The Definition of Ministry

"Ministry is giving when you feel like keeping, praying for others when you need to be prayed for, feeding others when your own soul is hungry, living truth before people even when you can't see results, hurting with other people even when your own hurt can't be spoken, keeping your word even when it is not convenient, it is being faithful when your flesh wants to run away."

John A. Holt, Leadership, Vol. 10, no. 1.

Randy Alcorn: Why Doesn’t God Do More to Restrain Evil and Suffering?

In light of recent, I encourage everyone to read this article (part 1 or 2): Why Doesn’t God Do More to Restrain Evil and Suffering? Part 1 - Blog - Eternal Perspective Ministries:

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Did Christ Work Miracles?

Did Jesus really perform miracles as the Gospels record? Clarence Edward Macartney (1879-1957), a pastor and evangelical leader in the first half of the last century contends:

"The quiet disregard, or the implied denial of, certain great facts of the life of Christ as we have that life in the Bible, every masculine mind must recognize to be, intellectually, absolute inconsistency. Christianity cannot be ethically divine and historically false. The man who is preaching the so-called ideals of the Christian faith and at the same time ignoring, or evading, or denying its facts, is indulging in a sort of theological legerdemain, which, if followed and adopted by others, could have no other result but complete denial of Christianity, ideals, facts, hopes, and all. We want no soft, mossy bed of sentiment upon which to lie. We prefer the hard rock of fact, even though the facts cut and wound our pilgrim feet. Did Christ work these miracles attributed to Him in the Gospels? We know that the miracles are inextricably involved with the other facts of the life of Jesus, and that there is no Christ but the Christ who walked on the sea, and raised the dead, and made blind men to see. Men who talk about any other Christ are talking of a myth, a shadow, a vapour, for there can no more be a non-miraculous, non-supernatural Christianity than there can be a quadrangular circle."

-Twelve Great Questions About Christ, p. 69

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The True Story of Thanksgiving - Desiring God

The True Story of Thanksgiving - Desiring God:

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Growth Group Homework for Nov 18

This week, we took a closer look at a remarkable story in Luke’s gospel which explains why some were drawn to Jesus while others rejected Him.

• Read Luke 7:36-50

1. Which part of this story most intrigues you? Why?
2. Pastor Josh explained how the sinful woman and the Pharisee both picture different ways of avoiding God as Savior. Those who go the way of irreligion, represented by the sinful woman prior to her initial encounter with Jesus, reject God by rejecting his law and living any way they see fit. On the other hand, those who go the way of the religion also reject God but do so by embracing and obeying God’s law so as to earn their salvation. What further insights can we gain about these two ways by examining the details of this story more closely?
3. How does the Gospel constitute a “third way”? Where do we see the Gospel at work in this story? 
4. Pastor Josh shared a quote regarding the tendency of Christians to revert to the way of religion – or moralism – as a way of relating to God. Listen to part of this quote again and share your responses to it: “Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. Many… have a theoretical commitment to this doctrine, but in their day-to-day existence they rely on their sanctification for justification… drawing their assurance of acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience. Few know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand upon Luther’s platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in that quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude…” Can you identify with this? How should Christians seek to overcome this tendency?

Without Scripture We Slip Into Error

"Suppose we ponder how slippery is the fall of the human mind into forgetfulness of God, how great the tendency to every kind of error, how great the lust to fashion constantly new and artificial religions. Then we may perceive how necessary was such written proof of the heavenly doctrine, that it should neither perish through forgetfulness nor vanish through error nor be corrupted by the audacity of men. It us therefore clear that God has provided the assistance of the Word for the sake of all those to whom he has been pleased to give useful instruction because he foresaw that his likeness imprinted upon the most beautiful form of the universe would be insufficiently effective. Hence, we must strive onward by this straight path if we seriously aspire to the pure contemplation of God. We must come, I say, to the Word, where God is truly and vividly described to us from his works, while these very works ate appraised not by our depraved judgment but by the rule of eternal truth. If we turn aside from the Word, as I have just now said, though we may strive with strenuous haste, yet, since we have got off the track, we shall never reach the goal. For we should so reason that the splendor of the divine countenance, which even the apostle calls 'unapproachable' (1 Tim. 6:16), is for us like an inexplicable labyrinth unless we are conducted into it by the thread of the Word; so that it is better to limp along this path than to dash with all speed outside it... For errors can never be uprooted from human hearts until true knowledge of God is planted therein."

