages are strange because there is NOTHING recognizable about them at all.

When I began Greek it was a bit easier since there is a lot of similarity between Greek and English roots. If you saw that Big Fat Greek Wedding you can recall that everything goes back to Greek.

.llew sa gnisufnoc etiuq era sretcarahc eht dna sdrawkcab si ti ecnis werbeH ot kcab seog gnihton tuB

Pope Bows Knee to Allah

It seems as though the so-called Bishop of Rome has offended the Muslims. He referred to their practice of Jihad (holy war against Jews, Christians, and other 'idolators') as evil. Amongst the dying words of Mohammed, the founder of Islam, were "All Jews and Christians must die".

Does this sound evil to you? Is a hate-filled religion that fosters fear and violence an evil religion? Is a religion that denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God evil? Is a religion that that has a God who is arbitrary and will damn you on Monday but redeem you on Tuesday evil?

Are the number one outward enemy of Christianity since the middle-ages, who dipped the blood of Christians onto their fez hats...are they evil.

Well, the Pope thought so..until the heathen raged... now he is deeply sorry for the offense.

Here is the text of his apology:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The pastoral visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective proclamation of the Gospel for today.
I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also grateful to all those who worked hard for the success of this Pastoral Visit.
As is the custom, I will speak more of this during next Wednesday's general audience.
At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.
These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.
Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words.
I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.


Pope Apologizes to Angered Muslims

Lord's Day a'Brakel

In [the] church there is both glory and elegance. For a moment give attentive consideration to the glorious state of that kingdom and its true subjects. The earth and the nations are enveloped in darkness; however, wondrous light is to be found in the church. The glory of the Lord illuminates this city of God and the Sun of Righteousness enlightens it with His light. Outside of her is nothing but pollution, abominations, and ungodliness; however, within there is her holiness, purity, and glory…. Ought not everyone therefore to delight himself in Zion, and be desirous to be a member of this church, a fellow citizen of the saints, and a member of the household of God? Should not everyone be desirous to submit himself to the protection and government of this King? For not only are all the these things said concerning this kingdom and this King, but all are most certainly true. (II: 58).

What We Believe Concerning the Old and New Testaments

I. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable;[1] yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation.[2] Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church;[3] and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing:[4] which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary;[5] those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.[6]
1. Rom. 1:19-20; 1:32-2:1; 2:14-15; Psa. 19:1-4
2. John 17:3; I Cor. 1:21; 2:13-143. Heb. 1:1-24. Luke 1:3-4; Rom. 15:4; Matt. 4:4, 7, 10; Isa. 8:205. II Tim. 3:15; II Peter 1:196. John 20:31; I Cor. 10:11; 14:37; I John 5:13; Heb. 1:1-2; 2:2-4

II. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:

Of the Old Testament:
Genesis I Kings Ecclesiastes ObadiahExodus II Kings The Song of Songs JonahLeviticus I Chronicles Isaiah MicahNumbers II Chronicles Jeremiah NahumDeuteronomy Ezra Lamentations HabakkukJoshua Nehemiah Ezekiel ZephaniahJudges Esther Daniel HaggaiRuth Job Hosea ZechariahI Samuel Psalms Joel MalachiII Samuel Proverbs Amos Of the New Testament:
The Gospels Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians II The first and according to the Romans Timothy I second Epistles Matthew the Corinthians I Timothy II of Peter Mark the Corinthians II Titus The first, second Luke the Galatians Philemon and third Epistles John the Ephesians The Epistle to of JohnThe Acts of the the Philippians the Hebrews The Epistle Apostles the Colossians The Epistle of Jude the Thessalonians I of James The Revelation of JohnAll which are given by inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life.[7]
7. Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27, 44; II Tim. 3:15-16; John 5:46-47

III. The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture, and therefore are of no authority in the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings.[8]
8. Rev. 22:18-19; Rom. 3:2; II Peter 1:21

IV. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.[9]
9. II Peter 1:19-20; II Tim. 3:16; I John 5:9; I Thess. 2:13; Rev. 1:1-2

V. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture.[10] And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.[11]
10. I Tim 3:1511. I Cor. 2:4-5, 9-10; Heb. 4:12; John 10:35; Isa. 55:11, 59:21; Rom. 11:36: Psa. 19:7-11; II Tim. 3:15; I Thess. 1:5; I John 2:20, 27

VI. The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.[12] Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word:[13] and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.[14]
12. II Tim. 3:16-17; Gal. 1:8-9; II Thess. 2:213. John 6:45; I Cor. 2:12, 14-15; Eph. 1:18; II Cor. 4:614. I Cor. 11:13-14; 14:26, 40

VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all:[15] yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.[16]
15. II Peter 3:1616. Psa. 119:105, 130; Deut. 29:29; 30:10-14; Acts 17:11

VIII. The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the writing of it, was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and, by his singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical;[17] so as, in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal unto them.[18] But, because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded, in the fear of God, to read and search them,[19] therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation unto which they come,[20] that, the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner;[21] and, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope.[22]
17. Matt. 5:18; Psa. 119;8918. Isa. 8:20; Matt. 15:3, 6; Acts 15:15; Luke 16:3119. John 5:39; Acts 17:11; Rev. 1:3; II Tim. 3:14,1520. Matt. 28:19-20; I Cor. 14:6; Mark 15:3421. Col. 3:16; Exod. 20:4-6; Matt. 15:7-922. Rom. 15:4

IX. The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.[23]
23. Acts 15:15; John 5:46; II Peter 1:20-21

X. The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.[24]
24. Matt. 22:29,31; Acts 28:25; I John 4:1-6

A PT Discussion on Old and New Testaments

I have never hosted a discussion, per se, without giving my thoughts up front. It seems that a nice Jewish person has posted this question concerning the Old and New Testaments. I would like to give you his question and then open the comments section for some discussion on the issue. Enjoy!

