The Laboring Husbandman: A Baptist Blog

The Antinomian Legal Spirit

2012-02-11T12:31:00.000-05:00

Originally posted in 2010, adapted and updated for today.

The Antinomian Legal Spirit by Thomas Boston from the notes on the book The Marrow of Modern Divinity by E. Fisher.

"The Antinomian principle, that is needless for a man, perfectly justified by faith, to endeavor to keep the law, and do good works is a glaring evidence that legality is so ingrained in man’s corrupt nature, that until a man truly come to Christ, by faith, the legal disposition will still be reigning in him’ let him turn himself into what shape, or be of what principles he will in religion; though he run into Antinomianism he will carry along with his legal spirit, which will always be a slavish and unholy spirit. He is constrained, as the author observes, to do all that he does for fear of punishment, and hope of reward; and if it is once fixed in his mind that these are ceased in his case, he stands still like a clock when the weights that moved her go are removed, or like a slaved when he is in ho hazard of the whip; than winch there cannot be a greater evidence of loathsome legality."

Boston points out a great irony in the life of the antinomian. The very spirit that happily declares there is no law is the spirit of legality, just the other side of the coin of depravity. The lawless do not rejoice in the rest of Christ, but the freedom from law; which display the legalistic heart of the antinomian. Both the legalist and the antinomian have the same problem. One thinks that the law can justify, the other rejoices that the law is gone and believes it to be altogether unprofitable. The Biblical teaching shows us that we are dead to the law unto justification. We cannot, could not and will not keep God’s law and Jesus Christ came and freed us from the curse of the law; it now has no condemning power over us any longer. We are not under the law for justification, but under grace. We are not free to live as we will because we will not live as we ought (Romans 7). We are to follow Christ, not for salvation, but follow Him since we have been saved. We do not obey God to be saved, but because we are. No longer is it ‘do this and live’, but ‘live and do this’. We cannot please God without faith and faith without works is dead. A Christian follows and obeys Christ, not out of hope of Heaven, but love for the Lord.

The legalist has a heart to keep the law to go to Heaven, the antinomian has a heart to break the law because he feels freed from its grievous hold on him. The leagalist tries to keep the law because he feels he has to, not out of love for God. The antinomian has no concern for the law, not because he wants to please the Lord, but because he no longer feels he has to.

So both people are running in opposite directions from the same heart, a heart of law. One loves the law and runs under it for justification. The other hates the law and runs from it for perceived freedom. But both are running BECAUSE OF THE LAW. The love of the law, or the hatred of law cause both camps to run. The Child of God runs to Christ, with Christ and for Christ. He is the freeman who runs not because of the law, but because of Christ.

The Lord’s commandments are a rule of life to us, not a means of justification. We must strive not to drive in the ditch of the legalist who uses the law to be saved in hope of reward; and not to swerve into the ditch of antinomian and rebel against following Christ in spiritual anarchy against the Lordship of Christ.

______________________________________________________________________

Douglas Newell

The Divine Attributes of Christ

2012-02-08T06:33:00.000-05:00

Charles Hodge:

"All divine names and titlesare applied to [Christ]. He is called God, the mighty God, the great God, God overall;Jehovah; Lord; The Lord of lords and the King of Kings. All divine attributes areascribed to Him. He is declared to be omnipresent, omniscient, almighty and immutable,the same yesterday, today and forever. He is set forth as the creator and upholderand ruler of the universe. All things were created by Him and for Him; and by Himall things consist. He is the object of worship to all intelligent creatures, eventhe highest; all the angels (i.e., all creatures between man and God) are commandedto prostate themselves before Him. He is the object of all the religious sentiments;of reverence, love faith, and devotion. To Him men and angels are responsible for their characterand conduct. He required that man should honor Him as they honored the Father also.He calls all men unto Him. Promise to forgive their sins, to send them the HolySpirit; to give them rest and peace; to raise them up at the last day and to givethem eternal life. God is not more, and cannot promise more or do more that Christis said to be, to promise and to do. He has therefore been the Christian’s God fromthe beginning, in all ages and in all places."

Evil and Error by J.C. Philpot

2012-02-01T07:57:00.001-05:00

The following is and excerpt from J.C. Philpot's excellent book The Eternal Sonship of Christ.

"There are two things which every child of God has the greatest reason to dread; the one is evil, the other is error. Both are originally from Satan; both have a congenial home in the human mind; both are in their nature deadly and destructive; both have slain their thousands and tens of thousands; and under one or the other, or under both combined, all everlastingly perish but the redeemed family of God."

God is Able

2012-01-08T15:21:00.001-05:00

Matthew 9:27-28 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, andsaying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: andJesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said untohim, Yea, Lord.

How would you answer thequestion Jesus asked the blind men? Do you believe that God is able? The Holy Word of God is full of victoriouslanguage to the saints of God. They aredoubtless words to doubting men. Timeand time again we are encouraged in the inspired scriptures and are told howgreat our God is, and with men this is impossible; but with God all things arepossible, and we can do all things through Christ which strengthen us. God isable! Speaking as a man, God has powerto accomplish His will. He has strength,knowledge and wisdom to carry out what he wills to be. There is indeed nothing that is able to keepGod from doing what he wills. There isno power in Heaven or Earth that can overcome God. In other words, God can! Where man fails, God is able, when you and Ican’t even try, God can. When I don’thave the capacity to imagine, God is masterful in His works. We have a tendency to get discouraged. We can look at a situation and feel it’slost, and that we are defeated. That iswhat happens when we rely on self and live by sight. But we serve a mighty God, and our Lord Jesusis our victorious King! We are inChrist, and Jesus is all powerful, and with Him all things are possible. As obedient children, we must submit to thewill of God, and not question Him, so the purpose today is not to wonder why,but to understand why it is that we DO NOT question His will and trust Him,because God is able.

God is Able to Heal

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, hewas bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; andwith his stripes we are healed.

God can heal our physicalbodies, without question, but more importantly, He is able to heal the soul. Sunken andconsumed in the depravity of the human heart, I am not able to offer my wickedheart to God, I am not able to offer for myself let alone anyone else. You, dear reader as well, are in such a state of despair, left toyourself. No, it is only Jesus theChrist who could be able to be made sin for another, the holy, blameless,righteous Eternal Son of God, only He is able. Jesus is ableto save

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come untoGod by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

He saves to the uttermost, He is victorious,not simply trying His best, but is able and never fails! Put your trust in He who is worthy, the Lambof God, who is able to intercede. It’snot a blind faith in uncertainty and unproven experiments, but a living faithin the risen Saviour! What the bibledeclares of our Lord is true, believe in Him who is able to save.

God is able to HEAR

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now unto him that is able to do exceedingabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that workethin us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,world without end. Amen.

God is able to HELP

Hebrews2:16-18 For verily he took not on himthe nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto hisbrethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in thingspertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Forin that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them thatare tempted.

Our Great High Priest has the power to help us, nomatter the trouble. Whether facing agiant Philistine, or facing a fiery furnace He has the power to help. Whether accused by Potifars wife, or accusedby the enemy, Jesus has the power and ability to help us to serve Him. Jesus knows how to help us. He knows what to do, for lack of a betterphrase. Our merciful High Priest knowshow we need help. As he was fully man aswell as fully God, He is experienced (yet without sin) in the temptations weface. He also desires to help those Heloves. How often we run to those whocan’t help us, or won’t help us, or don’t care even if they do try to helpus. We, who are saved, have a mercifuland faithful priest. When we are triedor tempted, or in spiritual battle, Jesus intercedes for us, knowing our struggle,loving and not forsaking us, but gives us grace in our time of need. He heals, hears, helps and he also holdsus. Not only does he start the work,but is able to see it through. You maynot be like me, I sometimes will think I would like to try my hand at a certainproject, or a new hobby. I will beresolved to finish it, but as time goes on, the thought of the project or hobbywas more enjoyable than the work, and it may go unfinished. Are there any half finished projects layingaround our homes or work areas, or maybe project we didn’t put all we had intoit, and could have done a little better job? Jesus knows nothing of that.

God is Able to Hold

Jude 24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you fromfalling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory withexceeding joy, To the only wise God ourSaviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. He is able to keep us from falling intosin. Where would you be, had not the Lordkept you from fulfilling all the lust of your heart? Our Lord is able to keep us to him, his loveconstrainth us, and thank God he doesn’t leave us to ourselves. He is able to keep us from falling intoerror. Let us not be so bold as to thinkthat we hold to the truth by our great intellectual prowess and fortitude. God keeps us from falling by his marvelousgrace. I know men who have fallenfarther spiritually than I thought was possible. Not one of us is beyond or above falling intoerror, save God keep us from falling. How happy Satan must be when a child of God, who is blessed to be amember one of the Lord’s churches, falls into error and from the truth. He is able to keep us from falling intotemptation. If Jesus wasn't able, thenwhy would He have told us to pray that He would not lead us into temptation,but DELIVER us from evil? Jesus can,will and is in every way masterfully qualified with all power, to keep us from falling. Are we so strong as to never be ledaway? Oh, if it were not for the Lord,what depths of wickedness would we presently reside? Praise be to God that Jesus Christ is able tokeep us from falling! I can’t keep you,I am not able, I can’t even keep myself, but God is able to keep you from falling. He is able to present me faultless before thepresence of his glory with exceeding joy. He is going to bring me through to the end. I don’t trust a Saviour that can only do halfthe job, but one who is able and will save me to the uttermost, and with Him, Istand and fall. He WILL present mefaultless, cleansed by His blood, with great joy, and He is the only one whocan, and the only one who will. He will,with joy, be successful, as nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Good, Evil and God

2011-12-26T11:16:00.001-05:00

"Let us confess with the greatest benefit, what we believe with the greatest truth, that the God and Lord of all things who made all things very good --
both
foreknew that evil was to arise out of good,
and
knew that it belonged to his most omnipotent goodness to bring good out of evil, rather than not permit evil to be, and so ordained the life of angels and men as to show in it --
first:
what free will could do, and
second:
what the benefit of his grace and his righteous judgment could do."
Augustine.

Scandal Monger

2011-12-24T10:50:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.

The talebearer. Strong definesthe Hebrew word râkı̂yl as “a scandalmonger” and that, my friends, wins the definition of the day.

That is exactly was a talebeareris - a scandal monger. He is a purveyor of confidence, a seller of secrets, anddealer of confidence. And we like it, except when it is about us -- and then ofcourse, it is awful, just awful. How dare he spread MY secrets.

WARNING: the next tale thetalebearer tells may bear your secret tale.

Selah.

Prospects for the Future: M.D.Lloyd-Jones

2011-12-11T08:17:00.001-05:00

A Queen and Two Kings

2011-12-03T09:23:00.001-05:00

Here is a message I preached a couple weeks ago at the New Testament Baptist Church in Bristol, TN with Pastor Lewis Kiger. The message is when the Queen of Sheba went to meet one king, and he introduced her to a greater King.

You don't get Grace Gems?

2011-11-30T07:35:00.001-05:00

If you are not getting the daily Grace Gems e-mail, then you are missing out on sound, Biblical daily devotions. They are always theologically deep and edifying. Click here to sign up.***

Here is a sample:

(J.C. Ryle, "HAPPINESS" 1878)
It is an utter mistake to suppose that PLEASURE-SEEKING and AMUSEMENTS alone can give happiness. Of all roads that men can take in order to be happy, this is the one that is most completely wrong! Of all weary, flat, dull and unprofitable ways of spending life--this exceeds all! To think of a sinful, dying creature, with an immortal soul, expecting happiness . . .
in feasting and reveling,
in dancing and singing,
in dressing and visiting,
in ball-going and card-playing,
in races and fairs,
in hunting and shooting,
in crowds, in laughter, in noise, in music, in wine!
Surely it is a sight that is enough to make the devil laugh and the angels weep!Even a child will not play with its toys all day long! But when grown up men and women think to find happiness in a constant round of amusement--they sink far below a child!

*** I'm not affiliated in any way with Grace Gems, but I highly recommend the daily devotions. This is a free service that doesn't shy away from the truth and continually blesses and encourages me.

The Best Form of Government

2011-11-26T08:22:00.001-05:00

Here is an excerpt from The Golden Age: A treatise on the One Thousand Year Reign of Christ on Earth by A.W Pink and Luther C. Peak. From the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street, everyone knows that there is a problem with government and everyone has a way to "fix" it - but the only way to fix it is to take care of the root of the problem that ruins all systems of government, and that is sin. When Christ comes to rule, his reign will bring peace and joy.

The form of Christ's [millennial] government with be theocratic, not democratic. (Zec 14:9) And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. Many have been the experiments of politicians and reformers for the establishing of a government that should be equitable, stable and pure; but all have been in vain. Ever since the Flood, 4,500 years ago, God has allowed man every opportunity to develop hi schemes, but ancient and modern, Oriental and Occidental, monarchies and republics all have served only to demonstrate that man is a colossal failure. The record of human government is tyranny and oppression, greed and discontentment, war and bloodshed. How all this serves to show the crying need for One who has all power and yet all compassion, One who is God and yet Man. Under the rule of Christ shall be solved every problem of capital and labor, wealth and poverty, war and peace.

Solomon, I have a question. What is the Purpose of Proverbs?

2011-11-12T10:03:00.001-05:00

Reader - "Solomon, what is the purpose of Proverbs?"

Solomon - "Glad you asked! The purpose of the book of Proverbs is...

To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
To give subtilty to the simple,
to the young man knowledge and discretion.
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

(Pro 1:1-7)

Proverbs takes us to Christ. No one can live up to the book of Proverbs, not even Solomon. No one, but Christ Jesus, the greater than Solomon, who the world will not heed.

The Power and Influence of the Holy Spirit

2011-11-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

A.W. Pink in his book The Holy Spirit said

“Thegreatest lack of all Christendom today is the absence of the Holy Spirit’spower and blessing. Review the activities of the past 30 years. Millions ofdollars have been freely devoted to the support of professed Christianenterprises. Bible institutes and schools have turned out “Trained workers” bythe thousands. Bible conferences have sprung up on every side like mushrooms.Countless booklets and tracts have been printed and circulated. Time and laborshave been given by an almost incalculable number of “personal workers.” And with what results? Has the standard ofpersonal piety advanced? Are the churches less worldly? Are their members moreChrist-like in their daily walk? Is there more godliness in the home? Are thechildren more obedient and respectful? Is the Sabbath day being increasinglysanctified and kept holy? Has the standard of honest in business been raised?

Isn’t this the case?Assemblies grow in size and wealth but have no power – no influence. Even amongthe Lord’s churches:

· an apathy towardstruth,

· a coldnesstowards service

· an indifference towards ofgodly living

· an scoffing of separationuntil there is no difference between us and the world, let alone churches of Christ and worldlychurches

On one side of the road is the ditch of Pentecostalism that wrongly attributes the works of Satan and the works of their own fleshly desires to the Holy Spirit.

On the other side of the road is the ditch of intellectualism that makes Christianity nothing more than a topic of discussion and logic exercises.