The Institutes of Christian Religion, John Calvin

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Growth Group Homework for Nov 4

On Sunday, we learned that Jesus called His followers to a new code of conduct for relationships – a code that is based in grace.

1. Listen again to the following statement made on Sunday: “God’s grace makes demands on those who have received it. His grace is relentless and will never leave us where we are.” What is your initial response to this? 

• Read Luke 6:37-38

2. We all would agree that a judgmental spirit and an overly-critical attitude are inappropriate for a follower of Jesus. But why are these so hard to avoid? What does Christ call us do and believe in these verses? How does grace enable us to be generous even though people hurt us?

• Read Luke 6:39-40

3. What attitude is Jesus condemning here? Jesus is calling for His followers to have a teachable spirit. How does grace make us teachable?

• Read Luke 6:41-42

4. What point is Jesus making by giving the absurd example of the “telephone pole” versus the speck? Darrell Bock writes: “If there is to be accountability, it must start with ourselves. We often are aware of little faults in others, such as our children or our spouses, while we ignore our own great faults. Jesus calls such priorities hypocrisy. He calls his disciples to self-accountability. Those who do the best job of restoring others in their walk are those who can restore themselves. That means being able to receive rebuke and honestly going before the Lord so that our beam may be removed. Only then are we ready to consider how to help a fellow believer remove the speck from his or her eye.” What stumbling blocks do we encounter in our efforts to stay spiritually sensitive in the way Bock describes?

Growth Group Homework for Week of Oct 28th

Sunday’s sermon focused on one of Jesus’ most amazing yet perplexing teachings – that we should love our enemies.

1. What insight, principle, or observation from this weekend’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? Explain.

• Read Luke 6:27-36

2. What does Jesus reveal in verses 27-28 about the kind of love He expects of His disciples for their enemies? How does this challenge you?

3. Verses 29-30 help us understand that the kind of “enemies” Jesus has in mind are those relationships we have with others that become adversarial. We learned on Sunday that Jesus provides two examples here of the way people act as our enemies. The first set of examples in verse 29 shows that our enemies are those who assault our honor and encroach upon our “rights”. In the second set of examples in verse 30, we learn that our enemies are those who take advantage of our generosity and trust. When was the last time you felt treated this way by someone? How do these verses teach that we are to let go of self-interest and an attachment to our things for the sake of confronting our enemies and pursuing what is ultimately best for them?

4. Read Romans 12:17-21. How does Paul’s teaching expand on Jesus’ instruction in Luke 6?

5. Read Romans 5:6-8 along with Jesus’ statements about the character of the Father in Luke 6:35-36. Based on these texts, how it is possible for us to have love for our enemies?

Prosperity Doctrine In Focus

In this past Sunday's sermon, I referenced the teachings of what is known as "prosperity doctrine" aka, the "health and wealth gospel". I have been concerned for some time over the pervasive influence of this teaching (and its various manifestations) in the hearts and minds of so many. I am convinced that this is a false Gospel and leaves many people disillusioned when "success" doesn't come their way as promised. Teachers and preachers from this doctrinal perspective include high-profile names like Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, and others. Below I have listed a few links I highly recommend for further reading and consideration:

• Prosperity Preaching: Deceitful and Deadly
• Become a Better You: Reflections on Joel Osteen's Latest Book
• ‘Staying in His Lane’ — Joel Osteen’s Gospel of Affirmation Without Salvation
• Prosperity Gospel
• What Is The Prosperity Gospel?
• Are You Equipped to Respond to the Prosperity Gospel?
• An African Prophet Standing Against the Prosperity Gospel
• Tim Tebow Cancels Speech at Event Organized by Prosperity Gospel Preacher

Community Is Not an Activity

"Those first Christians of Acts 2 were not devoting themselves to social activities but to a relationship — a relationship that consisted of sharing together the very life of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They understood that they had entered this relationship by faith in Jesus Christ, not by joining an organization. And they realized that their fellowship with God logically brought them into fellowship with one another. Through their union with Christ, they were formed into a spiritually organic community. They were living stones being built into a spiritual house (see 1 Peter 2: 5), fellow members of the body of Christ. As William Hendriksen said, 'Koinonia, then, is basically a community-relationship.' It is not primarily an activity; it is a relationship. 