Q: Did it ever occur to you that the Old Testament was written by G-d and the New Testament was written by mortal men.Men naturally are able to exagerate and lie. Do you think it could happen?...I do.

Only rule: Season all things with grace.

Did the Church Make-up the Bible?

I am not sure where the switch has occurred in Protestant thinking, but it seems that many people, when thinking about the formation of the Scriptures, want to attribute them to a counsel, more than to God. The idea taught in a lot of Christian schools is that at Nicea the Christian church declared that our 66 books of the Bible were the Word of God. This may be because the Church no longer believes the Scriptures thanks to the influences of Liberal "scholarship".

Although true, Nicea did affirm, the Scriptures, but had not the Christian Church been using all of these books since the late-middle of the first century? As the Bride of Christ, we must know our place, and not declare ourselves over our Lord.

In this affair, then, the Church is a servant and not a mistress; a depository and not a judge. She exercises the office of a minister, not of a magistrate...She delivers a testimony, not a judicial sentence. She discerns the canon of the Scriptures, she does not make it; she has recognized their authenticity, she has not given it-The authority of the Scriptures is not founded then, on the authority of the Church: It is the Church that is founded on the authority of the Scriptures. -Louis Gaussen

Lord's Day a'Brakel

We then reason as follows: "It cannot be that I have grace, for in nearly all my actions my conscience accuses me that I am being hypocritical. It appears as if I am serving God, but in reality I have myself in view.
Answer:…. However, be it first of all known that believers are only regenerated in part and that the seed of various sins still remains in them. No sin can ever be mortified so completely that it will never surface again. This remaining corruption will manifest itself externally, this being contingent upon the condition of the body, opportunities, and other circumstances. Therefore, the one godly person will fall more into a given sin than the other.
Secondly, it should be known that the fear of seeking self frequently causes us to think about the seeking of self. This will suggest to us that it is so, and the devil will create the illusion in our minds that we are seeking self (IV: 224).

Crossed Fingers: How Liberals Won the Presbyterian Church

I am looking for this book. If anyone has a copy that they would like to sell me, contact me.

Crossed Fingers is a book by Gary North about how liberalism took over the Northern Presbyterian Church. I know that it is available online for free, but that is just not my style!

A Young Woman's Guide and Friend

My lovely wife has linked a copy of Female Piety by James Angell James. This book is worth reading by Christian men and women alike. Although this book was written in the 19th century, it will prove to be an answer to both the Feminist as well as the oppressor of women.

From chapter one:
History, which will ever be found to corroborate revelation, proves that in most Pagan and Mohammedan nations, whether ancient or modern, woman has been cruelly and wickedly sunk below her proper level in social and domestic life, "hated and despised from her birth, and her birth itself esteemed a calamity; in some countries not even allowed the rank of a moral and responsible agent; so tenderly alive to her own degradation that she acquiesces in the murder of her female offspring; immured from infancy; without education; married without her consent; in a multitude of instances sold by her parents; refused the confidence of her husband, and banished from his table; on his death, doomed to the funeral pile, or to contempt that renders life a burden." In such a condition she has been the household drudge, or the mere object of lust. She has ministered to the gratification of man's indolence or sensual appetite, but has not been his companion, his counselor, or his comforter. In barbarous countries she has been a slave; in civilized ones very generally little better than a kept mistress. Her mind has been left untaught, as if incapable or unworthy of instruction. She has been not only imprisoned in seclusion by jealousy, but degraded and rendered inferior and miserable by polygamy. Sometimes worshiped as a goddess; next fondled as a toy; then punished as a victim, she could never attain to dignity, and even with all her brightest charms could rarely appear but as a doll or a puppet.

The Death of Man

Often we hear comments from people that are to the effect that man is basically good. People have come a long way from the biblical doctrine of original sin and its impact upon the human race. The fact is that man has fallen so far from his original state that he is beyond hope without the intersession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man is naturally corrupt. This corruption can be cleansed with the blood of Christ's atoning sacrifice.

Guido de Bres wrote the Belgic Confession in the early days of the Reformation (1561). Here is what he said concerning the fall of man:

We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race.
It is a corruption of all nature-- an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother's womb, and the root which produces in man every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God's sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring.
Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God's children for their condemnation but is forgiven by his grace and mercy-- not to put them to sleep but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the "body of this death."

Lord's Day a'Brakel: Solitude

Solitude is a separation from all men for a period of time, in order to be enabled to express ourselves more earnestly and with more freedom as we engage ourselves in seeking after God. We designate this as a separation from all fellowship with men (IV: 19).

This is a seasonal separation and thus not life-long as the papists do in their monasteries, which are nothing more than places of filth, dens of murder, and impure Sodoms. Then there are also the hermits among them who permit themselves to be enclosed within four walls, or who make either the forest or the wilderness their residence. We abhor this manner of life--even if it were void of all superstition and pollution. For, first of all, it is contrary to God's command who has created man as a being in need of companionship, saying, "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18). Secondly, it is God's will that we let our light shine before men in order that they may see our good works and may glorify our Father which is in heaven (Mat. 5:16); and that we would use our gifts to the advantage, conversion, and edification of other men. We have received our talents to that end, along with the command: "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). Thirdly, continual solitude prevents us from becoming acquainted with our corrupt heart, being humbled by this, and striving for its sanctification, there being no opportunity whereby this corruption would manifest itself (IV: 19-20).