The Holy Spirit is not merely a force, or a power, or an influence. He is a person. He is God. He is a "He" not an it. He is God, and without His power or influence, all of our feeble efforts are worthless.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (Zech. 4:6)

Paul and the heart of a pastor

2011-10-28T07:47:00.001-04:00

On Paul's pastoral heart in Acts 20:17-38 from the chapter The Focus of Paul's Ministry

"Here is a man sacrificial in love, selfless in service, earnest in labor, honest in dealing, conscientious in duty, sober in warning, fierce in defense, faithful in prayer, fixed upon Jesus, pouring himself out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of the faith of the church." - A Portrait of Paul Ventura & Walker

The Church Needs MEN

2011-10-25T21:16:00.001-04:00

BH Carroll was right on when he described the need of the Lord's men to act like men. Baptist churches need men to act like men. We need "creek swimming, brier cutting men" today. Men who will stand up and fulfill their roles God has called them to, namely to act like men. In I Corinthians 16:13 it says "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." God has challenged us, to BE A MAN. Carroll says:

"It is the creek-swimming men that shake the world—the brier-cutting men who will not allow obstacles to keep them from doing what God wants them to do.
Let a congregation get the idea of their pastor that he is pink of perfection, can beat anybody in town tying a cravat [neck tie], and wears the nicest little shoes, knows how to fasten a nose-gay in his vest, and how to enter a room and entertain company; carries an umbrella so as not to burn his delicate skin, then what will be his power to awaken and save the lost? An umbrella is all right in its place, but what I want to impress is this—that a stalwart man, a real man, will accomplish more of the great things in the work than all of these little fellows. He will not stop to consider a thousand things that absorb the mind of the trivial man, but will go right straightforward to the accomplishment of his great purpose. I have heard these dainty essayists preach. I have gone to their churches hungry and tried to -get something—and failed.
It reminds me of the story of a preacher who tells this of himself: During the civil war he went to a house to get some supper. Army rations were poor, and he was very hungry. They had just a little butter and they all wanted to make it go as far as possible, so each one tried to hurry through in order to get another chance at the butter before it disappeared. He said that he could not get rid of the butter in his plate. He even tried to sop it up with his bread, but it did not have any taste to it. At last he looked up and saw through knot-hole in the roof over his head that the moon was shining down through into his plate, and that all the time he had been sopping moonshine.”

Thankful for the Dentist

2011-10-23T08:12:00.003-04:00

Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

I don't like going to the dentist, but I'm thankful for them. Friday morning I had to go to an oral surgeon and have two impacted wisdom teeth removed. Today, my face is swollen to the point I look like a greedy chipmunk, but I am thankful. I'm thankful for the skill of the dentist. I'm thankful that he was able to use medicine to put me to sleep during the procedure. I'm thankful for the medicine that is used to protect from infection. I'm thankful that the removal of these problem teeth. I'm thankful that the worst part thus far is the swelling.I live in a country and in a time where I can have this procedure done. 100 years ago, I would have put up with the pain. In another country today, I would have had to put up with the pain.God is so good.

The River in Ezekiel 47

2011-10-10T06:25:00.002-04:00

Here is the audio of a message I preached at the New Testament Baptist Church, in Bristol. Lewis Kiger is the pastor there, and he has put the message online at sermonaudio.com.

There are many different interpretations of the text, but I hold to a literal interpretation and explain why I hold to that view.

It's not about you

2011-10-05T05:34:00.000-04:00

"People are brought to faith in Jesus Christ not because a preacher happens to be exceptionally dynamic one Sunday morning, or because he finishes his sermon with a spell-binding story. Rather, in a mysterious works that is both sovereign in expression and divine in origin, the power of God unites with the proclamation of the word of God and produces effects that are in keeping with the purposes of God."

Spirit Empowered Preaching by Art Azurdia

Happy in God's Word

2011-10-04T05:23:00.000-04:00

Happy is the man who doesn't walk with the worldly. Who shuns the conventional wisdom of the ungodly. He will not be in the majority and he will not be popular - but he will be happy.

Happy is the man who is happy in the Word of God.

Want to be sound?
Want to be fruitful?
What to prosper spiritually?
Get in the Word of God and meditate on it day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Family Man

2011-09-10T11:54:00.000-04:00

Sweet song by Andrew Peterson.

Which way do I go? To fight or not to fight

2011-09-08T07:02:00.002-04:00

Pro 26:4-5 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Which way do I go? It isn't an easy question to answer and when you are standing at the proverbial fork, this passage might not seem to help much because sometimes the road to the left is good, and sometimes the same road is bad. Sometimes you need to answer and sometimes you don't. It would be much easier if we only had verse 4 or 5. We get to the fork and the our directions say "it is necessary that you turn right, sometimes and it is necessary that you turn left other times."

You have to stop and think.* You have to consider the consequences of your words. You have to determine what kind of "fool" you are dealing with and where your answer will lead you. You have to consider the wisdom in answering at all because once you answer, you have chosen your path.

Just because you CAN win a fight doesn't mean that you should. Sometimes it is better to let someone wallow in their own foolishness. On the other hand, sometimes you can best glorify Jesus Christ by rebuking error. Often you can best show love to your neighbor by knocking the chair of conceit out from underneath him.

This doesn't bode well for social media because internet fights are often like wildfires. They burn hot and they burn quick, but the damage lasts for a long time.

So, stop and think. Look down both paths. Pray and study God's Word and take the route that best glorifies Jesus Christ, even if that means you don't get to win.

*Sometimes you don't have this luxury to spend hours in contemplation. Some situations require immediate decisions. Even so, we cannot be thoughtless in our response and must trust in God's grace and His good providence.

Envy's Choice

2011-08-27T09:21:00.002-04:00

Amiable Arminian Adam Clarke tells an apocryphal Jewish fable about Envy's choice.

There were two persons, one covetous and the other envious, to whom a certain person promised to grant whatever they should ask; but double to him who should ask last. The covetous man would not ask first, because he wished to get the double portion, and the envious man would not make the first request because he could not bear the thoughts of thus benefiting his neighbor. However, at last he requested that one of his eyes should be taken out, in order that his neighbor might lose both.

Particular Redemption

2011-08-06T11:46:00.002-04:00

If the purpose of the cross was to save from sins, redeem from wrath, to deliver from the curse of the law and the guilt of the law to reconcile us to God, giving eternal life - then Christ only died for those unworthy souls that are saved, redeemed, delivered from the curse and guilt of the law and those that are reconciled. Since all are not saved and delivered and since all sinners will not be saved and delivered, then they could not have been the object of Christ’s work.

Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Did He or didn't He?

Before there was an angel, earth or sky, God chose, unto Himself a particular people, not according to their works, but according to His mercy. Those people were sinners, aliens and guilty in their sins. Christ, God the Son, loving those people came and offered Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of those beloved of God.

Jesus, while on the cross, made a full sacrifice for the sins of His people, paying for sin, satisfying God’s justice, paying the eternal debt due those elect. The end of that sacrifice was the people Christ came for, have eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. All that Christ redeemed shall be saved because of taht redemptive work.

Did He accomplish what He set out to do or didn't He?

If that was the aim of the Lord Jesus Christ in coming to Earth, did He accomplish what He set out to do?

Selah.

Ye must be born again

2011-07-25T06:23:00.004-04:00

From Peter Van Mastricht's book A Treatise on Regeneration:

Without [regeneration] he can neither see the kingdom of God -- this is, mentally, since he is blind, and perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them ,because they are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:14) --nor, if he could see, could he enter in to the kingdom of God, since he is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Romans 8:7. Of himself he is not sufficient to think anything spiritually good (II Corinthians 3:5), and therefore stands in absolute need of illumination by regeneration in order to see the kingdom of heaven and of a renovation of his will, in order to be willing to enter into it.

Mitt Romney is Not a Christian

2011-07-19T05:15:00.003-04:00

Be careful.

The interesting thing about Christians who try and sit at the table with the political right -- when the political right no longer needs the Christian, the Christian will be the first to be eaten.

Over the last year, I have heard several of the talk radio types give some warnings about social issues: forget about them. Forget marriage, abortion -- we need to focus on getting republicans elected, to make sure taxes stay low.

We don't live in a theocracy and I am not going to hold my breathe and wait on a Baptist to win the presidency. Elections have consequences and the majority get to set the agenda.

Having said all that....in comes Mitt Romney and this is were the trouble is going to start, in my opinion.

Mitt Romney is a Mormon who is trying to pass himself off as a Christian. Mormon's are not Christians. Mormons have different gods, a different Jesus and different theology than Christians have. Conservative leaders have already begun to make their veiled threats against anyone who questions Romney's Christianity.

I'm not proposing that there is a standard of theology to run for president. But I am not going to support someone who lies about what they believe either. Christians cannot hide the fact that Romney claims to be a Christian when he is not. We MUST expose that. Not because of political purposes, but because of the gospel. On a national stage, there will be a leader corrupting the gospel, with thousands of talking heads confirming this damnable heresy for the sake of political power. We are being warned to keep our mouths shut about Romney's religion.

We can't stay quiet about this, and that is why the political right will turn on Christians in a heart beat if we don't "fall in line" when Romney gets the nomination. I cannot keep my mouth shut and put a pretty face on a damnable evil.

It will be interesting to see the fall out if he does get the nomination. Christians need to pray and be prepared to give an answer, because Mormonism is coming to the national stage in the clothes of Christianity.

How Deep the Father's Love

2011-07-17T15:10:00.002-04:00

I have been particularly blessed by this song over the past week.

"Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"

Spurgeon on "Salvation is of the Lord"

2011-07-06T07:14:00.001-04:00

C.H. Spurgeon

"Salvation is of the Lord." That is just an essence of Calvinism; it is the sum and substance of it. If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, "He is one who says, Salvation is of the Lord." I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. "He only is my rock and my salvation." Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock-truth, "God is my rock and my salvation."

What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ—the bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here.

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

Speak with conviction, you know?

2011-07-01T08:44:00.002-04:00

HT:Challies.

Able to Read the Word of God

2011-06-24T06:34:00.002-04:00

"No event in any nation's history can be more momentous and far-reaching than giving to them of the Word of God in their mother tongue and allowing it to be an open book at every fireside, with no page or promise or precept darkened by the proscriptive shadow of priest or state."

BH Carroll

Are We Christians?

2011-06-18T10:20:00.001-04:00

Amos 6:1

What do we say to . . .
our self-indulgence,
our sloth,
our love of ease,
our avoidance of hardship,
our luxury,
our pampering of the body,
our costly feasts,
our silken couches,
our brilliant furniture,
our gay attire,
our braided hair,
our jeweled fingers,
our idle mirth,
our voluptuous music,
our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands?

Are we Christians? Or are we worldlings? Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days?

Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious
world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship,
to be seen–except in useless religious ornaments for the
body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary?

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!” Is not this
the description of multitudes who name the name of
Christ? They may not always be “living in debauchery,
lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable
idolatry.” But even where these are absent, there is
‘high living’–luxury of the table or the wardrobe–
in conformity to ‘this present evil world.’

‘At ease in Zion!’ Yes! there is the shrinking . . .
from hard service;
from ‘spending and being spent;’
from toil and burden-bearing and conflict;
from self-sacrifice and noble adventure,
for the Master’s sake.

There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity
to Christ! There is a laying down, instead of a taking up
of the cross. Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet,
lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! Or there
is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste
and the manners of our refined and intellectual age.

Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross!

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and
the narrow way broader, so as to be able to walk more
comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove
that ‘modern enlightenment’ has so elevated the race,
that there is no longer the battle or the burden or the
discipline; or has so refined ‘the world and its pleasures’,
that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give
ourselves up to the inebriation of the Siren song.

‘At ease in Zion!’ Even when the walls of our city are
besieged, and the citadel is being stormed! Instead of
grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches!

Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe!

We are cowards, when we should be brave!
We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold!
We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent!
We are cold, when we should be full of zeal!

We compromise and shuffle and apologize, when
we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare
down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin–in
order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the
age, or ‘unify’ the Church.

Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name,
but the living thing. Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious,
self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day!

A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of
ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry
after Him–renouncing ease and denying self.

Our time,
our gifts,
our money,
our strength,
are all to be laid upon the altar.

My thanks to witherblog.com. I googled the sermon title and found the transcript there.

He knows our frame

2011-06-13T05:55:00.001-04:00

An excerpt from John MacDuff's excellent devotional on suffering-“A Bow in the Clouds”:

“There are many sensitive fibers in the soul, which the best and most tender human sympathy cannot touch. But the Prince of Sufferers, He who led the way in the path of sorrow, "knows our frame." When crushing bereavement lies like ice on the heart, when the dearest earthly friend cannot enter into the peculiarities of our grief-Jesus can, Jesus does! He who once bore my sins--also carried my sorrows. That eye, now on the throne, was once dim with weeping! I can think in all my afflictions-"He was afflicted;" in all my tears--"Jesus wept."

The Next Story By Tim Challies

2011-05-21T15:19:00.009-04:00

“Do you own your technology or does it own you?"

Tim Challies book, The Next Story: Life and Faith after the digital explosion takes an in-depth look at how are lives are being affected by the changes in our digital technology--from a Christian perspective.

Our world is different than it was 50 years ago because of how our technology has changed. My great-grandfather told of how their evenings were spent in the kitchen playing music. My grandfather purchased the first color TV in his family. My Dad told of Saturday Night Movies on television – the only place to catch movies you didn’t see at the theatre. I recall going to the movie rental store for the first time after we had purchased a VCR (after a long deliberation, we decided NOT to go with Beta). Now, my kids are growing up in the streaming video world – countless choices on demand, instantly.

The Next Story takes a step back from the technology and considers what it is we are doing to ourselves, our minds bodies and souls with the plethora of technology that “controls” our lives. Technology has changed our lives – but not for the better in every case. I grew up in a house without an air conditioner for a time. It was much better to be outside in the evening instead of sitting on the couch because it was much cooler outside and more desirable to be outside. Today, with the A/C, technology has enabled your house to be as hot or cold as you want it. I have a friend who lives up North, and he said the winters up there don't bother him at all, because it is 72 degrees inside his house, no matter how much snow is outside. That one advance in technology is a blessing, but it has changed the way we live. The world is changing so fast and we can easily be caught up in the changes, without carfully considering the consequences of our actions.

Challies main thrust throughout the book is that we should not abandon technology, but we should not blindly accept all that it sells us. Every product, every advance in technology is selling us something and will in some way affect us for better or worse. The latest and greatest will not give us joy, peace, security, happiness and often times it steal it away.

This is a good book, especially for parents or teenagers who are immersed in the digital world. Facebook, Twitter and the other social media sites can be a great danger to young people. Challies demonstrates how technology can hurt our relationships rather than help them. Whether by text, e-mail or instant messaging, relationships can suffer because of a lack of intimacy. Websites give you the ability to create your online persona were the weak can act strong, the shy can be bold, the lonely can be popular. But that is not who we are, that is who we are when we sit in front of the screen.

Challies brings about a great point about information and that it is not necessarily a blessing. The ability to get your phone out and google the answer to a trivia question does not equate to having wisdom. Much of the news that is covered on 24 hours news stations relates information and news that either will not impact me at all, or if it does, there is little I can do about it. I had to stop and think about all the news sites I read, and wondered how the information I was reading on these sites impacted me. I realized that much of what I was reading and listening to was just information that could not help me in any way, nor did it really inform me of things that I didn't already know or tell me anything I could either do anything about or affect me other than irritating me.

My favorite chapter to read was chapter 3 A Digital History. Challies is a skilled story teller and I found myself in this chapter drawn into the story of our digital landscape. As I finished the chapter, I felt it was too short – in my opinion, he was be a great biographer.

And it isn’t a review if I don’t say something negative, right? ENDNOTES – NOOOO!!!! I am thankful that the endnotes were almost exclusively (with one exception) giving the name of the book or article.

The “creation mandate” bothered me. I worked as a sheet metal worker in a factory for a while, and I would take a flat sheet of metal approximately 5 foot by 8 foot and when we would get finished with it, it would be a kitchen appliance. But all along the walls of our shop were tools, screws, welders, rivets and a number of other tools and parts. We didn’t “create” anything, we made something. Only God can create. Also, even if we COULD create something,where is the COMMAND to create? If God commands men to create we are sinning if we do not. How much and how often must we create? What did Abraham create? What did Paul create?