"It is this spiritually organic relationship that forms the basis of true Christian community. It is not the fact that we are united in common goals or purposes that makes us a community. Rather, it is the fact that we share a common life in Christ. There are many organizations, both secular and Christian, whose members work together to pursue common goals.

"Some of these groups may call themselves communities. But biblical community goes much deeper than sharing common goals, though it ultimately involves that. Biblical community is first of all the sharing of a common life in Christ. It is when we grasp this truth that we are in a position to begin to understand true community."

Jerry Bridges True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia (Kindle Locations 102-113). Navpress. Kindle Edition. 

Growth Group Homework for Oct 21

Jesus’ sermon in Luke 6 explains what it truly means to follow Him and how radical a shift a believer makes in becoming His disciple. Here in the opening of His teaching, Jesus turns conventional thinking upside-down as he explains who is truly blessed and who is not. For disciples today, it is important that we understand and pursue a life that is truly blessed. 

• Read Luke 6:20-26

1. What insight, principle, or observation from this weekend’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? Explain.
2. When was the last time you felt that God was truly blessing you? How do you think most people think about what it means to be “blessed”?
3. What do you think the disciples found surprising in Jesus’ teaching about the true nature of blessedness? How does Jesus’ teaching contrast itself against contemporary misconceptions about what it means to live a blessed life?
4. Luke 6 isn’t the only time Jesus talks about the nature of true blessing. Examine the following passages and summarize what they teach about who is “blessed” and why:
• Luke 7:23
• Luke 10:23-24
• Luke 11:27-28
• Luke 12:35-40
• Luke 14:12-14
• Luke 24:50-53
5. To be blessed is to know the reality of God’s total commitment to those who joyfully trust Him with their present lives and future hope. In what ways does this passage show that has God fully committed Himself to His people?

"Heavenly Identity" Powerful Spoken Word Video

Heavenly Identity from The Branch Corvallis on Vimeo.

Killing Sin through Prayer?

"The activity by which the Christian directly secures the mortification of his sins is prayer," wrote J. I. Packer in his book A Quest For Godliness. But what does this practice of putting sin to death through personal prayer look like?  https://vimeo.com/43983757

The Past Sounds Like the Present

Luke 9:23: And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (ESV)

And is this the doctrine of Christianity? Is not the Christian world then asleep? If not, whence so much self-righteousness, whence the self-indulgence, whence the reigning love of riches which we every where meet with? Above all, whence that predominant greediness after sensual pleasure, that has so over-run this sinful nation, that was a pious stranger to come amongst us, he would be tempted to think some heathen Venus was worshipped here, and that temples were dedicated to her service. But we have the authority of an inspired apostle to affirm, that they who live in a round of pleasure, “are dead while they live.” Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, “Awake thou that sleepeth, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” But the power of raising the spiritually dead belongeth only unto God. Do thou therefore, O Holy Jesus, who by thy almighty word commandest Lazarus to come forth, though he had lain in the grave some days, speak also as effectually to these spiritually dead souls, whom Satan for many years hath so fast bound by sensual pleasures, that they are not so much as able to lift up their eyes or hearts to heaven.

George Whitefield (1714-1770), from a sermon published in 1771-1772 on Luke 9:23 entitled "The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial"

True Disciples Savor Christ

“This is how the Gospel is defined. When we are converted through faith in Christ, what we see with the eyes of our hearts is ‘the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Gospel is the good news of all-conquering beauty. Or to say it the way Paul does, it is the good news of “the glory of Christ.” When we embrace Christ, we embrace God. We see and savor God’s glory. There is no savoring of God’s glory if we do not see it in Christ. This is the only window through which a sinner may see the face of God and not be incinerated.” 

– John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life

The Expulsive Power of a New Affection | Life in the Regeneration

The Expulsive Power of a New Affection | Life in the Regeneration:

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Whitefield's Prayer: An Open Letter to Stay-at-Home Christians

Whitefield's Prayer: An Open Letter to Stay-at-Home Christians:

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Believing Prayer – Gospel Driven Church

Believing Prayer – Gospel Driven Church:

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Prayer for Truth Today

"O God, who art the Truth, make me one with Thee in everlasting love. It wearieth me oftentimes to read and listen to many things; in Thee is all that I wish for and desire. Let all teachers hold their peace; let all creation keep silence before Thee: speak Thou alone to me."