True Universalism

One day all people will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. All men will one day fear Him as they ought as well as cry out to Him for mercy. All men will spend eternity in direct response to their relationship with Christ on earth. Ryle rightly calls hell, truth known too late. Does this not call out for a response from you and me, as well as put a burning desire within that we should warn sinners of this truth? But most importantly, should this not cause us to 'gossip' the truths of the Gospel to those around us?

Philippians 2:10-11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The change that will come over the minds of unconverted men after death is one of the most fearful points in their future condition. They will see, know and understand a hundred things to which they were blind while they were alive. They will discover, like Esau, they have bartered away eternal happiness for a mere 'mess of pottage'. There is on infidelity, skepticism or unbelief after death. Hell is truth known too late. -JC Ryle

Bills From Books

I just purchased most of my books for this semester. (95%). My total cost was $659.70. This price is high, but it is not as outrageous as undergraduate book prices. Each book that I purchased today will be added to my pastoral library which will prove to be one of my greatest resources after ordination.

When I was doing my undergraduate studies I had a math class that I dropped within the first 2 weeks of class. When I took the $90 book back to the bookstore they informed me that they would not be using this text next year and they refused to buy it back. I left it on the counter with the attendant and left. There is no time in my life ever that I would need this book. The price that one pays for undergraduate books is out of control!

Lydia had a Human Anatomy book that she used in one of her undergraduate courses. She sold it on eBay for about $70 to recover some of the cost. We did not insure this item and it got lost. Not only did we lose the book, we had to pay that girl her $70 back. Double whammy.

I still at am ease about the cost of my books today. Building a good theological library is quite important to me. It is a catalyst for the reading of sound theological literature. $670...Wow.

A New Year Begins

My new school year at Puritan Seminary begins this week. I look forward to another year of study and of spiritual enrichment that the seminary encourages. This year will bring new challenges as I begin my Hebrew studies as well as go out to preach in the churches (Lord willing). Please pray for me as I again take up the challenge of balancing family, school, church, and work.

Your Lord's Day a'Brakel

The subject of this virtue is the heart of the believer…. The seat of uprightness is neither to be found in the countenance, the clothing, the mouth, nor in their actions, but in their heart. Their intellect is illuminated by a wondrous light, the will embraces the spiritual matters which are revealed to them by that light, and their passions go out after those matters in order to have them in possession and to perform them in a manner pleasing to the Lord. They thus have an internal propensity, and that propensity shines forth in their countenance, clothing, words, and deeds (III: 428-429).

Standing on Holy Ground

How often do we forget that when we come to worship (whether private, family, or public) we are entering into communion with the true and living God. Too frequently we allow our thoughts to wander to the things of this world and we refuse to train our hearts and our minds to focus and to come before Him with grace in our hearts.

How much would backslidings and faint-heartedness cease if we would be aware of our standing on Holy Ground.

When we come to a sermon, or when we take the Bible in our hands to read, God cites and summons us...His majesty is present therewith, and we are present in His sight. -John Calvin

Abortion is Okay Under SOME Circumstances

Today, at a press conference, our great 'Christian' president was asked what he thought of the abortive drug 'Plan B' . His reply had nothing to do with the fact that this drug may cause murder, nothing to do with the law of God 'Thou shalt not kill', or even about the necessity to teach abstinence as a 'moral alternative'.

Instead of these answers, our president, who claims Jesus Christ as Savior, said that he thought that 'Plan B" should only be available by prescription. Wow!

Your Sabbath a'Brakel

Oh, that you were truly destitute and perplexed! Then there would be hope for your salvation, not because of your perplexity, but because there is a Surety for such perplexed ones--Jesus Christ, whose voice sounds forth, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mat. 11:28). To you who are perplexed, without hope, destitute, and troubled, I proclaim that there is one Savior--a Savior unknown to the heathen. Although they know that there is a God, nevertheless they do not know that there is a Savior and Surety who is proclaimed among us. This Surety calls you, invites you, and promises to save you if you come to Him. Therefore rejoice in such a blessed reality. Look outside of yourself, go to Him, receive Him by faith, and be saved (I: 491).

The BVM in Milky Rich Goodness?

The so-called Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared in chocolate according to a recent article.

"For Jacinto, the discovery came just in time. The single mother said she has struggled with personal problems for months and says she was about to lose her faith.
"I have big problems right now, personally, and lately I've been saying that God doesn't exist," she said, pulling the dog-eared prayer card out of her pocket. "This has given me renewed faith."

Whoever said that Rome breeds superstition must not really believe in the ability of dark chocolate.

A Scottish Christian Heritage

I must say that I am excited to begin this book. The forward has even gotten me excited!

From the forward:
To have books is not the same, however, as reading them. It is not only books that need to be handed on. Continuing testimony to their worth is no less needed, and I hope this volume will be a help to that end.
These pages are not principally about books. The theme is rather people and movements; yet the books from those times bring the abiding spiritual lessons to us and prevent the history becoming an excercise in nastalgia. The best Christian books never leave us as mere spectators. As one of these authors once advised a friend, 'Study the Spirit's work for the purpose of experiencing it.'