The last point, and this is just a minor point, but the book wore me out on the recapping. In a sermon it is a mark of great preaching and communicating to tell where you are going in your message, tell the message, then recap where you have been. But with a book in my hand, I can turn the pages back and read again if I need to, I don’t need to read the same thing three times in one chapter.

I enjoyed this book, and it was a blessing to me and I recommend it to you. After reading it, I evaluated my use of technology and I trimmed down my usage of some of the technology that, unbeknownst to me, had enslaved me. Truthfully, not only do I not miss it, but am happier with it gone.

The World's Only Hope

2011-05-12T09:07:00.000-04:00

Martyn Lloyd-Jones from Courageous Christianity: Studies in the book of Acts; volume II.

The times in which you and I are living are too desperate for any of us to indulge in some historical or antiquarian interest. We are looking at [Acts 4:1-10] because unfortunately the attitude we see here is still true of so many men and women today As I am trying to show, this attitude is the supreme tragedy of the world. Our world is a world in trouble, a world in confusion, a world toying with forces and powers that could put an end to civilization as we know it. But to such a world there still comes the message of the Christian Gospel. It is the only hope for that world, and yet the world is rejecting it.

These sermons were originally preached in London, England in 1965. The world has waxed worse and worse but the answer remains the same. The only hope for the world is Jesus Christ.

The Voice of the Bride of Christ

2011-05-09T13:03:00.000-04:00

She is the voice of brotherly love that “saluted her sister churches”
She is the voice of praise in the gospel throughout the churches
She is the voice like goads- exhorting in the truth
She is the voice like nails – piercing the hearts and minds
She is the voice as a honeycomb – delivering the sweet words of life
She is the voice of apples of gold in pictures of silver –fitly spoken in honor of the Lord
She is the voice of life to those who hear it
She is the voice of health to those who perceive it
She is the voice of warning to those in danger
She is the voice of encouragement to those who are feeble
She is the voice of comfort to those who mourn
She is the voice of grace to those who stumble
She is the voice of love to the Groom

Distracted

2011-05-04T15:12:00.003-04:00

From The Next Story by Tim Challies

"During a time of singing at a recent conference, I spotted a woman raising one hand in worship while sending a text message with the other one. We mix worship with our work and pleasure. Why are we surprised then when we can only give partial attention to any one of them?"

Can we really worship God with all our hearts when one eye is on the text and the other on the phone? When we are thinking about sending/receiving texts or facebook updates about the message or the song?

Let the sparrows speak

2011-04-29T15:44:00.004-04:00

I am only a tiny sparrow,
A bird of low degree;
My life is of little value,
But the dear Lord cares for me.

I have no barn nor storehouse,
I neither sow nor reap;
God gives me a sparrow's portion,
But never a seed to keep.

I now there are many sparrows;
All over the world they are found;
But our Heavenly Father knoweth
When one of us falls to the ground.

Though small, we are never forgotten;
Though weak, we are never afraid;
For we know the dear Lord keepeth
The life of the creatures He made.

I fly through the thickest forest,
I light on many a spray;
I have no chart nor compass,
But I never lose my way.

And I fold my wing at twilight
Wherever I happen to be;
For the Father is always watching,
And no harm will come to me.

I am only a little sparrow,
A bird of low degree,
But I know the Father loves me;
Have you less faith than we?

(I believe that the author of this poem is Hannah W. Smith.)

Sacrificing for God?

2011-04-27T14:32:00.004-04:00

"People often weep more over the hardships of the missionaries than they do over the lost condition of the heathen to whom they go. You can get more money by appealing for the comfort of a missionary than you can for the salvation of a lost sinner. All credit to those who serve God in these fields. But nobody ever out gave God."

BH Kazee - Faith is the Victory

The Lord our Righteousness

2011-04-24T16:54:00.002-04:00

Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Robert Haldane said of this passage

"This righteousness is also said to be of God by faith-- that is sinners become partakers of it by faith. The righteousness of God, then, is not a method of justification, but the thing itself which God has provided, and which He [gives it] through faith. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, because it reveals God’s righteousness, that righteousness which fulfils the demand of His law, which His justice will accept, and which is upon all them that believe."

What a glorious thought, the imputed righteousness of Christ! Oh that we could grasp being "in Christ" - what joy, what peace that would bring.

Many mistake the Old Testament as being a covenant of works for salvation however nothing could be further from the truth.

Jer 33:14-16 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

The LORD our righteousness. Our own righteousness being filthy rags, dung, worthless and vile being taken away, and by faith, receiving the righteousness of Christ making Jesus the Lord OUR righteousness. I have righteousness, but not mine, His imputed to my account that I am reckoned as righteous in the sight of God, that I will be presented in the courts of Heaven guiltless, blameless, perfect in His sight.

Eye of Faith

2011-04-17T15:14:00.001-04:00

"Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves--blessed riddance."

The Pursuit of God AW Tozer

Don't Leave Your Cows in the Field

2011-04-14T18:16:00.003-04:00

God had providentially led Moses from the palace of Pharaoh to the wilderness as a shepherd- then he called him to lead his people, Israel, from Egyptian bondage.

Pharaoh, not wanting to release his slaves, would not let God's people free to worship the Lord. God showed His power through a series of plagues- each resulting in much pain & suffering and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart not to let God's people go.

Exodus 9:13-26 is the description of the 7th of these awful plagues. Moses went early in the morning to Pharaoh to tell him to let the people go so they could serve God. God would send more plagues to show him and all the Earth that the Lord, He is God by smiting the powerful Pharaoh.

In fact, the very reason God raised up Egypt to a world power and specifically Pharaoh to the height of worldly power was to show GOD'S power in removing Pharaoh.

A plague of rain, hail, and fire threatened. Not just any storm. A storm so fierce that it would not be equaled since the nation of Egypt had been in existence. The people were warned by the Word of the Lord to flee to safety.

Exodus 9:20-21 He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

Those that heard and feared God's Word obeyed. Those that did not regard God's Word, did what they wanted to- and reaped the consequences.

This is the arrogant pride of man refusing to head God's Word. The Bible gives warning after warning of the consequences of sin- yet we do not heed. God is SO good in giving us His Word and often we take it and scoff at it, which is scoffing at God. There are eternal warnings of Hell and the Lake of Fire, there are warnings to repent and that judgment is coming- yet man leaves not just his cows in the field, but his soul.

Think about it- why would the Egyptians at this point DOUBT that another plague would come?

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

They did not like to retain God. They just did not want to.

Unbelief. This is a picture of what Biblical unbelief really boils down to. Biblical unbelief is not regarding the Word of God. It wasn't that the people did not believe the Lord Jehovah existed- they most certainly did. And it wasn't that the people did not believe that God had the power or the will to send another plague - they did. The people did not regard God's Word- they just didn't care.

When you do not listen to God's Word, follow His commands, heed His warnings you are living in unbelief. You may believe that God exists and know for a fact that God is almighty and sovereign, but you do not regard His Word, you do not believe His Word.

Don't leave your cows in the field. God is faithful that promised. Both in the promises of blessing and the promises of judgment and chastisement.

A Good Contest

2011-04-10T07:41:00.003-04:00

The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes

"It would be a good contest amongst Christians, one to labour to give no offence, and the other to labour to take none. The best men are severe to themselves, tender over others."

Church Authority Online Message

2011-04-05T13:18:00.003-04:00

I was privileged to preach at the Kings Addition Missionary Baptist Church this weekend at their Bible conference. The theme was on the Lord's church and I started things off preaching first on "church authority".

The message stresses the need for the work of God to be done through the Lord's local church.

If you would like to hear me preach on church authority, I start about the 13:00 minute mark.

Watch live video from kingsadditionbaptist on Justin.tv

Unicorns and the Bible

2011-03-25T16:21:00.003-04:00

New Testament Synonyms

2011-03-25T09:38:00.007-04:00

Sometimes we can miss the forest for the trees when it comes to reading the Bible. Robert Thomas, in dealing with eternal punishment in the Fall 1998 edition of the Master's Seminary Journal points out a common flaw in the interpretation of NT synonyms.

"A basic principle for interpreting NT synonyms dictates that a distinction in meaning between two words does not necessarily exist unless they occur in the same immediate context. That principle applies to pairs such as "I love" (agapao)/"I love" (phileo) and "other" (allos)/ "other" (heteros).

Unless they occur together, an interpreter cannot press for differences.

The same apples to kolasis/timoria (punishment/vengence). It is poor exegetical methodology to try to evade the teaching of eternal punishment on the basis of a distinction in vocabulary."

Jesus View of Eternal Punishment by Robert L. Thomas

Justice of God in Damning Sinners

2011-03-24T09:03:00.002-04:00

Excerpts from Jonathan Edwards sermon "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners."

“There is something peculiarly heinous in sinning against the mercy of God more than other attributes. There is such base and horrid ingratitude, in being the worse to God BECAUSE he is a being of infinite goodness and grace…. above all things [this ingratitude] renders a [sinners] wickedness vile and detestable. This ought to win us, and engage us to serve God better; but instead…[man] sins against him the more.
Romans 2:4-5 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God
....Your own conscience can give testimony to it, that this has made you refuse God's calls, and has made you [uncaring] of his repeated commands. Now, how righteous would it be if God should swear in his wrath, that you should never be the better for his being infinitely merciful!”

Who are we to judge God?

(I updated some language indicated by the bracketed words.)

The valley of Hinnom by Albert Barnes

2011-03-23T11:15:00.002-04:00

"The valley of Hinnom. This was formerly a pleasant valley near to Jerusalem, on the south. A small brook or torrent usually ran through it and partly encompassed the city. This valley the idolatrous Israelites devoted formerly to the horrid worship of Moloch, 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Chron. 28:3.

In that worship, the ancient Jewish writers inform us, the idol of Moloch was of brass, adorned with a royal crown, having the head of a calf, and his arms extended as if to embrace anyone. When they offered children to him they heated the statue within by a great fire, and when it was burning hot they put the miserable child into his arms, where it was soon consumed by the heat; and, in order that the cries of the child might not be heard, they made a great noise with drums and other instruments about the idol."

Moloch is still worshiped today. We just call him Abortion.

DPN

She Did What She Could

2011-03-20T07:08:00.002-04:00

I'm studying for this mornings message and wanted to share a portion of a message I was reading from Charles Spurgeon from a message he preached on the woman who broke the alabaster box in Mark 14 titled "To Lovers of Jesus -- an Example."

“And oh, Brothers and Sisters, let us always carry our case into the highest court and live before the Lord and not as the slaves of men! If we are conscious that we have sincerely done what we have done as unto the Lord and if we feel sure that He has approved our service, it is of the smallest possible consequence what men shall say about us! Let us never provoke our Brothers and Sisters to be ill-tempered with us, neither let us do anything that can be rightly censured—but if we have gone somewhat beyond common custom in the fervor of our spirit, let us reply with young David to his envious brethren, “Is there not a cause?” The opinions of other men are no rule to us—we have our own obligations to discharge and, as our debt of love is larger than usual, let us take liberty to be as full of love and zeal as we can be—only regretting that we cannot go still further in the way of sacred service.”

C.H. Spurgeon

Walking to church

2011-03-16T10:58:00.003-04:00

I always thought it would be nice to live so close to church that I could walk. How far is too far to walk to church? Well, I suppose it depends on how bad you want to go to church.

The following is from Compendium of Baptist History by J.A. Shackleford.

Beaver Dam church, Ohio county, Kentucky, is one of the oldest churches in that state, it having been constituted as early as 1798. Some of its members lived twenty miles distant, but were regular in their attendance. They would leave their homes on Friday afternoon, many times on foot, and go part of the way, stopping to hold prayer meeting at night with some brother on the road. The journey would be finished the next morning in time for the eleven o’clock sermon. There would be preaching on Saturday both in the morning and at night, also on Sunday at eleven o’clock and at night. Monday morning the members living distant would return to their homes. There were conversions and baptisms at almost every meeting of the church. If such were not the case the members would consider the church in a very luke-warm condition, and the next meeting was usually preceded by fasting and prayer.

Such consecration and earnestness would not doubt be attended with the like results at the present day. The indifference of many church members to the interests of their church work is a said commentary upon their profession.

People do what they want to do. These people wanted to go to church, so they walked.

The Word of God is Not Bound

2011-03-14T12:06:00.002-04:00

I like to read about the Civil War. There are so many fascinating stories, people and event that took place during this tragic war. One thing that I always find fascinating is how the war impacted people in areas that I had not before considered, especially in the churches.

The following was published in the TENNESSEE BAPTIST, August 31, 1861 by J.R. Graves,that I was directed to by Pastor David Green.

The title of the article is The Word of God is Not Bound.

“The first set of plates for printing pocket Bibles and Testaments ever owned and worked in the South were laid upon the press of the Southwestern Publishing House last Wednesday, and it can now be said for the first time that the South is independent of the North for the Word of God. Lincoln no longer binds the Word of God.

These plates for the Bible and Testament have cost, including tariff, ($150), freight and other expenses connected with them, some $1250. More than one-half of this sum was contributed by the brethren and citizens of West Tennessee and North Alabama to us personally—to enable the Publishing House to print cheap Bibles and Testaments for the Confederate soldiers. There is not another set of plates on which a pocket Bible or pocket Testament can be printed in the Southern Confederacy to-day.

Believing that the balance for the plates will be contributed as a voluntary offering to the enterprise, the Southwestern Publishing House offers to print Bibles and Testaments for the Confederate army at the following rates:
Pocket Testaments.—Plain $12.50 per 100—15 cts. retail; Gilt Sides $15 per 100—20 cts. retail.
Pocket Bibles.--$7.50 to $12 per dozen, according to style and binding. Fine bound copies, with name in gilt letters, from $2 to $5 per copy. Let every community that has sent out a company forward each soldier a Bible or Testament, and a package of religious tracts—price 25 cents per package of 300 page.

Will all our exchanges in the South call attention to this enterprise, and to the fact that the Southwestern Publishing House offers to supply 100,000 Bibles and Testaments for the Confederate army at cost of material and labor?”

There were a few thoughts I had about this.

1. Baptists love God's Word.
2. Even in the midst of Civil War, God's people must care for souls.
3. Prior to higher textual criticism, when people spoke of the Bible they thought of the Word of God, not about translations.
4. The GREATEST need in any nations is Jesus Christ.

On yard work, apples, grapes and agricultural empires

2011-03-12T11:13:00.007-05:00

There is something about having my hand in the soil that makes me happy. As a child, I hated weeding in the garden almost as much as I hated picking green beans. It wasn't so much the work as it was not wanting to do work of any kind, and gardening was the kind I had to do. Now, I do it because I like to do it. I'm not post-modern enough to say that it is therapeutic, but gardening does make me feel better.

I've moved four times in six years, and have only had one garden in all that time, and that was a shared garden with the owner of the house I was renting. I probably won't get to have a garden this year either. The house that we bought sits on an acre, but the yard was/is in a mess. I've done a lot of work to it over the last two years, but have a lot more to go. I would like to have the land worked enough to have a garden next year, Lord willing. Today, I started planing instead of destroying, which made me happy.

Thus far, my work has consisted of deconstruction, which is really a lot of fun too. I LOVE cutting down trees. Cleaning up after? Not so much. But breaking, tearing down, cutting off is so much easier. Today marks the first day of replenishing lawn maintenance, when I have come, not to kill or destroy, but to plant.