The Imitation of Christ
Thomas á Kempis

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True Relief in Christ, not Friends

"Satisfy not yourselves in fruitless complaints to men. Many do so, but they are never the nearer to Christ. I grant it is lawful in spiritual distresses to complain to men, yea, and it is a great mercy if we have any near us in times of trouble that are judicious, tender and faithful, into whose bosoms we may pour out our troubles; but to rest in this, short of Christ, is no better than a snare of the devil to destroy us. Is there not a God to go to in trouble? The best of men, in the neglect of Christ, are but physicians of no value. Be wise and cautious in your choice of Christian friends, to whom you open your complaints; some are not clear themselves in the doctrine of Christ and faith, others are of a dark and troubled spirit, as you are, and will but entangle you more. 'As for me (saith Job) is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?' Job 21:4. One hour between Christ and thy soul in secret, will do more for thy true relief than all other counsellors and comforters in the world can do."

John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 196

What Is the Christian Life? Twelve Descriptions Based on Gal. 5:13-26

1. The Christian life is a way of life free from the flesh and therefore free from the law (Gal. 5:13). 
2. The Christian life is a freedom that serves others in love (Gal. 5:13-14). 
3. The Christian life is best characterized as a life lived under the direction of the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). 
4. The Christian life holds the promise of right living (Gal. 5:16). 
5. The Christian life is the result of an inner war of desires (Gal. 5:17). 
6. The Christian life is a life of submission to the Spirit, not the law (Gal. 5:18). 
7. The Christian life is a life lived in stark contrast to that which would be produced by the sinful nature (Gal. 5:19-21). 
8. The Christian life is a life lived in such a way that is worthy of kingdom inheritance (Gal. 5:21). 
9. The Christian life is a life full of the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). 
10. The Christian life is a life which looks and sounds like Jesus Christ (Gal. 5:22-23). 
11. The Christian life is lived by those who, having renounced and crucified the sinful nature and its desires, now belong to Christ (Gal. 5:24). 
12. The Christian life is a life in which its fruit is best seen at night (Gal. 5:26).

O Precious Faith

"O believer, though the arms of thy faith be small and weak, yet they embrace a great Christ, and receive the richest gift that ever God bestowed upon the world. No sooner art thou become a believer, but Christ is in thee the hope of glory; and thou hast the broad seal of heaven to confirm thy title and claim to the privileges of adoption, for 'to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.' ...O precious faith! The treasures of ten thousand worlds cannot purchase such privileges as these; all the crowns and scepters of the earth, sold at full value, are no price for such mercies."

- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 144


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Faith in Christ Matters

"There are many graces besides faith, but faith only is the grace that gives us right to Christ; and there are many acts of faith besides receiving, but this receiving or embracing of Christ is the justifying and saving act...Nothing but unbelief bars men from Christ and his benefits."

-John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 116-117


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Spiritual Life Diagnostics

"How greatly are all men concerned to examine their condition with respect to spiritual life and death! It is very common for men to presume upon their union with and interest in Christ. This privilege is, by common mistake, extended generally to all that profess the Christian religion, and practice the external duties of it, when, in truth, no more are or can be united to Christ, than are quickened by the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1, 2). O try your interest in Christ by this rule. If I am quickened by Christ, I have union with Christ.

"First, if there be spiritual sense in your souls, there is spiritual life in them.  there are senses belonging to the spiritual as well as to the animal life (Heb. 5:14). They can feel and sensibly groan under soul pressures and burdens of sin (Rom. 7:24). The dead feel not, moan not under the burdens of sin, but the living do: they may be sensible indeed of the evil of sin, with respect to themselves, but not as against God, damnation may scare them, but pollution does not; hell may fright them, but not the offending of God.

"Secondly, if there be spiritual hunger and thirst, it is a sweet sign of spiritual life; this sign agrees to Christians of a day old, 1 Pet. 2:2. Even 'new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word:' If spiritual life be in you, you know how to expound that scripture, Psal. 42:1. without any other interpreter than your own experience: you will feel somewhat like the gnawing of an empty stomach making you restless during the interruption of your daily communion with the Lord.