In ___ We Trust

Have you ever wondered about all of those 'forwards' that people send you asking you to sign a petition to keep In God We Trust on the penny? Or the one about the woman who dies after jumping out of her car to meet Jesus in the rapture? Or the one that tells of the Koran predicting the American military cleansing the lands of Allah? You can read up on all of the great amounts of religious trash that circles the internet and see for yourself what is true or untrue.

Free Will Hymnology

'Rabbi' John Duncan, a staunch Presbyterian and much loved missionary to the Jews of Budapest, once said of the hymns of Charles Wesley,
I have a great liking for many of Wesley's hymns, but when I read some of them, I ask, 'What's become of your free-will now, friend?'

The Approachability of the Lord Jesus Christ

Many people make excuses about why they do not approach the Lord in prayer. Some feel as though they are not 'Christian' enough to approach Christ yet. They desire to approach him, but they want to renovate their own lives first. This is a tragedy in thinking.
Others desire to approach Christ, but they feel as though their problems are insufficient to approach the Throne Room of Grace. They think that Jesus is more concerned with greater matters than they can supply.
Friends, the doors of Grace have been opened wide for all kinds of sinners. Walk through them and receive the grace and the healing that you desire.

Dear reader, what is your state? Are you feeble in prayer? Are you tired in prayer? And yet, is there anything of real want, of real desire in the heart? Is it so? Then draw near to God. Thy frame will not be more favorable tomorrow than it is today. You will not be more acceptable or more welcome at any future period than at this moment. Give yourself unto prayer. I will suppose your state to be the worst that can be, your frame of mind the most unfavorable, your cross the heaviest, your corruption the strongest, your heart the hardest; yet betaking yourself to the throne of grace, and with groanings that cannot be uttered, opening your case to the Lord, you shall adopt the song of David, who could say in the worst of frames, and in most pressing times, 'But I give myself unto prayer' (Ps.109.4) ~Octavius Winslow, 1808-1878

Sabbath Morning a'Brakel

No one could be Surety and bring man to God but He who was God and man in one Person. The Son of God first had to be personally united to the human nature before sinful man could be restored into friendship and union with God. Behold, how great a work it is to save a sinner! What manifold wisdom was required to conceive such a remedy! All the holy angels together could not have conceived such a remedy as God has conceived and revealed. They are desirous to look into this, but they shall never be able to comprehend it. What a blessing it is that none but He was able to do this, that He has sent His own Son for this purpose and caused Him to unite personally with the human nature! What omnipotence is required to execute such a design! (I: 511).

To Spank or Not to Spank

The spanking of children is a topic that sends many strong emotions stirring through the hearts and minds of Christians. Some Christians say that spanking is 100% necessary to be obedient to God in the area of the rearing of children. Other Christians believe that spanking is borderline abuse or just bad parenting.

It seems to me that the word of God promoted the idea of chastisement quite clearly. My confession is that in my family we do use spanking as one of the disciplinary techniques for raising our children. When one spanks it needs to be out of love and with the goal of restitution of the relationship between parent and child; but more importantly, between family and God.

Charles Bridges is one of my favorite commentators on the book of Proverbs. He presents a balanced view as well as a Christological view of the topic.

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction
shall drive it far from him. -Proverbs 22.15

What parent, what instructor of children, will not bear sad, but decisive, testimony to the foolishness of the child? 'A little innocent' --is the miscalled name of fondness and fancy. One only of Adam's race, and he--adored be his name! preserved by his holy conception (Luke, i. 35)--lays claim to it. Foolishness is the birthright of all besides. The early development of waywardness and passion,--even before the power of speech;* before the child is capable of observing and imitating those around him--is a touching, but undeniable, evidence of the innate principle. Resistance therefore cannot begin too early. Education should commence even in the cradle.

Observe--it is foolishness, not childishness. That might belong to an unfallen child. No moral guilt attaches to the recollection "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child." (1 Cor. xiii. 11.) A child is to be punished as Mr. Scott wisely observed--'not for being a child, but for being a wicked child.' Comparative ignorance, the imperfect and gradual opening of the faculties, constitute the nature, not the sinfulness of the child. The holy "child increased in wisdom." (Luke, ii. 52.) But foolishness is the mighty propensity to evil--imbibing wrong prin- ciples, forming bad habits, entering into an ungodly course. It means the very root and essence of sin in a fallen nature--the folly of being revolted from a God of love. It includes all the sins of which a child is capable-lying, deceit (Ps. lviii. 3), wilfulness, perverseness, want
of submission to authority (Job, xi. 12)--a fearful aptness for evil, and revulsion against good. It is not the sheet of pure white paper; not the innocent, or even the tractable, creature, easily guided by proper means, that we have before us; but a little heart full of sin, containing all the seeds of future evil, multiplying to a fruitful harvest. We delight in our children's harmless play. We would make ourselves one with them in their sportiveness. But this foolishness-- visible every hour before our eyes--never let it be a subject of sport, but of deep and constant sadness. Nor let childhood plead as an excuse for this foolishness. Children's sins may not be chargeable with the guilt of adult responsibility; yet God has awfully shewn, that they are sins against Himself. The judgment on the "little children" of Bethel is enough to make "both the ears of" thoughtless parents "to tingle." (2 Kings, ii. 23, 24)