My vast agricultural empire will consist of one Golden Delicious apple tree and four Concord Grape plants. It will be a few years before I reap any fruit, but these things take time. One thing that you don't get in moving around is the time to plant. My grandpa has trees that he planted almost 60 years ago in his yard, and a whole orchard of trees he has planted, pruned, and kept up for decades. But still, this is vanity. Those trees will eventually die, they will stop yielding fruit and will be fit for nothing but the fire. Yet the gospel seed is eternal and will reap eternal blessings. Having a farm, or a garden, or a place to plant is such a blessing but I wouldn't trade it for what God has called me to do in the ministry.

Pro-choice video

2011-03-11T09:11:00.003-05:00

I saw this video today at challies.com. It is intentionally provocative, but needfully so. Thinking in these terms you can see how effective the pro-abortion advocates were at defining the terms. So I've decided to define the terms of my post. This is the choice.

Never say baby, use the medical term "fetus".
Never make the issue about abortion, make it about "choice".
Never say pro-abortion, say pro-choice, everyone loves to make their own choices.

Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.

This includes abortion.

Up a Tree

2011-03-08T10:07:00.005-05:00

I walked outside, looked up in tree in our yard and saw C.W. up in the tree. It is amazing how boys survive, with both the lack of fear, and that lack of thinking one step ahead, like "how am I going to get down?" or "I wonder if this little twig I'm standing on will hold my weight?" (look real close, can you see the limb he is standing on? Yeah, me either.)

This is how God made boys. Boys who test boundaries, who explore, who attempt feats of strength are our future dad's, future soldiers, future police officers and future preachers.

The duty of every parent of boys is NOT to keep them from being boys, but to mold them into men. To take what God has given them by way of nature and personality and then prune, bend, shape, mold them as best we can, by God's grace, into what they should be. We have failed if we turn our boys into sissies, but we have also failed if we turn our boys into selfish, reckless, arrogant men. I worked as a 4th generation apple farmer before I moved to NC. I know a little about pruning trees, especially young ones. You can prune a tree so much that you ruin it forever. You can bend a young tree until it breaks. But, it is just as bad and just as disastrous to let the tree grow wild without any pruning. My Grandpa wouldn't let anyone prune his young trees, he had to do it because he didn't trust anyone else to work on them at such a critical age. Are our kids more valuable than trees? He that hath an ear, let him hear.

That being said, all boys are different. Mine are very different, and only one of the four attempted to scale the tree. Since all boys are different, all boys needed to be molded and shaped and pruned differently. Not by what society says boys should be, but what God says boys should be. Reading through Proverbs (a book written to boys specifically: 'my son') you don't read a lot about sports, but much about the soul.

Hebrews 13:5-6

2011-03-02T15:51:00.004-05:00

Hebrews 13:5-6

O, let my life be
without murmuring.
To live with such things
You've given to me.

The Great I AM spake
this promise I hold;
He'll never forsake
nor leave me alone

With boldness, dare say
in man, I'll not fear;
The LORD, He's my stay
In Christ I'll not fear.

My fears have no place
God's Word spoke to me,
says His Sovereign Grace
tis sufficient form me.

The Legacy of the King James Bible: A book review

2011-03-02T11:54:00.006-05:00

The Legacy of the King James Bible
By
Leland Ryken

“But approximation is not duplication.”

“To adapt a quip by Mark Twain (when his death was erroneously reported in a news paper), rumors of the demise of the King James have been greatly exaggerated.”

I was reluctant to purchase this book. I am a little gun shy on reading books about the King James, on either side of the issue. Even when someone who doesn't use the King James praises it for any reason, there is always the obligatory “apology” for praising said aspect. I recently read someone pointing out the 400th anniversary of the KJB and the first half of the sentence was amazement at the endurance, the second half was the “BUT…”; I guess to keep the street cred you have to say something badd too? Not really.

For some people, it is difficult for them to say nice things about the KJV without the "but..." comes from groups that go so far in the other direction who follow Peter Ruckman and Gail Riplinger. No doubt there are such groups, but just because a person uses the King James doesn't mean they are part of these groups.

This characterization is just as dishonest or illinformed as the errors of Riplinger and Ruckman. This is why I didn't want to read the book, I so did not want to pay money to read a book, only to be categorized, in a cartoon-like manner, with groups that I am not part of, or want to be part of.

Through a series of events, I had a lot of credit on my Amazon account, and decided to give the book a try. I am pleased to say that I am happy that I got the book. Not only does Dr. Ryken not feel it necessary to apologize for the KJB, he defends and sings its praises. So I'm the one that has to apologize for judging the book before I read it.

Now, to the book itself.

The author not only does not use the King James personally, he has not in several decades. In fact,he worked as the literary advisor on the English Standard Version (ESV). So, naturally, there are several plugs for the ESV and a few other translations, but even at that, he does not come out to claim superiority, nor does he feel it necessary to trash the King James to uplift his preference. Ryken addresses this issue in the book. I was pleasantly surprised to find such a fair, charitable dealing with the Bible.

There are many aspects of the book that I did not agree with, and this is defiantly not a King James Only book. However, I enjoyed the book for its overall theme. The English speaking world is better off for the King James, and worse off without it.

Ryken deals with the history of the translation and the translators in how we got our English Bible. I don’t know his theological views, but he seemed to get right to the edge of the providential aspect of the translation, but never quite getting there. Regardless of your opinion of the KJV, it is undeniable that it was THE English Bible for 350 years, and regardless of the WHY it happened, it was providential that it did. This point is made several times and from several different perspectives.

The main focus of the book is dealing with the influence of the King James primarily in English literature (which makes sense, Ryken is a literary professor, so this is his wheelhouse). He labors on showing how the King James has influenced authors (religious and secular) in the last 400 years. It is surprising to read how authors were influenced by the KJV both directly and indirectly. Though toward the end, it seemed a tad redundant to one who isn't familiar with some of the authors. But, that is my fault, not his. My ears perked up when he mentioned Charles Dickens, and Hemingway, so if you are familiar with all the case points, I doubt it would seem redundant or tedious.

There is another theme running throughout the book; the denigration of the culture and the rise of modern translation coincide. Does one thing have anything to do with the other? Perhaps, and I believe that it does. Ryken slays the “archaic” argument, and shows how the even the soft endings (runneth, instead of runs)takes away from the translation. Even better than pointing this out, he tells you WHY this is, from a literary perspective.

"The sentiment is widely held that because today we find the KJB archaic and difficult, it must have been equally archaic and difficult for readers in previous eras. It is a great fallacy. Readers of the KJV through the centuries did not struggle with its language, just as modern readers who never relinquished the KJV manage just fine with it. Are we better off today without the KJV than Christendom was for three centuries with it? NO: those eras had many advantages over us. Although we cannot turn back the clock, we should lament what has been lost, not claim an illusory superiority."

Now, I don't think the KJV is "lost" and he kind of contradicts himself when earlier in the book he says that the King James Bible is still consistently in the top three of Bible sales. How can a "lost" book be in the top three? But, as for the overall point he is making, I thought it was spot on.

Here is how he sums what we have lost.

"What has been lost? A common English Bible, nearly universal reverence for the Bible as an authoritative book, and biblical literacy. Finally we have lost the affective and literary power of the King James Bible – not in an absolute sense, inasmuch as the RSV, NKJV, and ESV do a wonderful job of approximating the qualities of the KJV in updated English vocabulary. But approximation is not duplication. OF course dynamic equivalent and colloquial translations do not come close to the King James standard, and modern readers of those translations have no reason to gloat; they have exchanged a birthright of excellence for something manifestly inferior."

He also weighs in on the profitability of multiple English versions.

“If Bible knowledge in our day has declined across the board, where is the alleged gain from modern translations? The very proliferation of translations has discouraged the Christian public from seeking to know what the Bible actually says.”

Indeed. Where is the fruit? Look at our English culture and can we say that Biblical knowledge and literacy is higher than it was 100 years ago? Even 50? There could be many factors that play into that, but it is certainly an interesting thought to consider the rise of multiple Bible translation with the fall and degeneration of society in the English Speaking West. Could higher textual criticism have caused society to distrust and disregard the Bible? There is a danger in always telling people why their Bible is wrong (even if you mean "translation" the hearer often hears "words" and many times won't make the connection).

I enjoyed the book and found it refreshing to read a book that had good things to say about the Bible I have used all of my life and will continue to do so, without apology.

Turn my eyes

2011-03-01T14:05:00.005-05:00

Psalms 119:37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

We cannot close our eyes to the world we live in, and you cannot drive down the road without coming in contact with vanity of one form or another.

On a drive to the supermarket, you may have to encounter:

sinful billboards

covetousness over the nicer cars

road rage

immodest joggers

just to name a few, and I'm sure you can name many more. The point being, we cannot stay in our homes (as if the dangers are any less) or we cannot drive with our eyes closed, or at least we couldn't drive for very LONG with our eyes closed.

We must, by God's power, be vigilant in turning from sin and temptation and seeing sin for what it is. I like what Albert Barnes said on this verse:

"An ugly object loses much of its deformity when we look often upon it; and this is a benevolent law, lest we should be miserable when we are under a necessity of looking on it. Sin follows this general law, and is to be avoided altogether, even in its contemplation, if we would be safe. A man should be thankful in this world that he has eyelids; and as he can close his eyes, so he should often do it."

When we see such things on the highway (or any place for that matter), we should turn away from the sin, and our hearts should break for the sinners and desire they turn (repent) too. Instead of indulging the flesh in sin, we should weep for the lost. Instead of becoming hermits, we should preach the gospel. We must not indulge the flesh and we must turn our eyes from sin but be careful all the while, not to close our eyes to the sinner who needs Christ.

When PEOPLE are BIG and God is Small: A book review

2011-02-28T14:59:00.003-05:00

"We need to need people less and love people more."

When PEOPLE are BIG and God is Small by Edward T. Welch.

This is an excellent book dealing with the fear of man. The fear of man goes so much further than merely being "afraid" of people. The fear of man is setting up people as idols, with our thoughts, actions and affections being controlled by men and not God.
Part one deals with identifying the fear of man in our lives, part two deals with dealing with the fear of God in our lives.

The remedies are not self help remedies, but they are scriptural and immensely practical. The book is not superficial, nor worldly in its focus or application. This deals a death blow to the "self-esteem" controlled times in which we live. The solution is clearly laid out, but this is such a deep running sin issue that only the power of God in us can break this idol of the fear of man. Many will read this book and find that they have been lied to their entire lives and it will be a painful, but profitable look at the deep seated sin that permeates the lives of a great number of Christians.

We need to fear God, not man. The more fear of God a Christian has, the less fear of man there will be. The reoccurring theme is that "we need to need people less, and love people more." Welch shines the light of God's word in the dark regions of the heart where we have those secret hidden idols that we give colorful and pretty names to; self-esteem, needs, peer-pressure, and on and on.
I recommend this book highly. Parents of teenagers, or pre-teens may find this book extremely helpful in helping to identify and help others deal with the fear of man in their lives.

The bad. (cannot be a review unless I tell you what I disagree with, can it?)
I wish the NIV had not been the translation of choice, and there are a few pages that come from the universal, invisible church perspective which I could have done without; however, even at that, the application could be made to the local church.

So thankful that I read this book, and it has been one of those books that God has used to minister to my soul. Lord willing, this will be a book that I return to over and over again.

Quote of the day

2011-02-27T15:56:00.005-05:00

I love it when I come across a well crafted sentence that compels me to stop, go back and read it again two or three times. Here is such a sentence.

"My interest is not hypothetical reality, but actual reality."

Leland Ryken from his book The Legacy of the King James Bible.

Stay tuned. Later this week I hope to have a review of this book; Lord willing.

A little help? What kind of fish is this?

2011-02-26T15:35:00.004-05:00

Does anyone know what kind of fish we are looking at here?

My father-in-law caught it at Falls Lake, NC last week, but I'm not sure what kind of fish he caught. I looked on the species list for Falls Lake, and whatever it is, it wasn't supposed to be in there. It looked like a muskie, in the mouth, sharp teeth and all, but I'm not sure. I like to fly-fish the rivers and am not much of a lake fisherman.

So a little frivolity this Saturday for catch of the day.

God's Search for a Good Man

2011-02-24T14:29:00.003-05:00

Psalms 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

I mean no irreverence to suggest that God is lacking in knowledge, the Bible does not teach that; but in our Psalm, God is described as looking to see if he could find a good person. This is a poetic view showing God looking for a few good men. Will he find any? What will we discover in God’s search? What will God find? What will God see? What will be His verdict, and His sentence?

Here is the answer.

I have combinded Psalm 14 then Psalm 53 then Romans 3:9-12 to show the truth about man.

We have in our reading, the Word of the Almighty God, who, as Spurgeon said ‘does not exaggerate or mistake’. God searched the whole of humanity, looking for one that understood, one, even one that sought after Him. One whom could be said ‘doeth good’, yet we have read the result of the finding.

There is none that doeth good (Psalm 14:1)
There is none that doeth good (Psalm 53:1)
There is none that doeth good (Romans 3:10)

They are all gone aside (Psalm 14:3)
They are all together become filthy (Psalm 14:3)

Every one of them is gone back (Psalm 53:3)
They are altogether become filthy (Psalm 53:3)
They are all gone out of the way (Romans 3:12)
They are together become unprofitable (Romans 3:12)

There is none righteous (Romans 3:12)

No not one (Psalm 14:3)
No not one (Psalm 53:3)
No not one (Romans 3:10)
No not one (Romans 3:12)

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Yes, that means you too, that means you are a sinner, in need of a Saviour.

Tell me again how Glenn Beck is a Christian?

2011-02-23T09:13:00.008-05:00

In a segment speaking about meeting with Billing Graham, notice how he signs off with ” “higher self.

Last August, and the months leading up to Glenn Beck’s I was told how Glenn is leading American “back to God” and how bold it was for a man to talk about God and the Bible.

My response was “which god?” Which god is Glenn leading America too, and if it is not the God of the Bible, then is that really a good thing? The answer, of course, is no. It is not good that American turns to a god and becomes more religious. Would it be better for America to turn from a god of pleasure to a god of legalistic bondage? Or a god of self-interest to a god of patriotism, if they are all false gods? It would be like Israel forsaking the golden calf to worship a golden cat. The only difference would be the presentation.

I used to watch a show when I was a kid called “Mr. Cartoon” and Mr. Cartoon would sign off every day saying “go to the church or synagogue of your choice”. That was the message of 8-28. That whatever truth you come to, that is your truth and hold to that. That is the age we live in; we can have our own "truth" and our truths can be different and even opposite. In the real world, truth cannot contradict itself. 2+2=4, that is an axiom of truth. It doesn't matter how much you want 2+2=5 to be right, and how much you believe it in your heart to be right, it is wrong. There is one God, and one way to God, and it doesn't matter how much you want in your heart to believe that your god is the right god and your way is the right way, it is still WRONG and false if you do not come to God, through faith in Jesus Christ.

I was told and I read how Mr. Beck was a Christian, and he really knows the Christian doctrines and that he wasn’t really a Mormon, in belief, he just didn’t know it. How that Glenn didn’t hold to Mormon doctrine and that once he grows, he’ll leave. On and on.
Your “higher self” and “I am that I am…use it to create who you want to be, I am _____” (2:44).
I’ll not give the link to where I find this definition as I don’t want to send any traffic to their damnable website, but here is a new age cultist speaking on what “higher self” means.

What is your Higher Self?
There are many great words to describe Who or What your highest identity or Self truly is. Below are just a few:
* Higher Self
* I Am Presence
* I Am That I Am
* Pure Being
* Love
* Spirit
* Essence of Life
* Cosmic Consciousness
* Universal Mind
* The Tao
* God
*Christ
* Holy Spirit
And the list goes on...

Depending upon your spiritual path, background, or religious influence, you may be attracted to one or more of these terms. Ultimately, these words are only ideas that point to the unlimited and infinite nature of your True Self. In the end, it does not matter which words you use. It is directly experiencing your Higher Self that you ultimately seek in your heart.