"Thirdly, if there be spiritual conflicts with sin, there is spiritual life in your souls, Gal. 5: l7. Not only a combat between light in the higher, and sense in the lower faculties; not only opposition to more gross external corruptions, that carry more infamy and horror with them than other sins do: but the heart will be the seat of war; and the more inward and secret any lust is, by so much the more will it be opposed and mourned over.

"In a word, the weakest Christian may, upon impartial observation, find such signs of spiritual life in himself (if he will allow himself time to reflect upon the bent and frame of his own heart) as desires after God, conscience of duties, fears, cares, and sorrows, about sin; delight in the society of heavenly and spiritual men; and a loathing and burden in the company of vain and carnal persons.

"Objection: O but I have a very dead heart to spiritual things!

"Answer: It is a sign of life that you feel, and are sensible of that deadness; and besides, there is a great deal of difference betwixt spiritual deadness and death; the one is the state of the unregenerate, the other is the disease of regenerate men.

"Objection: Some signs of spiritual life are clear to me, but I cannot close with others.

"Answer: If you can really close with any, it may satisfy you, though you be dark in others; for if a child cannot walk, yet if it can take its food - if it cannot take its food, yet if it can cry - yea, if it cannot cry, yet if it breathe, it is alive."

- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, pp. 114-115

Only the Regenerate Know Real Pleasure

"This life imparted by the regenerating Spirit, is a most pleasant life. All delights, all pleasures, all joys, which are not fantastic and delusive, have their spring and origin here...Regeneration is the point from which all true pleasure commences; you never live a cheerful day till you begin to live to God...None can by words make another understand what that pleasure is which the renewed soul feels in its communion with the Lord, and in the sealings and witnessings of his Spirit...All the delights in the sensual life are but as the putrid waters of a corrupt pond where toads lie croaking and spawning, compared to the crystal streams of the most pure and pleasant fountain."
-John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 103


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Letter to a 12-Year-Old Girl About the Eternal Destiny of Those Who Have Not Heard the Gospel - Desiring God

Letter to a 12-Year-Old Girl About the Eternal Destiny of Those Who Have Not Heard the Gospel - Desiring God:

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What Must Be Overcome In the Unconverted Is More Than Inability

"You see where it sticks, not in simple inability to believe, but in an inability joined with an enmity; (unbelievers) neither can come nor will come to Christ. It is true, all that do come to Christ, come willingly; but thanks be to the grace of God, that has freed and persuaded the will, else they never had been willing to come...This aversion of the will and affections from God is one of the main roots of original sin. No argument can prevail to bring the soul to Christ till this be mastered and overpowered by the Father's drawing...He that comes to heaven may say, Lord, if I had had mine own way, I had never come here: if thou hadst not drawn me, I should never have come to thee. O the riches of the grace of God! O unparalleled mercy and goodness, not only to prepare such a glory as this for an unworthy soul, but to put forth the exceeding greatness of thy power afterwards to draw an unwilling soul to the enjoyment of it!"
- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 91


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A Challenge to All Pastors, Starting with This One!

"O study not only to preach exactly, but to live exactly; let the misplacing of one action in your lives trouble you more than the misplacing of your words in your discourses; this is the way to succeed in your embassy, and give up your account with joy." - John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 72


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The Potency of the Preached Word

"No heart so hard, no conscience so stupid, but this sword can pierce and wound; in an instant it can cast down all those vain reasonings and fond imaginations which the carnal heart has been building all its life long, and open a fair passage for convictions of sin, and the fears and terrors of wrath to come, into that heart that never was afraid of these things before...What shall we do? (Acts 2:37) is the doleful cry of men at their wit's end; the voice of one in deepest distress: and such outcries have been no rarities under the preaching of the word; its power has been felt by persons of all orders and conditions; the great and honorable of the earth, as well as the poor and despicable. The learned and the ignorant, the civil and profane, the young and the old, all have felt the heart-piercing efficacy of the gospel."
- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 61


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You Shine with a Borrowed Light

"How contented and well pleased should we be with our outward lot, however Providence has cast it for us in this world. O do not repine, God hath dealt bountifully with you; upon others he hath bestowed the good things of this world; upon you, himself in Christ. How humble and lowly in spirit should you be under your great advancement. It is true, God hath magnified you greatly by this union; but yet do not boast. You bear not the root, but the root you. You shine, but with a borrowed light."
- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 51


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Persecutors of the Church, Beware!