But whence the origin of this foolishness? "Look unto the rock whence we are hewn." Look unto "Adam" our father, and unto "Eve that bare us." (Isa. li. 1, 2.) As is the root, so ate the branches. As is the fountain, so are the waters. Our nature was poisoned at the spring. Our sinful parent, having lost God's image, could only "beget a son after his image" (Gen. v. 3)--a sinner begetting a sinner. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John, iii. 6), and could be nothing else. Now "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" (Job, xiv. 4; xxv. 4.) The creature therefore is produced into being with a radical enmity to God;--"by nature" therefore "a child of wrath."
(Eph. ii. 3.) The entail is held from "our first father," and can never be cut off. There is no division of this sad inheritance. Each of his children has the whole. His Maker testifies, that he is "a transgressor from the womb, that his heart is evil from his youth."1 In shame he acknowledges the testimony--"Behold! I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Ps. li. 5.) If the joy of a child's birth blot out the remembrance of its pain and sorrow (John, xvi. 21), yet must not this joy be chastened in the humbling recollection of what
the child brings into the world--foolishness? That self-will, that proud independence, that shakes the very foundations of society, is the birth-sin of our fallen nature. Nor does it lie only on the surface, like some childish habits, easily corrected. It is bound in the child's heart,
'held firmly there by chains invincible to human power.'* It is incorporated into his very nature. And so various are its forms, so subtle its workings, that the wisest parent is often at a loss how to detect and treat the evil.

The prescribed remedy, however, is clear. It is vain to bid the foolishness depart. And little inclination is there in the child himself to drive it far away. The rod of correction is distinctly named, and repeatedly inculcated, as God's own means for this important end. And surely the thought of having been an instrument of producing nature envenomed against a God of love must constrain the parent to use the means thus divinely appointed for destroying the deadly
poison.

Only let the child see, that, as with our heavenly Father, love is the ruling principle;1 that we follow the example of the wisest and best of parents, that we use his rod for driving men from foolishness;2 that, like him, we "chasten, not for our pleasure, but for our child's profit" (Heb.
xii. 10); not from caprice or passion, but from tenderness to his soul. Use the Lord's means, and we can then, what otherwise we cannot do, wait in faith for the promised blessing. Many a stirring movement of the flesh will be restrained. Man's will will be put down, and God's will
gain the supremacy. Shame of sin will issue in abhorrence; and in this sorrow and humiliation the path of wisdom will be chosen, loved, and followed. (Chap. xxix. 15.)

We have indeed no right to demand to see God's reasons for his ordinance. Yet we may be permitted, in part at least, to trace its workings. Habits are of immense value, as wrought into the character by the Holy Spirit. But there must be a beginning, and the use of means to fix the principle. If a child be punished for falsehood; to avoid future punishment, he abstains, and speaks the truth. As he advances, he finds the blessing and comfort of the right path. He
learns gradually to speak truth from a higher motive. Insensibly his conscience acquires tenderness respecting it; and it becomes a principle in his character. Thus the rod of correction performs its work with permanent benefit.

* Augustine mentions a living demonstration of the fall--the sight of an infant, before
it could speak, shewing an evident look of envy and passion towards another infant about
to share its nourishment. He adds--in reference to himself--'When? I beseech thee, 0
my God, in what places, when or where, was I innocent?'--Confess. lib. i. c. 7.

Some new blogs

Eva Lemmon? has added another blog to her already hard-to-beat blogging.

Droll has decided to rejoin us with another attempt at blogging. I hope that he does well..he has great things to say.

Loretta has made another attempt at blogging as well. After an incident of blogging about work while at work...has she learned her lesson?

Are there any other new good blogs that I should check out? What was that new Joe Schelling address? Leave a comment about a blog that you think that I may be interested in and if I like it I will put it on my blogroll.

PRESBYTERIAN THOUGHTS: Geneva Bible Spam

The Geneva Bible has recently been updated with current English spelling, modern font, and complete with the 1599 notes that have been loved by Protestant Christians for years. This would be worth the purchase for anyone who prefers the Byzantine Textform but does not really enjoy the Authorized Version (King James). When you read the Geneva Bible you see that the Reformed believed in having a Bible translated into the vulgar or common tongue. I prefer this translation and am ecstatic that it is available once again for use by the people of God.

Click here for a short history of the Geneva Bible by Gary DeMar.

Catechism 101

Training children in theological education can be tough for most Christians. It is especially the duty of the father, although in our culture the mother is usually the spiritual head.

In my family, the Children's Catechism has been a helpful place to start with our two children who are under 3 years-old. Soon we will begin the Shorter Catechism, but as children who do not have well-developed verbal skills- we start with the children's catechism.

Lord's Day a'Brakel

On a Church's Lack of Discipline (A Word to Office Bearers)

You are the cause that the church is becoming degenerate to the core. You are responsible for all the consequences of this. As a result, God's Name is dishonored, many people are kept from joining the church who otherwise would do so, souls are destroyed who by the use of the keys of God's kingdom would repent, and the flourishing of godliness is obstructed. You will be the cause that one member imitates the other in the commission of evil, and that the godly are oppressed and secretly must sigh over the wretched condition of the church. Know that the Lord will bring you into judgment for all these things, and that there you will have to give an account of the manner in which you have ruled the church entrusted to you and concerning the souls over whom the Lord appointed you as an overseer. The Lord will demand the blood of all those souls who will perish due to the neglect of the use of this key. Oh, what a weighty responsibility this is, and how dreadful will God's judgment be upon all unfaithful elders! Oh, that many would never have been elders! Oh, that all elders would be stirred up and, in this matter, would lift up their hearts in the ways of the Lord! (II: 185).

A Case of Conscience: Fiction and Other Entertainment

An amazing amount of ink (pixels?) has been spilled concerning the topic of fiction and what I see as a more broad topic- entertainment.