Now that we know what he is urging you to be (your own god), still think that he is a Christian? He is a dangerous man, not because of his political leanings. In fact, I am a conservative and would agree with a lot of his political stances. No, because there is something much more important that this Republic. The soul.

There is only one I AM that I AM, and that is the God of the Bible, Jehovah, Jesus Christ Lord of Glory. There is only one way of salvation, and that is in Jesus Christ through repentant faith, by His marvelous graces, trusting in the His shed blood on the Cross to wash yours sins, that you are forgiven and justified by the receiving Christ Jesus as Saviour.

We are not our own gods, we have no “higher self”. Here is our higher self.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The Hebrew word translated “filthy” is literally defined “menstruation”. That is our “higher self”. We are sinners, impure, rebellious, vile in the sight of a Holy God, and we dare rise up and use His name to “create”? We DARE speak of the god within us? There is nothing in us but a sinful, wicked deceitful heart.

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10-18)

Be careful, and don’t be deceived. The little comments like “higher self” are not expounded, they are just slipped in every now and then. Over and over, you’ll hear things like that, until it starts to sink in, this is how false teachers operate. Do you think it is a coincidence? Why did he want to go and talk to Billy Graham? Why would he talk about Billy Graham and sign off with being your own little god? To deceive. To co-opt a Christian name and ministry and attach it to his new age pot luck religion.

Bringing in the... what?

2011-02-22T11:07:00.006-05:00

Psalms 126:5-6
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

If you don't know what "sheaves" are, here is Vincent Van Gogh's Sheaves of Wheat in a Field.

Sheaves are bundles of wheat gathered after the reaping. So, with that being said, bellow is the song I sang as a child that I didn't understand because I didn't know what sheaves were. It would have been nice to have had this picture opposite of the hymn. Isn't it interesting how a picture can change how we understand things? That is why parables and illustrations are so important. They are word pictures. Ages prior to ours, sheaves didn't have to be explained, no more than a gallon of milk needs to be explained today. But for people who are unfamiliar, the picture helps drive the point home and often explains the point.

It is also interesting how you can know the words to a song by heart and yet have no idea what the lyrics mean. We sang this song at church so much as a child I could have easily rattled of the verses from memory. In fact, it has been several years since I sang this song, but I still know the lyrics by heart. And yet for the longest time, I didn't have a clue what sheaves were. It wasn't until a preacher got up after we sang that song and asked "I wonder how many of you know what you just sang about? If I asked each of you, could you tell me?" My first reaction was horror that he might actually ask me, but my second thought was what am I singing about and if I don't know why am I singing?

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

River of Ezekiel 47

2011-02-21T15:09:00.004-05:00

Here is the audio from a message I preached on Ezekiel 47 at New Testament Baptist Church, Bristol, TN. They were having a week long meeting with Sam Wilson, of Gladwin, MI and on Saturday they had an all day fellowship with several preachers.

A Brief Exposition of the River of Ezekiel 47

I hold to the literal interpretation. My thanks to the church and Pastor Kiger for putting this message on their website. In which you should *CLICK* on right now!

DP Newell

The Cross, the Crook and the Crown

2011-02-20T16:07:00.003-05:00

If there was a list of the most well known passages of scriptures, Psalm 23 would have to be toward the top of the list. Even people who don’t have a clue what it means know the psalm, or at least have heard it often enough. Truly a beautiful Psalm. Psalm 23 is really part two of a three part Messianic Trilogy. Many of the Psalms are Messianic Psalms, meaning simply, they are about the Messiah; they are Jesus Psalms. They are prophecies, praises, and promises of the coming Messiah.

I was reading a book by BH Carroll, and he mentioned that he preached a message on the Cross, the Crook and the Crown. I looked but I couldn’t find that message he preached (it sounded like a good one) but I did like that title, so I used and adapted his title in my message this morning: The Cross, the Crook and the Crown. The three psalms tell a story of our blessed Saviour.

I. The Cross of the Good Shepherd (Psalm 22/John 10:11)
II. The Crook of the Great Shepherd (Psalm 23/Hebrews 13:20)
III. The Crown of the Chief Shepherd (Psalm 24/I Peter 5:4)

I have chosen the way of truth

2011-02-15T10:32:00.003-05:00

Psalms 119:29-30 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.

C.H. Spurgeon on the Christians responsibility in Christian living in light of God's Sovereignty.

“As [David] abhorred the way of lying, so he chose the way of truth: a man must choose one or the other, for there cannot be any neutrality in the case. Men do not drop into the right way by chance; they must choose it, and continue to choose it, or they will soon wander from it. Those whom God has chosen in due time choose his way. There is a doctrinal way of truth which we ought to choose, rejecting every dogma of man’s devising; there is a ceremonial way of truth which we should follow, detesting all the forms which apostate churches have invented; and then there is a practical way of truth, the way of holiness, to which we must adhere whatever may be our temptation to forsake it. Let our election be made, and made irrevocably. Let us answer to all seducers, “I have chosen, and what I have chose I have chosen.” O Lord, by thy grace lead us with a hearty free-will to choose to do they will; thus shall thine eternal choice of us bring for the end which it designs.”

It stares you in the face

2011-02-11T15:08:00.005-05:00

I was doing some reading about the King James Version, and came upon an interesting quote from in a book entitled The Works of Augustus Toplady volume 2, 1794. My studies were geared toward opinions of the Geneva Bible, specifically the notes as I wondered what was the mind of the people during this time.

The quote that really struck me was why Toplady applauded the removal of the study notes, even though they were Calvinistic in nature.

Toplady is dealing historically with England and the doctrines of grace and Arminianism. There is one chapter devoted to King James I. I've linked to the particular section I'm referring to, and I've done my best to update the spelling of words to their modern spelling and all emphasis are mine.

In 1611, that translation (used at this day) was finished by the excellent divines, to whose care this great work had been assigned, and who had spent about three years in the important employ. Instead of human annotations, the margin of this version is very properly filled with references to parallel Scriptures: so that the Bible is now a commentary on itself. If it be asked 'Whether the ancient notes were omitted, with a simple view to render the Scripture its own interpreter?' I must confess, that this is a question which I can answer by conjection alone.** And my conjecture is, that Jame's suspicious policy was afraid to entrust even the bishops and clergymen of the church of England, concerned in this translation, with the insertion of any marginal notes at all; left some remark or other might flip in, tending to emblazon the wickedness and absurdity of despotic power.

He was a better textary, than to be ignorant, that there are a multitude of passages, and of instance, in the inspired volume which grind the doctrine of non-resistance to powder, and disperse its atoms in empty air. Better, therefore, in James opinion, to forgo all explications whatever, than to run the risque of render those unfavourable passages more visible than they render themselves. This I conceive to have been the true cause of the simplicity, by which our present version is distinguished.

As to the Calvinistic doctrines, there is no need, nor was there any need from the first, of erecting marginal banners, to distinguish in what places of Scripture they are to be found. What I observed, several years ago, concerning the liturgy; I now observe, concerning the Bible; open God's Word where you will, Calvinism stares you in the face.

**(Note: there is a footnote in the text that where he gives an account of the Hampton-court converence in refernce to omitting the study notes of the new translation, to which Toplady says his conjecture is proved to be "...the true and undoubted cause of the said omission.")

The first thing I noted was that Toplady felt the translation to be a "great work". Only those that have an agenda could possibly deny that fact even if they don't read or preach from the KJV. But I thought it good to read some original source words of men of his era giving his opinion of the KJV.

But what really caught my attention was the quote on the omission of the study notes. Toplady was a STRONG Calvinist, and was known for his battles against Arminianism with Charles Wesley. Yet he applauded the removed of the study notes. Why?

They were not needed for the truth to preserver. I agree with his assertion that "open God's Word where you will, Calvinism stares you in the face". The Bible, as its own interpreter is what the child of God needs, and the truth will not falter. The truth IS THERE, and if you open the Bible, you will find God's Grace written there.

I truly believe that if a child of God sat down with an open heart and an open Bible, they would leave the study a Baptist, in belief anyway, because the truths Baptist hold to are taught in God's Word. I don't need a catechism and a theological framework to understand the doctrines of grace, or believers baptism. The truth is there as scripture interprets scripture. Certainly study helps are wonderful tools, but what is wonderful about the truth of God's grace and God's Word is that it isn't dependent upon men because it was not invented by men or is not perpetuated by men. The wonderful truth of grace is found on every page of God's inspired Word and will endure forever because it is God's Word and it is God's Grace.

Dinner Conversation

2011-02-10T21:07:00.001-05:00

Here is the transcript from dinner tonight.

Dad: “A Triceratops has 3 horns. A tricycle has three wheels. Both start with TRI. What does that tell us?”
Son: “Oh, I KNOW! A tricycle is a dinosaur!!”

I thank God for the joy of raising little boys!

Smile from God's Face

2011-01-26T10:31:00.001-05:00

“There is a time coming shortly, when a smile from God’s face will be infinitely better than all the applause of men.” Thomas Watson

Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Climate of Death: The result of common place abortion

2011-01-22T09:41:00.005-05:00

This is a disturbing story, so be careful if you choose to read on.

The Philadelphia Horror: How mass-murder gets a pass by Michelle Malkin

Is anyone surprised that a man whose job was to kill babies in the womb took the next step to kill them out of the womb?

How do you stand?

2011-01-19T10:44:00.005-05:00

“This is my depressed stance. When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this.”

How do you stand? God's people stand on much surer, safer, and happy ground. How and where do you stand?

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

In the liberty of Christ?
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Fast in the Lord?
Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

Christians, of all people, should not be in a continual "depressed stance". Why art thou cast down, oh my soul? Why? Rejoice because you stand in Christ, and rejoice that you will not stand here...

Revelation 20:12-14 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Happy Christians

2011-01-18T15:21:00.002-05:00

Octavious Winslow

“Christ came to take away our sins, to roll off our curse, to unbind our chains, to open our prison house, to cancel our debt; in a word, to give us the oil of joy for the mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. I s not this joy? The believer in Jesus is essentially a happy man. The Child of God is essentially a happy man. His sins are forgiven, his soul is justified, his person is adopted, his trials are blessings, his conflicts are victories, his death is immortality his future is a heaven of inconceivable, unthought-of, untold, and endless blessedness. With such a God, with such a Saviour, and such a hope, is he not, ought he not, to be a joyful man?”

Greek Dodge and Shuffle

2011-01-15T09:56:00.004-05:00

Romans 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

I recently read an Arminian defend his view point by saying that Romans 9:13 was mistranslated, that God loved Esau too, but “rejected” him. He said that "hated" could be and should have been translated “rejected”. It was a Greek dodge and shuffle. The Greek shuffle is saying "the Greek says" to English speaking people, reading an English Bible and saying something that most, if not all the listeners can immediately verify (However, in the these days of i-pads and i-phones with Greek texts and lexicons apps, many could have their lexicons at church with them) and to significantly change the meaning of the words.

This is a clever tactic, and one that is used quite often. I have heard many messages about the Greek “root” word. And the whole message was on what the Greek word meant. I went home and checked in the concordances and lexicons, and it did NOT say what the preacher told me it said, in ANY of a number of lexicons.

So, let’s check to see if what that preacher said was so.

The Greek word translated hated is μισέω

Thayer Definition:
1) to hate, pursue with hatred, detest
2) to be hated, detested

That Greek word is found 42 times in the New Testament. It is translated "hate, hated, or hateth" every single time. The Greek word translated in the NT for rejected is adokimos, but it is also translated "reprobate". That Greek word is never used "rejected".

Or you could try Malachi 1:3, where Paul quoted. "And I hated Esau".. but the Hebrew word שׂנא translated 'hated' there also means, according to Brown - Driver- Briggs : To hate, to be hated, enemy

In the OT, that Hebrew word is found 146 times.
139 times it is translated "hate, hated, hating, hateth"
Translated "odious" 1 time
"Enemy" 5 times
"Foes" 1 time

Why Write?

2011-01-13T15:57:00.003-05:00

Thomas Brooks in The Mute Christian, begins his work with a few reasons why he wrote tracts and books.

What is written is permanent; litera scripta manet, and spreads itself further by far, for time, place and persons, than the voice can reach. The pen is an artificial tongue; it speaks as well to the absent to present friends; it speaks to them afar off as well as those that are near; it speaks to many thousands at once; it speaks not only to the present age but also to succeeding ages. The pen is a kind of image of eternity; it will make a man live when he is dead. Am man’s writings may preach when he cannot, when he may not, and when, by reason of bodily disptempers, he dares not; yea, and that which is more, when he is not.

A very good thought, indeed. What is read, can be read again, so in that way, the writer's words are like a tool, can be used over and over again. Countless books, articles and blog posts have had a profound impact on my life, and I am thankful to God for the authors. If you can write, and you have something to say, then write and pray the Lord uses it in some way.

The Tragedy of the Tucson Massacre and the Solution for America

2011-01-11T11:02:00.005-05:00

The shooting in Tucson, AZ was a terrible tragedy. My heart breaks for those who lost loved ones.

It is interesting to note that political pundits, the news media, and much of America is trying to find something to blame; and I believe that is significant. You see, it was Jared Lee Loughner who killed, but, according to the conventional wisdom, someone or something had to drive him to kill. Some are crying out for more gun laws, some are crying out for laws to restrict speech while others are pointing to mental illness as the OUTSIDE cause of this mass murder.

The real problem here is not outside influences, but inward sin. No doubt, there are many outside influences that contribute to the detriment of society, however, these outside elements do not start a fire, but merely fan the flames of the already present and powerful inward depravity. Sin was conceived in a wicked heart was manifested in wicked actions. Unless we as a society look to the true cause of this tragedy, we will never seek the only remedy. Romans 3 speaks to the true cause of this tragedy.

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

God has given us an accurate description of the human heart. We are born naturally depraved sinners with our hearts warped toward wickedness. No one needs to teach children to sin and do wrong, but we have to teach them to do right. Children naturally lie, parents must teach them to tell the truth. It is part of God’s common grace to man that the many wicked thoughts and intents of the heart remain in the heart and are not carried out into action, like unfortunately happened this weekend. The boiling rage some feel when they are cut off in traffic is the inward hatred of the heart, and allowed to be carried out, would result in murder.

We only have to look at the political rhetoric this week to understand this. There is indeed, hatred between many on both the left and right side of American politics. This is nothing new to our era, and in fact, is quite tame compared to earlier times of our nation. Don’t misunderstand here, I am not saying that the political speech contributed to this crime. What I want to illustrate here, is the self-righteous, sanctimonious vitriol that is spued at political enemies is the same HEART sin of murder. The same anger that causes a person to liable and slander another person comes from the heart and is the same root sin that if carried out, ends in murder. Obviously we know when someone speaks with hyperbolic language. My thoughts here comes to the hatred. There is nothing wrong with strong debate, and vehemently opposing your political opponent, that is the nature of our government. Sarah Palin did not contribute to this shooting, and those that are blaming her know this, and that is the point here. You can hear the underlying jealousy, and personal dislike of their ideological enemies disguised as "concern" for the country and are taking any opportunity to destroy them. The sad irony here is that those seeking to blame a murder on a political enemy because their hatred for their enemy, is the same sin that was first conceived in the actual crime.

Matthew 5:21-22 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 15:18-19 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies

So while many in the media are looking for outside sources or other people to pin the blame on, they are illustrating the inward problem of sin in themselves.