"If the saints are so nearly united to Christ, as the members to the head, O then, how great a sin and full of danger is it, for any to wrong and persecute the saints; for in so doing they persecute Christ himself...Oh, it were better thy hand should wither, and thine arm fall off from thy shoulder, than ever it should be lifted up against Christ in the poorest of his members. Believe it, not only your violent actions but your hard speeches are all set down upon your doomsday-book; and you shall be brought to an account for them in the great day. Beware what arrows you shoot, and be sure of your mark before you shoot them."
- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 49


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Is “Accepting Jesus In Your Heart” Superstitious & Unbiblical?

This is a tremendously sobering thought which we need to share with our churches...

The Lowest Believer More Dignified Than the Greatest Angel

"(Christ) is the head of the angels as well as the saints, but in different respects. To angels he is a head of dominion and government, but to saints he is both a head of dominion and of a vital influence - they are his chief and most honorable subjects, but not his mystical members; they are as the barons and nobles in his kingdom, but the saints as the dear spouse and wife of his bosom. This dignifies the believer above the greatest angel."
- John Flavel, The Method of Grace, p. 43


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Borrowed Excellencies

"What intolerable insolence and vanity would it be for a man that wears the rich and costly robe of Christ's righteousness, in which there is not one thread of his own spinning, to pride himself as if he had made it, and were beholden to none for it. O man, thine excellencies, whatever they are, are borrowed from Christ; they oblige thee to him, but he can be no more obliged to thee who wearest them, than the sun is obliged to him who borrows its light, or the fountain to him that draws its water for his use and benefit."
-John Flavel (1630-1691), The Method of Grace, pp. 23-24


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An Authentic Narrative - John Newton's Life

I preached a biographical sermon on the amazing work of God in the life of John Newton. You can download his "Authentic Narrative" here.

“If the question is only concerning the patience and long-suffering of God, the wonderful interposition of his providence in favor of an unworthy sinner, the power of his grace in softening the hardest heart, and the riches of his mercy in pardoning the most enormous and aggravated transgressions; in these respects I know of no case more extraordinary than my own.”

A True Gem by Isaac Watts

How sad our state by nature is!
Our sin how deep it stains!
And Satan binds our captive minds
Fast in his slavish chains.

But there's a voice of sovereign grace
Sounds from the sacred word;
Ho! ye despairing sinners, come,
And trust upon the Lord.

My soul obeys th' almighty call,
And runs to this relief;
I would believe thy promise, Lord;
O! help my unbelief.

To the dear fountain of thy blood,
Incarnate God! I fly;
Here let me wash my spotted soul
From crimes of deepest dye.

Stretch out thine arm, victorious King
My reigning sins subdue;
Drive the old dragon from his seat,
With all his hellish crew.]

A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On thy kind arms I fall;
Be thou my strength and righteousness,
My Jesus, and my all.

Isaac Watts, 1791

How the Gospel Means We Fight Sin (A Rumination)

Remember what the Gospel means. The Gospel means self-abandonment. When you came to Christ, did you come wanting to remain in sin, but with a guarantee of heaven at the end? Were you interested in Christ as a friend or as fire insurance or something else? Is He not a Savior? A savior from what? Sin (cp. Col. 1:13-14)! Is He not a Lord? Does He not have divine right over your life? Over your mind, heart, and body (1 Cor. 6:17-20)? Was not your life united to His at your conversion (cp. 2:11-14)? Have you not already turned your back on sin forever (v. 7, 9-10; cp. Gal. 5:24)? Why do you then return to your old crucified self and linger? Why do you halt? Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32, 33).