We live in an age of entertainment, where people no longer find their identity by what they do for work and where they worship; but we live in an age of 'what do you do for fun?'. Our Reformed forefathers were not kill-joys, as fiction writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne portray, but were people who attempted to define 'what they do for fun' in the context of how it will make them able to serve God and man in a refreshed manner.

In Richard Baxter's Christian Directory he gives many thoughts to meditate upon when choosing a sport, recreation, or other entertainment. I would like to share a few that may help us in our discussion of fiction as well as carry it to other means of recreation:

Keep a watch upon your thoughts and fancies, that they run not after sports and pleasures. Else you will be like children who are thinking of their sport, and longing to be at it, when they should be at their books or business.

Avoid the company of... time-wasters. Come not among them, lest you be insnared [sic]. Accompany yourselves with those that delight themselves in God (2 Timothy ii.22).

See to the sanctifying of all your recreations, when you have chosen such as are truly suited to your need; and go not to them before you need, nor use them beyond your need. See also that you lift up your hearts secretly to God, for His blessing on them; and mix them all along as far as you can with holy things; as with holy thoughts and holy speeches.

Be much more severe in regulating yourselves in your recreations, than in censuring others for using some which you mislike. For you know not their case, and reasons, and temptations...

Fiction or Damned Lies?

Dr. Robert Godfrey of Westminster Seminary, California, has recently published an article in Evanglium concerning Christians and fiction. Dr. Godfrey gives some historical reasons against reading fiction, and with the help of Lewis, a literature scholar, gives reasons for the reading of fiction. I have a difficult time reading fiction because it often is a waste of reading time- but I do read some, for the sake of a balanced reading diet. One who reads only systematics and dogmatics has difficulty relating the Christian life to all areas (in my humble opinion).

Here are the pros and cons that Dr. Godfrey mentions:

Reasons not to read fiction:
1. Reading fiction is a waste of time.
2. Fiction is fundamentally dishonest.
3. Fiction is too often morally corrupting.

Reasons for the reading of fiction:
1. Reading literature is enjoyable.
2. Fiction is a way to experience many things that we would not otherwise experience.
3. Fictions helps us to grow as human beings in the understandings of others.
4. Fiction will help us to read the Bible better by learning to read well.

For a free subscription to Evangelium click here.

Living the Sweet Life!

The idea of 'sweetness' is an idea that the Puritans promoted heavily. They thought that the Christian life should be one that is enjoyed to the fullest. They also thought that this was the highest purpose to human existence, as well. Remember that the main purpose of life was glorify and enjoy God forever. Sweet!

"Every thing that a man leans upon but God, will be a dart that will certainly pierce his heart through and through. He who leans only upon Christ, lives the highest, choicest, safest, and sweetest life."
THOMAS BROOKS

Sabbath Wake Up Call from Wilhelmus a' Brakel

Listen to the knocking and arousing voice of the Lord Jesus and reflect upon the words of the bride: "I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." She, not being worthy of arising says, "My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him...My soul failed when he spake" (Song of Sol. 5:2, 4, 6) [IV: 273]

A Beginner's Tour of Puritanism

Many of my readers are lovers of the Puritans. Many also cannot say that they have read any Puritan material, save maybe Pilgrim's Progress.

Here is your chance to own a great beginning in Puritan classics. Vision Forum is offering 20 of the Puritan Paperbacks for $120.00. This is a very nice price for an opportunity to grow into some of the richest and deepest spirituality any Christian can hope for. Purchase them and see that they will enrich your soul!

Calling the Sabbath a Delight

It seems to me that calling the Sabbath a delight has been highly disregarded in our day and age. Christians have put their own 'needs' above those holy duties that God has graciously given to his people. May the Lord turn us back to Him as we call the Sabbath a delight!

Of all of the commandments of a decalogue, the Sabbath is the most controversial in current evangelical Christianity. Would you say that you do not usually put other gods before God? Would you say that you usually do not murder? Would you say that you usually are faithful towards your spouse? Would you say that you usually do not worship with idols? Why do we usually keep the Sabbath day?

Isaiah 58:13-14 If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Hebrews 4:9-11 There remaineth therefore a Sabbath to the people of God. For he that is entered into his Sabbath, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that Sabbath, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Sins of omission [on the Sabbath day] are exceedingly prejudicial; because, though they have a tendency to harden the heart and stupify the conscience, yet they are, of all others, least regarded. As to the omission of holy duties on the Sabbath day, it is slighting and casting away of a great prize, put into our hands. Hence, in such a case, it will be said, 'Wherefore is there a prize put into the hands of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart for it?' It may be observed also that the omission of holy duties on the Sabbath day is generally attended with the neglect of secret duties, and is an inlet to all manner of sins, and to a total apostasy from God.
~Thomas Ridgeley

Sobriety Test

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! -Matthew 18.6-7

What sobering words from Jesus Christ. Think of the care with which he takes care of his children, and especially those little ones. We all need to be sobered by these words and watch our actions as we attempt to live lives in conformity to Christ and his law. Christ is a gracious saviour, but he is also a judge to those that offend his children.

Here are the words of Bishop JC Ryle on this verse:

It is a great sin to put a stumbling block in the way of believers. We put offences or stumbling-blocks in the way of men's souls whenever we do anything to keep them back from Christ, or to turn them out of the way of salvation, or to disgust them with true religion. We may do it by what we say or how we live, and this a great sin. It is awful to think of the amount of harm that can be done by one inconsistent professor of religion. He gives a handle to the infidel. He supplies the worldly man with an excuse for remaining undecided. He checks the enquirer after salvation. He discourages the saints. He is, in short, a sermon on behalf of the devil.