So, on the note of speech for Christians, the Bible tells us that we must give an account for “every idle word” that we speak, so that does play a factor. Whether or not words are wise or not, that is a different discussion. However, the speech isn’t the real problem in our situation now, it is a symptom of the SAME problem that is found in all people. Any words we speak are the overflow of our heart. When someone speaks hateful words, they are coming from a hateful heart.

Let’s suppose that we regulate the speech of Americans, will that solve the problem? No, because we have not yet gotten to the source of the problem, we haven’t gone deep enough. The problem is not the words, but where those words come from, the heart. The root of the problem is still active and working. If we get to the root of the problem, the heart, then the symptoms will be cured.

Jesus said murder first starts in the heart. If we ban guns, will that stop murder? No, because that is not the root cause of murder, the wicked heart is the root cause. Unless the heart is remedied, the outpouring of the heart will still be wicked. You will only change the tool of the sinner to sin. Society is always looking to second causes and trying to cure the symptom instead of the disease.

This is where the Christian MUST step in and speak up. We have the cure. It does, and is a quite hopeless situation. When the secularist looks at the problem, they are exasperated because the reality of this tragedy strikes home, there is nothing that we can do to stop men from evil. When the secularist looks to make laws, and ban certain freedoms, they do so because they have nowhere else to turn. There has to be (in their mind) some outside reason for this tragedy, because if there is not, then that means that there is evil.

Stopping speech only will stop the mouth, not the thoughts and the source of the speech. Banning guns would only make is somewhat more difficult to obtain a weapon to kill, it would not stop murder (Genesis 4) and it certainly would not cure the heart.

The ultimate solution to the problem is not to treat the symptoms but the disease. We don’t need new laws, but we need new hearts. First, you must realize that what the Bible says about you and your heart is true, it is hopelessly and fully bent towards sin and desperately wicked. We all are sinners. You are just as much a sinner as Jared Lee Loughner. Though you have not carried out you sin as fully as you could, you have none the less broken God’s law. By God’s grace, you are not as bad as you could be, you are lost with a heart that is the enemy of God.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

If that is your view, praise God, because there is hope. The hope lies not within ourselves, but in Christ Jesus the Lord.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

We don’t need reform, we need a new heart. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, to change our hearts, to change our loves and desires in regeneration. We are not “reformed” we are “reborn”. New hearts, new creatures in Christ. Jesus saves us from our sins and the old things of the natural heart pass away and all things become new. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ, those penitent believers, who come to the Saviour are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are cleansed from our unrighteousness and saved from our sin.

The answer is the gospel of Christ. Salvation, the new birth, regeneration, Jesus Christ; He is answer to the problem. There is no government solution to rid a heart of sin.

Christian Contentment

2011-01-07T09:30:00.003-05:00

In The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment as:

"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and Fatherly disposal in every condition."

again Burroughs says contentment is

"taking pleasure in God's disposal."

Christian contentment is a heart issue and is opposed to the contentment of the ungodly. Godliness and contentment is living by faith, faith in God's goodness, faith in God's wisdom and faith that God will watch over and protect His children. It is abandoning the idea that we deserve something from God and realizing that everything we have is a gracious gift.

The ungodly may show signs of contentment, but it is different that Biblical, Christian contentment. Some are pacified, but not content. That means they have enough to satisfy their flesh at the moment to prevent murmuring. When you give a pacifier to a baby, it is not what they really want, but it will do for the time being.

The ungodly my show signs of contentment, but it is not contentment, but resignation or fatalism. Many people give up and resign to the fact of their misery because there is no hope of relief. That isn't Christian contentment. like the reply when someone asks "how are you doing" and you say "I can't complain, because no one will listen, and it won't do any good."

Godly contentment rejoicing in God, rejoices in Christ Jesus. No one desires to loose a family member, to be poor, to have a debilitating illness. No one wants to live in hopeless despair. Contentment rejoices in God and enjoys God and resigns that God is GOOD and His will is GOOD and that what God has in store for the elect can't be compared to present sorrows.

Christian contentment says "If God is satisfied with His will(which I know He is, it is His will) then I am satisfied in God's will."

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Read the Bible in 2011

2011-01-02T16:00:00.005-05:00

It's still not too late to start a Bible reading plan for 2011 and today would be a good time to start.

Before you get started, here are some things to think about.

1. Pray and ask God for assistance in reading the Bible.

2. Expect to read things and not understand them.

One of the benefits of reading through the Bible is often what you don't understand will be revealed in another portion of scripture as you read on. Don't get bogged down by trying to study every single word that you don't know. Write it down, and come back to it later. You goal is to become familiar with the Bible.

3. Come back later.

Read with pen and paper handy and when you come to an unfamiliar word, write it down and come back later, but don't forget to come back later. This is one of the profits of reading through the whole Bible, you become familiar with the Bible. When you have time to study, go back and study those words and passages you didn't quite understand.

4. Don't give up.

When you pick a plan that tells you on this day, read these verses, once you get behind a day or two, you can easily get discouraged. You are going to get sick. Something is going to happen that you go to the Word for help, comfort and instruction, and the daily reading will be set aside. So when you get two or three days behind, the feeling of being overwhelmed comes over you and that will pretty much end it, and usually around Leviticus. But don't give up. Pick a plan that works for you and don't quit. Maybe it takes you 13 months instead of 12. So what? Take 24 months if you have to, but I recommend that all God's people read through the Bible.

5. Pick a plan or a guide that will be a servant to you, not a master.

Don't be put into bondage by a plan, but use the plan to help you. There is nothing wrong with plans, God planned all things according to His will. Don't let the plan be your master, but find one that will help you out. Or, just read about 4 or 5 chapters a day. When you reach short chapters read more, longer chapter read less and you will read through the Bible.

Read the Bible knowing it is God's Word, pray that God will help you to read, that He will teach you, that He will bless you and enjoy the fruits of the Promises of God.

Church Blog

2010-12-30T10:40:00.006-05:00

The Sovereign Grace Baptist Chruch has added a blog to our website. Right now you can find it at

sgbc-wakeforest.org/xyz123

At first, some of the things that are posted at the new blog will be SOME of the articles I have posted here.

This blog will consist of tracts, short articles and longer articles from me and Baptist of days gone by, maybe some sermon outlines and the corresponding audio. Still working it out, but stay tuned.

Lord willing, it will be updated a couple times a month so feel free to subscribe by RSS or e-mail over at the blog.

After I get some of the articles here over there, then there won't be much overlap.

A plain book for plain people

2010-12-21T08:34:00.003-05:00

I would like to share with you a devotional from Grace Gems. This is from the Letters of John Newton.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

A few minutes of the Spirit's teaching will furnish us with more real, useful and experimental knowledge--than toiling through whole folios of commentators and expositors! It will be our wisdom to deal less with the streams--and be more close in applying to the fountain-head. The Scripture itself, and the Spirit of God--are the best and the only sufficient expositors of Scripture. Whatever men have valuable in their writings--they got it from Scripture; and the Scripture is as open to us--as to any of them. There is nothing required but a teachable, humble spirit; and academic learning, as it is commonly called, is not necessary in order for this.

As a minister, I endeavor to avoid all panaceas, singularities, 'hidden truths' and 'new discoveries' in Scripture. I wish to advance nothing which I cannot maintain upon the authority of the Bible in our English language--which I deem sufficient to make us and our hearers wise unto salvation.

The New Testament is a plain book designed for plain people. The gospel is to be preached to the poor and simple, who are just as capable of receiving it as the educated--and in some sense more so. I therefore lay little stress upon any academic learning--which depends upon a knowledge of original Greek and Hebrew languages, or requires a larger degree of capacity and genius to be understood.

2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 23

2010-12-19T16:15:00.003-05:00

Grace abounded

2010-12-19T08:41:00.001-05:00

Excerpts from the sermon Grace Abounding Over Abounding Sin by C.H. Spurgeon

"The law of God is the [mirror] in which a man sees the spots upon his face. It does not wash you – you cannot wash in a [mirror]; but it prompts you to seek the cleansing water. The design of the law is the revealing of our may offences, that , thereby, we may be driven out or self-righteousness to the Lord Jesus , in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.

The law enters to strip us of every cloak of justification, and so to drive us to seek the robe of Christ’s righteousness.

The law stirs the mud at the bottom of the pool to show how foul the waters are.
But the great Christ, the free gift of God to us, when He bare our sins in His own body on the tree, took all those countless sins away. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”! Here is infinite grace to pardon immeasurable sin! Truly the “one man’s offence” abounded horribly; but the “one man’s obedience,” the obedience of the Son of God, hath superabounded. As the arch of heaven far exceedeth in its span the whole round globe of the earth, so doeth the grace much more abound over human sin." -- Charles Spurgeon

Godliness is a permanent thing

2010-12-16T11:12:00.002-05:00

The following is from the book The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson.

"Godliness is a fixed thing. There is a great deal of difference between a stake in the hedge and a tree in the garden. A stake rots and molds, but a tree, having life in it, abide and flourishes. When godliness has taken root in the soul, it abides to eternity: “his seed remaineth in him” (I John 3:9). Godliness being engraved in the heart by the Holy Ghost, as with the point of a diamond, can never be erased."

Douglas Newell IV

Sermon Preparation Maxim

2010-12-15T13:53:00.003-05:00

Here is a quote from Christ Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell to remember for the preparation of every sermon.

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."

Douglas Newell IV

The God of the Overwhelmed: An Exposition of Psalm 61

2010-12-10T11:46:00.006-05:00

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. (Psalms 61:1-8)

We are weak and needy creatures. Anyone who would observe mankind for a few moments would see how fragile and weak we are. I think that sometimes we are blind, or at least forget, how needy and how weak we really are. In a world filled with sin and the results of sin, we reap the sorrows of our rebellion against God, but all too often forsake the only real comfort we have. Some teach a prosperity gospel that equates possessions with God’s love and trials with sin (they need to read the book of Job). Trusting in Christ for the salvation of your soul does not remove all problems from your life. We are saved, but we are still in this world, and in this world we will have tribulation. The question is how do we live in this present life, facing sore trials? In the 61st Psalm, we find a psalm of David when he was facing such a time in his life. David was a man after God’s own heart, but was no stranger to problems in his life. Many of his problems were the results of his sin, but many of them were not. The pain was real, the sorrow was heavy and the cry was from the depth of his soul. Where did David turn? Where do the children of God go in such times? In this passage we see the overwhelmed go to the God of the overwhelmed and the benefits that are received there. There are two sections of this psalm, and we will see a change from the first part to the second. What was the change, and how did the change occur?

First, David said hear my cry, O God. The saints of God do not escape the sorrows of this life. I may say that not only do we not escape life’s sorrows, but I believe that we also experience deeper sorrow. We experience true joy, but having faced true joy in salvation, we experience deeply the grief of sin. The gospel of the world teaches that Godliness is gain, that true believers do not experience grief. The prosperity gospel teaches that God will give us all that we desire, money, health, possessions to fulfill our lives completely on this earth. No one has the promise of a life of ease, but in fact the Christian will have problems. It says in 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Not only will we not be permitted to pass through life on flowery petals of repose, but we are to expect persecution in this life. Jesus encouraged his disciples, not by telling them they will never experience pain or trial in this life, but to expect it. The comfort came not from taking away all trials, but having peace in Him, that in Christ we will overcome this world. John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Paul, who was no stranger to the blessings of God as the great servant of God, also was no stranger to problems. Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. There is no question that the saints of God will cry, but notice what the cry was. David’s cry was not “woe is me” but his cry was to His God. He was not a stoic, nor should we be, but his cry was unto God. Hear David as he is in deep sorrow, Hear my cry O God! Hear me Mighty Father, attend unto my prayer. When we cry, let us cry unto our Father. When we are in such despair that we can’t pray, but only cry out unto God, He will hear us. When we don’t know what to say, our heart is heavy with grief and all that can proceed from our weary mouth is a desperate cry unto God, does not our loving Father attend unto our prayers? If our earthly fathers can attend unto a child’s weeping, how much more so will our perfect Heavenly Father hear our prayer? We come to a loving Father hurt, knowing He knows what is best, and that he will attend for our good and His glory.

Where do we cry? From the end of the earth. So many Christians, when they cry, do so unto the world. There is no true comfort here, not for one who has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Once we have tasted of that sweet fellowship with the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Spirit, one could travel every inch of this world, and not find the peace and comfort of soul that is found in Christ. Oh, the vanity of life when we are downcast! We don't need to despair, for where ever we are found, from the ends of the earth, we are never too far from the Masters ear. We are never too far from the love of God. Whether under the depths of the sea, to the farthest reaches of the plains, God will hear our cry. We may be far from friends and family, we may be alone and afraid, but we are never truly alone if we have Christ. He who bore our sins will never leave nor forsake us. David said "when my heart is overwhelmed". Browns Driver Briggs defines the Hebrew word here ataph translated overwhelmed as 'to cover, to envelop ones self, or to be feeble, faint, growing weak.' The heart is weak, feeble, overcome by sorrows. As if shipwrecked at sea, with the waves of grief shrouding the soul. How many times have the children of God been overwhelmed? Our hearts are feeble. Even the most hardened soul, at some point has been overwhelmed. How much more so for the children of the most high? We see our families away from God, our neighbors leaving this world with out Christ, we suffer persecutions and are attacked by our enemy, the Devil, looking about this world which waxes worse and worse each day. Sometimes the saints of God, we once had sweet fellowship with, now forsaking the assembly of our great God. The grief, the pain, the sorrow is overwhelming. That doesn't even take into consideration the sorrow of our hearts over our own souls for our own sin. How we fail our Lord! Oh how oft we sin against our Saviour! Are not our hearts grieved and overwhelmed at our failures, the sin in our lives? Are we not overwhelmed at times from the great work we have been commissioned to do, and yet it seems we spin our wheels, and toil and labor, with seemingly no results? I cry unto God when my heart is feeble. When I am filled with doubts and fears. When I don't understand, and strive to serve my God. I cry unto my God when I am alone, when my faith is weak and I'm sorely tried. The children of God have and truly know what it is like to where the cloak of despair, and to languish in the depths of grief, and to have the heart overwhelmed, beyond the ability to express the emotion of our fainting fits of despondency. We will have a heart that is overwhelmed.

But if that was the end of our walk with Christ, we would be of all men most miserable. All the sons of Adam experience such woe, but the joy of the Christian is we do not remain. The world will seek comfort in self, pleasures and other futile attempts of merriment, but we have such a blessed treasure, for when we are weak, He is made strong. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Jesus is the Rock that is higher than I. When our hearts are overwhelmed, it is Christ in which we find safety and refuge. When we are overcome we are as is we were lost at sea, shipwrecked with no hope of recovery, no hope of making it to shore, with drowning in despair our only conceivable hope. Jesus Christ is the Rock that is higher than I. He is the safety when our hearts are overwhelmed, He is the mighty Rock of refuge, and of our salvation. He is higher than I, higher than our troubles, higher than we could ever get ourselves. Psalm 18:2 says The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. When we are overcome by grief and sorrow, Christ is where we must flee. Jesus is the solid, secure, and safe refuge. Through the blood of Christ, we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. Lead me to the Rock, for I can't go on my own. I am too distraught to find my own way, to weak to see, lead me, Holy Spirit, in my distress, to the Rock. Let me never look for refuge in any other. Lead me, take me, help me! I cry out when I can=t help myself, but not to my own devices, not to my own works, but to the Rock, the solid rock, that is higher, loftier, mightier than I, that has hope and life for all who cling to Him.