If you are losing in the battle with sin over and over again – if you don’t know what victory is – then you may be tempted to say, “This Christianity thing doesn’t work! I cannot break free from sin’s grip on me. I have no power. I have tried and failed to change.” The reality for you is that you may not be truly converted – truly born again. I say this in love. The Scriptures tell us that at our salvation, we repented from our life without Christ and embraced His life. We exchanged lives. There are half-Gospels out there – false Gospels, that is – which tell folks that “getting saved” is about a prayer they pray, an emotion they feel, a creed they confess, a series of propositional statements they believe, a rite they perform. They tell folks that salvation is adding Christ to your life. “God is your co-pilot”, they say. What a great benefit! Why not add Christ to your life? Then you can continue to run your life your way and have Christ on the side – filling out your spiritual needs. And when you get in a pinch, why then, here He is coming to the rescue to get you out of your spot of trouble so you can resume command at the helm of your life.

This is a false Gospel, people! On account of it thousands, millions, will go on their merry way to hell!

The true message of salvation includes a call to repentance and faith. It means that you realize that you at the helm of your life is a disaster of eternal significance. It means that you are not the center of the universe. It means that you do not want to stay in charge or in sin anymore. You abandon the helm. You abandon the throne of your life. You abandon your life for His life. He becomes Master and Commander of your life, your world, your relationships, your thoughts, dreams, goals, ambitions, hobbies – every square inch of your life comes under His rule!

Will you then be sinless? Of course not! Else why would we get the injunctions we get here? No, we are freed from sin’s power over us and sin’s penalty of separation from God. But we still have sin’s pollution as long as we are in these unchanged mortal bodies. Something new has begun inside of us (2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:3) and one day the new on the inside will be matched with the new on the outside. But until then, we are at war. We have taken sides. We have seen the enemy – and the enemy is our old sin nature. We must wage war with it for that is now our identity – Christ in us, the Warrior of Righteousness and Obliterator of All Things that Contest God’s Sovereign Claim – He is at war with sin and we have already chosen sides. Now, will we go AWOL? Will we play the deserter? Or will we take up arms and finish the fight?

When God Seems Hidden

"It is not the distance of the earth from the sun, nor the sun's withdrawing itself, that makes a dark and gloomy day; but the interposition of clouds and vaporous exhalations. Neither is thy soul beyond the reach of the promise, nor does God withdraw Himself; but the vapours of thy carnal, unbelieving heart do cloud thee."

John Owen

Investigating the Evidence for Christ's Resurrection

In this past Easter Sunday's sermon, I invited folks to examine evidences and proofs for the veracity of the resurrection of Christ by examining the evidence. Below are several links to articles from trustworthy Christian thinkers which outline and explain a few reasons for why the biblical record for Christ's resurrection is reliable:

The Resurrection of Christ
J. Gresham Machen

The Resurrection of Christ: A Historical Fact
B.B. Warfield

Verifying The Resurrection: Six Evidences
James Montgomery Boice

Do the Resurrection Accounts Hopelessly Contradict One Another? 
Glenn Miller

Could the Resurrection Appearances be a Case of Group Hallucination? 
Glenn Miller

Evidence for the Resurrection
Josh McDowell

The Resurrection: Fact or Fiction?
Pat Zukeran

Evidence for the Resurrection
Matt Perman

The Historical Veracity of the Resurrection Narratives
Greg Herrick

The Historical Basis of the Christian Faith: The Resurrection of Jesus
James Denney

For Parents Who Have Failed – Justin Taylor

For Parents Who Have Failed – Justin Taylor:

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The Gospel in a Nutshell

I have been reading through a list of Gospel definitions complied by Trevin Wax and I believe I have landed on what (in my view) is my favorite definition/summary:

"Jesus Christ, God's promised rescuer and ruler lived our life, died our death and rose again in triumphant vindication as the first-fruits of the new creation to bring forgiven sinners together by the Holy Spirit to live under his gracious reign as His Kingdom people." - Steve Timmis

Why do I particularly favor this definition?

1. The Triune God is present
2. Community is included
3. Christ is central
4. Christ's atoning work is presented
5. It captures the story ( Old Testament, New Testament, New Creation)
6. It is graphic and compelling (therefore, I believe, better suited for memorization)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

8 Profitable Ways to Read the Bible « J.C. Ryle Quotes

8 Profitable Ways to Read the Bible « J.C. Ryle Quotes:

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Carpe Deum

"If you try to seize the day, the day will eventually break you. Seize the corner of his garment and don't let go until he blesses you. He will reshape the day." - Paul Miller, The Praying Life