Your Sabbath Morning Cup of a'Brakel...mmm...Meaty.

The cause of patience is not to be found in man himself…. The Lord grants the godly faith and gives them a lively view that He inflicts this affliction upon them with His Fatherly hand. He secretly sustains them by strengthening the inner man. In their affliction he comforts them much according to the soul and permits them to taste His grace. He causes them to perceive the lightness, advantage, and transitory nature of affliction. He shows them how advantageous and glorious the outcome will be. This causes them to be quiet and encouraged. They are then willing to suffer, and tribulation will then work patience, and that experience, and that hope which maketh not ashamed (III: 417-418).

On Evangelicalism

That only is true evangelicalism in which sounds clearly the double confession that all the power exerted in saving the soul is from God, and that God in His saving operations acts directly upon the soul.
~B.B. Warfield

Israel: The Land and Her Way to Heaven

In light of today's newest surge of violence in the Middle East, I must again ask myself the question, why does the USA continue to pour her taxpayer's dollars into a country that would not stand without our aide.

The Trinity Foundation's latest article asks some good questions about why so many American Christians refer to this area of the world as the holy land? Is it holy? Is it holy because Christ was there, or is it because we have a false theology surrounding it and it's future?

As a postmillennial Christian I do believe that God will again restore His people of old. I do not believe that it will be political though. The church will be her knew home as the Jews return unto God. I am afraid that Dispensational theology has made Christ's death of little effect as their system promotes two various ways of salvation. The Jews can have their sacrifices and Christians have their faith? That is absurd! Faith in Christ is how one is reconciled to the Father- and it has always been so. But with the separation of Church and State in all, why do we let Dispensational theology influence where our tax dollars are spent? This view does not mean that we have to pour money into this American pet-project called Israel.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday John Calvin... Happy Birthday to you.

Today Calvin would have been 497 years old. Here is a quick biography on his life and work.

Lord's Day a'Brakel

It is therefore, first of all, necessary that you have and maintain a soul which is pure and undefiled, fully devoted to God, and finds her existence in communion with God. You will then--as was true for Nehemiah--be able to speak with men while simultaneously praying unto God (Neh. 2:4-5). It is with such intent that you must leave the home, and in order to preserve such a condition within, you must pray each time when going out. He who in the solitude of his home is not exercised in continually turning to God, walking with a perfect heart, or acknowledging the Lord in all his ways; who in believing union with the Lord Jesus does not strive to cleanse the heart from worldconformity, vanity, cleaving to sinful lust, and a continual thinking upon vain imaginations; and who does not continually exercise himself to be of a spiritual disposition--such a person, when in the company of and engaged in conversation with others, will not be fit to maintain this good disposition which as yet he has, although he be beset with the corruptions mentioned before. The good frame of heart will readily vanish and you will not have within yourself a fountain bringing forth all manner of spiritual matters to your personal benefit and that of your neighbor. Instead, you will frequently speak of spiritual matters for conversations's sake, doing so, however, without inner warmth and without causing the hearts of others to burn within them. Yes, you will even become engaged in worldly conversation, and upon arriving home your spiritual frame will have vanished and you will have a restless conscience. Therefore, you must especially endeavor to have a pure heart (II: 636-637).

The New Bible Code and Colon Cleansing Revealed!

DaVinci Code eat your heart out! We have topped your claims in the realm of the ridiculous:

I think that so many people use the Bible to promote their own ridiculous ideas. This guy claims that if you look at the miracles associated with food in the Bible then you can be healed of various diseases. I am sure that there is some truth the idea of whole foods, etc. but he takes a miraculous jump when he talks about how these foods are really just a secret-Bible-code for a colon cleaning.

Wow.

Benny Hinn's wife talks about a different type of colon cleaning. She claims that we all need "Holy Ghost enemas" because we are man pleasers.

You have to watch this video!

Kuyper College and my Alma Mater

This post that I had about Reformed Bible College changing its name to Kuyper College is restirring controversy. It seems that when Kuyper College is googled, this post comes up third. So as people are searching for the KC site, they get my opinion on the background of the name-change.

I still hold that the name-change is for the purpose of separating themselves from the Reformed tradition. I know that there are other reasons as well, but is an American not entitled to a freedom of speech as well as freedom of the press?

Not all are happy with my thoughts. Here is a comment that I received at midnight:

Hmmm Nate...So if my senses are right, I think you're feeling angry... I remember you from RBC, er, KC. Brother, I encourage you to get your head out of the sand and start loving people. REALLY loving them. ALL people... Arminians, pentecostals, female preachers, adults who get baptized, Kuyper College board members....

My response is that I love Christ, the Church, and the Reformed Faith. I also love sinners who are dying and in danger of hell. That is why I am in seminary as well as why I maintain this blog. I desire to see God's truth spread from East to West, from sea to sea. I desire to see men converted and fall in love with my Redeemer. This my friends lies behind my passions.

Love for Christ.

And I hope that this post comes up fourth!

What's Your Problem?

DM Lloyd-Jones was one of the best preachers of the twentieth century. His sermons are timeless as they pierce right to the heart of matters concerning faith and life. His sermons are filled with the call for men to turn their hearts toward God and the practical wisdom that only can be matched by our Puritan forefathers.

Here Lloyd-Jones calls on preachers to be honest with themselves as they preach. Preachers are not pulpiteers of psychology, or promoters of self-help. Preachers are men who are called to show humanity that they are dead-men who can only be healed by Christ, the physician of the soul.