O then to the Rock let me fly
To the Rock that is higher than I

For thou hast been a shelter for me. Jesus is our protection from danger. When do you seek shelter? When we need a hiding place from storms or danger. A shelter is a place of refuge, a place of comfort. Though the winds howl and the rains beat down, the thunder roars, we are secure in the shelter we seek. Jesus is our shelter. He is our hiding place. The child of God runs to Christ to find a refuge, to find comfort, to find a hiding place. We are secure in Christ. When all the world forsakes us, He never will. When we are being tormented on every side, we go to God in prayer, and there, in the shelter of Christ, we are reminded of His love, mercy, kindness to us and are strengthened. The storm is never as bad when viewed from a shelter.

Jesus is our strong tower from the enemy. He is our strong defense from certain danger. When in battle, a fortress will make the weak and the outnumbered safe. A strong tower provides protection. If the odds were 1000 to 1, it's not the power of the one that would protect, but the strong tower. Jesus is our confident strong hold. He has won the victory over any enemy we may face. Jesus came in the flesh that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. 1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Notice in First Corinthians 15:55-58 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. He is our strong tower, even in death. What greater enemy could there be? Even in our greatest hour of trial, and our weakest moment in the flesh, Jesus is promised not only to be there, but to give us victory.

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever. The joy we have abiding in Jesus is unspeakable. To be with Him, to have fellowship with Him, what joy there is in Christ. It could seem a contradiction to those who do not know him, how we could joy in tribulation, have fellowship in suffering, be blessed in persecution because they know nothing of the peace of Christ, or the indwelling of the Comforter. God is the God of peace, and when we are overwhelmed, we abide with Him because he will see us through. How often the saints, when they are troubled say they are too troubled to be in God's house? Why forsake such a blessing? The television, the lake, the golf course are sought to find rest for their soul. Do we not believe that God speaks to us through His word, and when we are in need, what better place to hear than in the house of God? To dwell in God's house, to be where God is, to be where God receives glory, to hear praises to His name, and His word expounded, with our brothers and sisters in Christ, there will we find comfort. Coming in from the battle, weary and down, to hear of the grace of God, the goodness of our Lord is what we need to get ready for what ever may come.

I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Fear, sadness, danger, these things send children to their fathers. During the night, when a thunderstorm blows in, a child may become scared of the wind, the lightning and thunder, and run to the safety of fathers arms. The little birds will find comfort under the wings of the hen. How much more will our Heavenly Father give us what we need? The storm is still there, the danger is still present, but how different it seems under His wings. We see in this metaphor the trust of the child in the Father, that under His wings is place to be. Where do you find the disciples of God when faced with doubt and fear? John 13:22-23 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Could there be a more comforting place for the hurt and broken hearted?

Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o’ershaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! tis the voice of angels, borne in a song to me.

Over the fields of glory, over the jasper sea.

Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations, sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow, free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials, only a few more tears!

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge, Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages, ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience, wait till the night is over;
Wait till I see the morning break on the golden shore.

Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on His gentle breast
There by His love o’ershaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.

This is the consistent feeling and action of the child of God. Psalm 57:1 is the Psalm of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Notice in David's despair he cry's Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be past. The hope of the worried soul is in Jesus. Even amongst the worst of calamities, we have faith in God that they will pass. We flee to Almighty God, and rest in Him during the midst of the engulfing ruin of life’s ordeals. Even if the catastrophe results in our death, we will leave this earth clinging to Christ, and then spend eternity clinging to Him! What can separate us from the love of God? Nothing. The loving kindness of Christ our Lord, as it were, stretching out His wings of love, to comfort, protect, keep His beloved. It will be He that faces the trials, He that gets us through, He that sees the end, and guides us safely on. While the tempest rages, and the storm blows, it is our loving master that says, Peace, be still. Oh that we will find peace in the covert of thy wings of our Heavenly Father.

As the child goes to God, and seeks refuge, shelter, protection in Him, we find that there is a change in the tenor of the psalm. We find that something drove him to despair, which drove him to Christ. Now see God's benefits to the overwhelmed. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows. God hears our prayers. These were not empty words in the night, but prayers unto the Most High God. The pouring our of our souls to the Lord is not a exercise in futility, but God hears us. He hears our words, He hears our pleas. Even when don't know how to pray, or what to pray for us, the Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities. When we don't know what to pray for as we ought, the Holy Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that can not be uttered, He searcheth the hearts.

Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. Not only does God hear our prayers, and give us refuge, but we are the children of God. We have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Abba is the Aramaic word for father, a more tender way of address, like daddy. We are the children of God and not only do we have experience this filial love, but consider the benefits of being son’s and if son's and heirs of God through Christ and joint heirs with Christ, if so that we suffer with him, we may be glorified together. Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. We know that we are eternally secure, and have comfort in that, but we also trust that God answers our prayers. Is there any sick? Pray. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The benefit of God toward the overwhelmed child is that He answers prayers. No matter what happens, we will be OK, but God may see fit to remove the sore trial that we are in the midst of, whether persecution, sickness, or any other distress. Believe that God is able to deliver us, not only eternally, but here and now.

He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. God will preserve us. God is going to keep us. There may be thorns of the flesh that remain with us, even unto death, but God may be pleased to show His power by removing the distress in our lives. This trial may be a preparatory work, that you will be a great help to some other pilgrim down the way. Second Corinthians 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. So if we do not have the result that we desired, God will give us grace and help in our time of need. The result God has for us is much better than what we think we want. God will keep us by His mercy. God is merciful, and He will always to what is right, and what is truthful. Praise Him who deals with mankind mercifully and truthfully!

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. We find the psalmist different at the end than when we found him at the beginning. He started the psalm in despair, but ends it in song. He started crying in pain, and left singing in Christ. He started declaring vows, and left fulfilling them. Can't you see the difference when we go to Christ? How pitiful the Christian who will stay in sorrow, and wallow in misery and not flee to Christ. Daily we should go to Him. The longer we are away, the longer we stay in our misery. The longer we are away, the longer we remain in darkness. The more we stay from our refuge, the more we forget about the joy of our salvation. We can praise God in our troubles because God will always give us comfort. We are always protected by God. The Father will hear our prayers, the Holy Spirit will lead us to Refuge, and we will always have the help and grace which is sufficient for us. Will go through this life, never bearing more than God know we are able to, and God helping us to bear what we are given.

When, not if, but when we face these problems, no matter how dreadful they seem, we have peace in Christ Jesus. We will go to our prayer closets overwhelmed, and leave singing. The problem may still be there, but how sweet to cast ALL our care, ALL our anxieties, ALL our problems upon Him, because He cares for His own. We see in this psalm, that God is sovereign, God is in control and we must trust in Him. Prayer doesn't change God, prayer changes us. First Peter 5:10-11 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Douglas Newell IV

Pay Day Someday

2010-12-09T08:53:00.001-05:00

Sarah Palin a feminist? You Betcha!

2010-12-02T22:26:00.004-05:00

Sarah Palin is tiresome, and I really hope she doesn't run for President.

Sound Theology

2010-11-24T09:39:00.001-05:00

The unbiblical practice of infant baptism: Why I won't baptize babies (part 1)

2010-11-22T08:24:00.005-05:00

Some hold infant baptism as a non-issue and a matter of conscience, but I hold that the practice is not only unscriptural, but has brought great harm to God’s people. Amazingly, some Baptist are not finding the practice as appalling as our forefathers did, and will stand in ecumenical unity with those who practice infant baptism. There are, no doubt, good brothers who are deceived about this issue, and some not so good wolves as well. As for me, this chapter is the reason why I do not baptize babies, and why I believe it to be not only unscriptural, but dangerous, and why I cannot fellowship, in church capacity with false churches or recognize their baptism. Baptist were called Ana-Baptist long ago, or RE-Baptizers, but actually they truly never “re”bapized anyone. We believe those who have false baptism were not really baptized to start with.

First of all, the premise that the infant baptizers hold to, is flawed. Baptism and circumcision are not the same thing. No reasonable person could say that the intention of circumcision was to make the way for baptism. Not even the Judiazers in the New Testament believed that. The difficulty with discussing baby baptism with someone who holds to that teaching is it’s not just a matter of the way they look at baptism, but the way they read the bible.

Those that hold to covenant theology read the bible through the glasses of their theology. Notice the following points made by J.I Packer concerning covenant theology.

“First, the gospel of God is not properly understood till it is viewed within a covenantal frame. Second, the Word of God is not properly understood till it is viewed within a covenantal frame. Third, the reality of God is not properly understood till it is viewed within a covenantal frame.”

In other words, if you do not first understand this theological system, you can’t properly know God, His word, or the gospel.

Those that read the bible and believe what it says are flawed, apparently, due to their lack of understanding the ‘covenantal frame’. Anyone can clearly see that baptism and circumcision are not the same thing. The only similarity that they share is the fact that they are tokens. They are different in their manner, candidates, purpose and meaning. Baptism is an act of obedience, whereas circumcision was required by the law. Baptism was given only to professed believers whereas circumcision was given to male Jews and Jewish citizens. Baptism is the answer to a good conscience given to one who is a child of God whereas circumcision was given so the boy may gain inheritance as a Jewish citizen, and not be cut off from their family. All believers are required to be baptized, but only males can be circumcised. Baptism signifies what God DID do for that person, being buried with Christ and raising in newness of life, to which an infant cannot declare, while circumcision shows what a Jew MUST be to be saved, circumcised in heart, which could be given to an infant in symbol. It is not necessary to be baptized to be saved, but it was necessary for one to be circumcised to be a citizen of Israel. So just a brief look at the two tokens, it is plain to anyone who wants to see it that baptism and circumcision are not the same thing, and anyone who tries is attempting to justify their belief by wresting the scripture. If baptism is a seal, and took the place of circumcision for the same purpose, then circumcision was a picture of a picture or a sign of a sign. God didn’t give a picture of a picture of the work of Christ. Circumcision was a token, so is baptism, but one didn’t replace the other. As J.R Graves stated “A SHADOW DOES NOT CAST A SHADOW!”

Another problem with baby baptism view of combining circumcision with baptism is not only does it contradict the bible, but you either have to believe in baptismal regeration, or contradict yourself. Notice the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 28 of Baptism.

1. Baptism is a sacrament of the NT, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life: which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in his Church until the end of the world. 3. Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized.5. Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this ordinance, yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it, as that no person can be regenerated or saved without it, or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated.

Do you see the contradiction? First it is a sign and seal of regeneration and the remission of sins, but then it is given to infants. A walk in newness of life in his church, but then given to babies? There is one meaning of baptism for the baby, another meaning for the adult, which makes two baptism.

The efficacy (Power to produce effects; production to the effect intended definition inserted by author, dpn)of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered; yet, notwithstanding, by the right use of this ordinance the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited (shown, displayed, when AT THE TIME OF BAPTISM, dpn) and conferred (Given; imparted; bestowed, dpn) by the Holy Ghost, to such whether of age or infants as that grace belongeth unto, according to the counsel of God's own will, in his appointed time.

There is really no way around this contradiction. Those that hold to baby baptism and this confession say, in their own words, there is grace imparted and shown to the recipient of that baptism and that by baptizing, God will save them, but then go on to speak of justification by faith.

Douglas Newell IV

Baptism by Baptism

2010-11-17T10:02:00.003-05:00

Among those that profess Christianity and throughout the different denominations there has been, for hundreds of years, constant strife and debate throughout the different denominations over what mode of baptism is acceptable and proper. Some baptize by immersion, some by sprinkling and some by pouring. The bible declares that there is “one faith, one Lord and one baptism” so only one of these ways can be correct. Some time ago, a popular cliché was oft repeated amongst Christians “what would Jesus do?” The idea was that by imagining what Jesus would do in a certain situation, we could better guide our lives. It sounds good, but not really very helpful. The question should not be “what would Jesus do?” but rather “what DID Jesus do?” How do we know? By the authority and sufficiency of scripture. I people asked the question “how WAS Jesus baptized?” they would know the answer to the question “what would Jesus do.” But don’t stop there, search the Word of God and ask how were the apostles baptized and how did the apostles baptize? What was the New Testament understanding of baptism? Once you have answered these questions, you will know for a fact the proper mode of baptism.

Baptism doesn’t save, and baptism doesn’t wash away sins, but it is important. It is the first command after salvation for the believer to follow; repent and be baptized. There is specificity in baptism, yet the religious world differs so widely on baptism and false teachers have “muddied” the waters of baptism for many, obscuring the plain teaching, making the simple complex. Some sprinkle water, some pour water, some dip under the water. There are some for baptisms given for salvation, others only for believers, while some baptisms are given to confer privilege; some to adults only, some to newborn infants. So who is right?

When we come to this subject, and all subjects, we should go to the Word, and go to our Lord. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ was baptized, we are exhorted in scriptures to be baptized, Christ commanded baptism, so it only stands to reason that we should be baptized just as He was baptized. The imperative to be baptized is meaningless if we do not know HOW we are to be baptized. We should follow our Lord, as commanded, in the baptismal waters. By following the example of Jesus Christ and by examining the baptism of Jesus Christ, we will know what is the proper mode Christians are to be baptized, the pictures that baptism illustrate and the importance of the baptism of John and his authority to baptize.

Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. The mode of baptism has been a long discussed topic for churchmen. The idea was absurd in the days of the apostles. The idea of a mode of baptism itself is a misnomer because Jesus was baptized by baptism. I once heard a wonderful sermon by Joe Wilson he entitled baptism by baptism. This may seem illogical; however, few things can be so clear. John was baptized by baptism because the word baptize is a transliteration. It is an English word that was made to reflect the Greek word in the original text, not a translation of the word. The word βαπτίζω (baptizō) was transliterated “baptism” instead of translated. If baptizō was translated there would not even be a debate. Baptizō means to dip, to immerse, to submerge or to fully whelm. That is what I mean when I say that He was baptized by baptism, Jesus was immersed by immersion. The word itself means to go all the way under. Christ was not sprinkled, He was not poured upon but was put under the water.

“The Greek word baptize, which we borrow, was of very common use, as is seen in every period of Greek literature and was applied to a great variety of matters, including the most familiar acts of everyday life. It was thus a word which every Greek speaking hearer and reader in apostolic times would at once and clearly understand. It meant what we express by ‘immerse’ and kindred terms, and no on e could then have thought of attributing to it a wholly different sense, such as ‘sprinkle’ or ‘pour’ without distinct explanation to that effect…..Luther and Calvin both explicitly declared that the primitive baptism was immersion and the former said it ought to be restored; but they allowed the existing practice to remain undisturbed. In the course of time many Protestants came to perceive that it was very awkward to rest their practice in this respect on the authority of the Church of Rome, and being accustomed and attacked to the practice they very naturally sought countenance for it in scripture. Such are the unavoidable defects of language, that strongly biased and ingenious minds can always cast some apparent doubt over the mean of the plainest words.” John Broadus

There would have been no question in New Testament times what baptizo meant, dipping, immersing. JR Graves, in his study of the Greek word baptizo in his book John’s Baptism found that “sixty-two standard Greek Lexicons giving only to dip, to immerse, as the literal primary meaning, which is the real meaning, of the work in Greek, corroborating the declaration of Dr. Charles Anton (Episcopalian), [then] President of Columbia ‘The primary meaning of the word [baptizo] is to dip, to immerse; and its secondary meaning, if it ever had any, refers to the same leading idea. Sprinkling and pouring are entirely out of the question.” As Oscar Mink well said in his book The Baptist Bride

“Sprinkling is sprinkling, no matter how many people call it baptism. It is still what it was, and that is sprinkling. Rantizio (Greek word for sprinkling) will never become baptizio in any language.”