There are so many people trying to diagnose the human situation; and they come to the conclusion that man is sick, man is unhappy, man is the victim of circumstances. They believe therefore that his primary need is to have these things dealt with, that he must be delivered from them. But I suggest that is too superficial a diagnosis of the condition of man, and man's real trouble is that he is a rebel against God and consequently under the wrath of God.
-Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers.

General Assembly 2006

Radio Talk Shows and the Magistrate

Many American Christians would rather receive their political doctrines from radio pundits than from the Word of God. The Word of God makes clear what a magistrate is to look like as well as some of the functions of the magistrate.

For those who find a biblical harmony between the Bible and radio talk-shows, may this latest news from the 'Christian right' and so-called 'moral majority' leader remind us that our hope is not to be in man, but in the Son of Man. May the magistrate reward those who do good and punish those who do evil.

Lord's Day a'Brakel

If therefore the Lord leads us in difficult ways, and brings us in a situation where we must lose our life for the truth's sake, may we then not love our life and deem it precious, but offer it willingly to the Lord as a sacrifice. Paul said, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand" (2 Tim. 4:6). There is no more glorious death imaginable than to die as a martyr for Christ. Oh, how blessed is he who may thus use Christ as Priest, and who himself may be a spiritual priest! (I: 560).

Pastor's Wives Gone Wild

We ministers and theology students need to learn to be less critical of our wives. They are fragile beings that need to be loved and cared for and not criticized and yelled at. Pastor's wives are people too.

Ridgeley on the Purpose of the Lord's Supper

Thomas Ridgeley's A Body of Divinity: Wherein the Doctrines of the Christian Religion are Explained and Defended, Being the Substance of Several Lectures on the Assembly's Larger Catechism is a book for which I have looked for well over a year. It is quite rare and does not appear in the used book market very often (I got it Tuesday!).

Here is a sample from the section on preparation for the Lord's Supper:

Another duty preparatory to the Lord's Supper, mentioned in this answer, is serious meditation. We are to perform this duty that we not engage in the ordinance without considering the greatness of the Majesty with whom we we have to do, together with our own vileness and unworthiness to approach his presence. We must also consider his power, wisdom, and goodness, to encourage us to hope for those supplies of grace from which we stand in need of; and we are to have an awful sense of his omnipresence and omniscience, as he is an heart-searching God, that we may be excited to an holy reverence, and guarded against the wandering of our thoughts and affections from him, or any unbecoming behaviour in his presence. More particularly, we are to consider beforehand, the end and design of Christ's instituting this ordinance- namely, that his dying love to sinners might be signified and showed forth, and an encouragement to our faith, and an inducement to thanksgiving and praise. -p534

Generation-Tech Evangelism

Left Behind the video game is soon to be released. On the Fringe brought this to my attention and I cannot stop ruminating on how ridiculous American Christianity has become. The game, according to creators, is meant to show, "...situations resulting from the stories' post-apocalyptic time-frame are used to encourage gamers to think about matters of eternal significance, a topic largely ignored by modern games."

Is this what Arminian evangelism has lead to? Are we so ashamed of the Word of God and so doubt the work of the Holy Spirit that we rely on destructive and apocalyptic video games to do our evangelism for us?

I prefer the method of the Apostle Paul personally. I may be old fashioned and not Generation-Tech enough, but I think that the Spirit still works this way:

"WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. -Romans 10.13b-17

Maybe if the Apostle Paul knew about this video game he would change his view of evangelism. It would not be faith comes by hearing Christ in preaching, but faith comes through gaming and how can they game without a programmer.

Lord's Day a'Brakel

The object of such meditation is divine matters of which he has prior acquaintance. There is, furthermore, an inquisitive thinking about and meditation upon those matters with which one is not acquainted as yet but, nevertheless, desires to be acquainted with. However, the meditation in question here is a practical reflection upon matters with which we are acquainted, concerning which we wish to be inwardly moved again by way of meditation. He who is desirous to engage in spiritual meditation will sometimes pursue what comes to mind, and thus follow the Spirit indiscriminately from one subject to the next…. Hastiness in meditation will rob us of its fruitfulness (IV: 27-28).

When I say that I am Presbyterian- this is not what I mean.

Thanks for the article eChuck.

Lord's Day a'Brakel: Self-denial

[O]ne must deny his sinful self, that is, the old Adam, in a general sense, with all his motions and desires--whatever the nature and contrary to whatever commandment these motions may be, and whatever the faculty of the soul and of the body may be by which such motions are executed.
Specifically, one must, first of all, deny his natural and darkened intellect; that is, to refuse to make this a rule of doctrine and life.
Secondly, we must deny our own will.
Thirdly, we must deny our inclinations.
Fourthly, we must deny our own honor. There is no sin more common to man and is more deeply rooted in the heart than a desire to be honored.
Fifthly, we must deny our desire for possessions. Man's corrupt nature focuses on the physical. He desires to posses much, puts his trust in it, and determines to live from it.
Sixthly, we must deny our friends.
Seventhly, we must deny our life (III: 400-402).

The OPC and the New Perspective on Paul

The OPC has released their statement of on the New Perspective on Paul. In my opinion the OPC is the classic 'play both sides of the argument' denomination when it comes to some of the hard issues of the church. The report, as well as a critique can be read here.

Hopefully the congregations of this denomination will be able to stand for what is good and just and call out those who teach a false gospel.

Pray for the OPC and other reformed churches as they struggle through this trying time in the history of the Church.