You do not have to be a Greek scholar to understand this; you don’t even have to know that the word baptize means immersion to understand this. Reading your Bible makes it abundantly clear. First, Jesus went into the water to be baptized in the river. Jesus was not baptized of the river Jordan, by the river Jordan but IN the river Jordan. Secondly, Jesus went up straight way out of the water. Christ was in the water and when He was baptized, He had to come up out of the water. This is baptism and if you did not go into the water, and if you did not come up out of the water, you were not baptized. Or, as J.R. Graves illustrated in John’s Baptism, you could replace the word baptism with your mode and see which one is even possible. “And Jesus, when He was Baptized” is the text, so let us put the modes to the test. And Jesus, when He was sprinkled. Was Jesus sprinkled? How can you sprinkle a man? If you sprinkle salt on your food, you take the salt and distribute it all over, the salt is sprinkled out. How can you “sprinkle a man?” No, if baptism were by sprinkling, he would have to had water sprinkled upon Him. And Jesus, when He was poured. Was Jesus poured out in the river? No, the river would have had to been poured upon Him. So the word poor cannot be synonymous with baptism. And Jesus, “when He was immersed” is the only possibility. Sprinkling and pouring are things you do upon a person; only immersion is something that you can do to someone.

Baptism can be understood to be by immersion by what it pictures. Christ’s baptism was a picture, and New Testament baptism is a picture. The baptism of Jesus was not for salvation, for He was the Saviour; nor was it to wash away sin, for He was sinless. It was to “fulfill all righteousness” Matthew 3:15, Jesus submitted to baptism because it was to do the Father’s will. Afterward, all God’s people are to be baptized upon repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:36-37). Had the eunuch needed baptism for salvation, Phillip erred in not sending him straight to the water. Examine every case of baptism in the New Testament, and you will find believers baptism.

Christ fulfilled all righteousness in type. Christ fulfilled the necessary work of salvation on the cross, He died and rose from the tomb, thus He showed what He would do on the cross and from the tomb in the water. Baptism pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-5). What great importance the mode of baptism brings picturing the death of Christ. Baptism by immersion shows the burial, under the water, and shows the resurrection, out of the water. For us, it shows and symbolizes our death to sin and our rising to walk in newness of life. Baptism is a burial (Romans 6:3-5) and it wound not take long for a funeral home to go out of business if they were in the practice of burying by sprinkling.

SO, I believe in baptism by baptism, since the word means immersion.

Douglas Newell IV

Monday Morning QB

2010-11-14T22:09:00.005-05:00

Now I'm conflicted. First President Obama. And then Oprah too?

On the sports scene, on Thursday, the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat; again. I think it is interesting that will all the hype around Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, they still can't beat the Celtics. The Celtics are an older, veteran team that plays good team basketball. Sometimes it is better to have a good cohesive group than to have several talented individuals.

If you are going to say something controversial, and say it in a combative way, don't be surprised if people get upset.

I received a book in the mail this week, but I don't know who bought it for me. So if you are reading it, thanks!

After a lot of thought, I deactivated my Twitter account this week. I had really gotten into using it and I did find a lot of redeeming value in the applications when it came to businesses and ministries sending out devotional links. But I felt like there were more problems than benefits. One, too much snark. I like a good one-liner as well as the next guy, but there is only so many snide comments you can take before it starts to affect you. Secondly, I didn't really know most of the people I was following and who were following me. Those are not real relationships and it doesn't make a good substitute. Finally, I was getting SO MUCH information, links, news, updates, but at the end of the day, when I thought about what I read, it was all pretty much useless information and I would have been better served reading a book than a poorly phrased quote in 140 characters or less.

A couple of albums to be excited about if you are a Bluegrass fan. Two digitally remastered albums by Del McCoury and the Country Gentlemen. You can read about it here.

Sunday morning I preached from II Kings 5:1-5 on "A little girl who saved a general." She was a godly little heroine. We studied her faith, her compassion and her influence. I believed the Lord blessed.

Sunday evening I preached on day 5 and 6 of creation. It is a awe-inspiring study considering the Biblical account of creation.

Lord willing, we will continue our study Wednesday night on "Things Paul was thankful for."

And to sing us home, a beautiful Stephen Foster song sang by Allison Krauss with some classical accompaniment.

Douglas Newell IV

Monday Morning QB

2010-11-07T22:51:00.009-05:00

Here we go, our first addition of the Monday Morning QB, and on Sunday night to boot! An look at the past week, some random thoughts and a look to the week to come.

Isaiah 3:4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. I am not sure if we are being governed by the naive, the childish, or just the arrogant. I told someone this week, that by suffering through poor governments now, we will better appreciate the rule of Jesus in the millennial reign. But, we still live in the greatest nation on Earth, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Speaking of being ruled by the childish, election coverage has become ridiculously absurd reporting elections as if it were a sporting event. I can't remember now which station (I was watching the networks) but if memory serves, it was an ABC pundit who, said "As Shakespeare said, 'it rains on the just and the unjust alike." Shakespeare? Really? Then the 'smart people' on the panel chuckled is an air of intellectual superiority. Shakespeare did say it, but he was QUOTING the Lord Jesus Christ, from THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. That 15 second moment sort of summed up for me what is wrong with our country.

I usually start my Bible reading through the year in November. Something about starting January first always hindered me. When I start in November, it makes me think that I have an extra two months to read through the Bible for the next year. Which is kind of silly, but it works for me.

Now HERE is a COEXIST sticker I can agree with.

When we like the command, it isn’t really displaying great obedience; it is more that we agree with the command. Obedience is shown when we do not agree or do not understand the command, but do it anyway.

There has been some discussion concerning the King James Bible in the Lord's churches recently, and I have found some good reading on the subject. Milburn Cockrell wrote a good article on why he preached from the KJV.

JC Philpot wrote an good defense of the KJV here.

Dishonest Dealings. It really bothers me when men, in defending their position, misrepresent the other side, intentionally to make their side better. That is nothing more than a false witness. If you can't make your case without lying about it you either need to reexamine your position, or let someone who has a better grasp of the issue defend your position.

Sunday recap. In the morning service, I preached on "Practical thoughts on the Doctrine of Election." We need to make sure that the doctrine is in the head, but also live with the doctrine in our heart.

Sunday evening was continuing on our study of the first 11 chapters of Genesis. We took up days 2-4. We have sickness running through the church, pray the Lord blesses with strength and grace.

With God's marvelous design in mind, here is a great video about seed dispersal. How anyone could deny creation and design after thinking about the following video is beyond me.

This week:
Looking forward to continuing our Wednesday night study on things Paul was thankful for. I was really blessed last week in the study of having a thankful heart. Lord willing we will tackle Day 5 of creation next Sunday evening, and praying that God will strengthen the saints during the week. We need God every second, every hour! Let's not forsake prayer, and go to God this week needy, confident and thankful in Christ.

Douglas Newell IV

Paul the Anabaptist

2010-11-05T20:00:00.007-04:00

Acts 18:24-28; Acts 19:1-7

All Protestants, particularly the paedobaptist, have a lot of problems with scriptural proof for their baptism. There is no biblical command to baptize babies, no New Testament principle for baptizing babies and no New Testament example of baptizing babies. There is also the matter of that the practice is contradicts the clear and explicit New Testament teaching on baptism. The same holds true to any group that sprinkles or pours and calls it baptism, or any group that practices baptismal regeneration. All of the examples we have of baptism are of believer’s baptism, and all the examples of baptism are of people put under the water by an existing church. Paul, in particular presents a problem for both baby baptism and protestant baptism because Paul was an Anabaptist. The term Anabaptist is a name of derision that was given to the Lord’s people by her enemies. The prefix “ana” is Latin, from Greek which means “back or again” so they were “re-baptizers”. The Baptists would not accept Catholic or alien baptism, baptized all coverts upon profession of faith, as the Bible commands. The enemies of the Lord’s churches said they were “baptizing again” when in reality, they were baptizing these converts, scripturally, for the first time. I will prove that Paul was an Anabaptist by examining the different theories as to what this passage of scripture teaches. There are several opinions as to what happened here and I will tell you what I believe the Bible teaches, but first we will examine the competing Protestant ideas only to show that no matter which position you take on the exegesis of this text, you make Paul an Anabaptist.

Before we get to the apostle Paul in chapter 19, we need to see the context of Acts 18:24-28. There was a Jewish man named Apollos who was a powerful preacher with great scriptural knowledge, boldly declaring the truth in city of Ephesus. He was a very fervent man, full of power and pathos in declaring the gospel of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. He, like any other preacher, preached what he knew. You cannot tell someone about something you don’t know anything about. He knew the baptism of John, and that is what he preached. Since he was mighty in the scriptures and knew the baptism of John, Apollos also knew the message of John and the people John was baptizing, those who had repentant faith in Jesus Christ. He knew about grace from the Old Testament scriptures, in which he was well versed, and the gospel that he himself had heard and had repentant faith in. It is just wrong to say that Apollos was a false teacher proclaiming a false gospel; rather Apollos was limited in his knowledge of the truth of the church.

Aquila and Priscilla, the godly, Christ honoring family, heard Apollos and heard his preaching, but recognized his ignorance in the some matters of truth. These blessed Christians showed him the more excellent way in service to God, the more perfect way to preach, to do so in and through the Lord’s church. They did not have to tell him the way to God because Apollos already knew the way to God through Jesus Christ, but they needed to show him the proper and exact way to observe all things, whatsoever Christ commanded, just like good Missionary Baptists should do. That brings us to chapter 19 where we meet up with Paul who is now coming to Ephesus, the very place where Apollos had been greatly preaching the gospel. Paul runs into some disciples and begins to speak with them about the Holy Ghost and baptism. These men were baptized again after their encounter with Paul and after they were baptized they began to speak in tongues and prophesy. This is a passage that gives the Protestants fits, if they deal with the scriptures truthfully. It is clear these men were baptized again, but the real question is why?

Why did Paul baptize them? One opinion that is offered is that the baptism of John was Old Testament baptism which was not Christian baptism. Unfortunately, for the Protestant, even using that particular fallacy does not solve the dilemma they have in Acts 19 because if Paul had to “re-baptize” these disciples because they had John’s baptism, then why were the apostles not baptized again seeing they too had John’s baptism? If John’s baptism was good enough for the apostles, why was it not good enough for these men? Another theory is that John did not baptize in the name of Jesus and thus his baptism was invalid. This is equally absurd as well, since that would invalidate Jesus’ baptism along with the apostles. How could Paul say their baptism is not any good if they had the same baptism as the apostles and their Lord? Furthermore, Protestants who take a sudden strictness in baptism here in this passage, destroy their cause in other passages concerning baptism. If they are to concede that there was a problem with the baptism of these disciples, that would, in fact confirm what Baptist teach; there is such a thing as proper, scriptural baptism and that if you were not properly baptized, then you need to properly and scripturally baptized. John was sent from God to baptize, thus was baptizing in Jesus name since he had authority to do so as an ambassador of God. The problem was not with John’s baptism.

The next theory is that these men Paul baptized were unsaved. This theory states that the disciples had made false professions and were not followers of Christ, but were merely followers of John. This idea states that the Lord saved them here in Acts 19. If this theory were true, then this text has proven believers baptism. Every infant that has been sprinkled would need to follow suite and be baptized upon profession of faith. If these men were not saved then the text proves that they need baptism to follow the biblical pattern of believer’s baptism, invalidating, in one fell swoop both infant baptism and baptismal regeneration. But that theory is also incorrect.

I believe the Bible teaches here that their baptism came from John’s disciples. John was given the authority of God to baptize, John’s disciples were not. There is a clear distinction from the disciples of John and those of Jesus in the gospels. Apollos, I believe, was most likely a disciple of one of John’s disciples, or had heard the gospel from one that was not himself scripturally baptized (Luke 9:49-50). There were men who knew the gospel, knew the truth of Christ as Saviour and Lord and preached accordingly. They had seen and heard of John’s baptism and after salvation and had copied the baptism of John but without authority of God to do so. John had no authority to establish churches and commission disciples himself to go and baptize as that authority came from Christ. John had to decrease as Christ increased.

I believe the men we find in Acts 19 were saved men who had been immersed, but never scripturally been baptized. Many object to this view on the basis that the men said that they had never heard of the Holy Ghost, so they could not be saved. First, I challenge anyone to show me any scripture that would prove that a lack of knowledge of the Holy Spirit means you cannot be saved. By all means I am not belittling God the Holy Spirit, but by saying because these men were ignorant of certain truths they must not have been saved is adding to the gospel. Secondly, I do not believe Paul was asking if they had received the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Paul did not believe that faith and repentance came before regeneration. Paul said very clearly Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? That puts the cart of belief before the horse of regeneration. A dead man cannot repent; neither can a dead man have saving faith. You must be born again, otherwise you cannot be saved. Why would Paul ask if they had been born again since they had believed? We can see that Paul was not speaking about regeneration by looking at what Paul actually WAS talking about. Verse one says that he found disciples. What we have recorded here is not the minute by minute transcript of their entire encounter and conversation. How did Paul know they were disciples? How do you know if someone is a disciple of Jesus? Obviously he had conversed with them about their salvation and heard their profession of faith. To say these men were unsaved is to say Paul didn’t understand regeneration and was asking unscriptural questions here and that he assumed these unsaved men were disciples all the while the inspired Word of God mistakenly called them disciples. Clearly that is not the case; these men were born again believers. It is also interesting to note the Bible does not provide their names, so the only term God’s Word uses for these men, is “disciples”.

So what does this question of Paul’s mean? The Holy Spirit, in the book of Acts as well as today, works in and empowers His church in particular (though not exclusively, as the Holy Spirit indwells all believers, our present text illustrates this fact). Those that had the gifts of the Spirit in the book of Acts, were those in the Lord’s churches. If you read through the book of Acts and study how God’s Word refers to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the context of the passages concerning the power of the Holy Spirit, you’ll see that the Bible shows these gifts to be in the church. Healing, knowledge, speaking in tongues and the like are spoken of as receiving the Spirit (Acts 8:14-17 shows that Peter and John were sent to examine this mission work of Phillip’s and to, I believe, organize this group into a church and the receiving of the Holy Spirit was the proof God was with this newly formed church in Samaria). These gifts were given by God, for a season, to show His power in His churches after Christ had ascended to Heaven. When Paul had asked if these disciples had received the Holy Ghost since they had believed, I contend that he asked them if they had received the gifts of the Holy Spirit that was being manifested in the churches at that time. Paul, knowing they had saving faith and were true disciples did what every good Missionary Baptist would do; he questioned their status with the Lord’s church. This, by the way, is exactly what Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos. Paul wanted to know if these men had done their duty as believers and been baptized and if they had united with the Lord’s church.

Paul was asking them if they had received the gifts that the Holy Spirit had empowered the church with. This is what these men had not heard of; they did not know anything about the church. They were baptized, most likely by Apollos, who was preaching the gospel, but needed to be shown the more excellent way of the Lord’s church. You can see this over and over again down through the pages of history. Men will be saved and read their Bible, like every Christian does, and then they see that they must be baptized. As babes in Christ, having little knowledge, they want someone to dunk them under the water and then being zealous for the Lord, start their own church and begin to baptize people themselves, all the while, not ever even hearing of the truth of the Church and church authority. I believe Apollos preached the truth, and then copied what he had heard about John’s baptism, not knowing any better. The chapter division here comes at an unfortunate place. Reading the end of chapter 18 and the beginning of chapter 19 with no division you will see that it is a continuous narrative. The “and it came to pass” connects the account of Apollos with these disciples being baptized. Chapter 18 finds Apollos preaching the baptism of John. These disciples, who were in the same city at the same time as this mighty and eloquent man was preaching in, professed that they believed the same message that Apollos was preaching. I would have to agree with Charles Spurgeon who said

“You are well aware, dear friends, that the division into chapters has only been made for convenience’ sake, and is not a matter of inspired arrangement. I may add that it has been clumsily made, and not with careful thoughtfulness, but as roughly as if a woodman had taken an axe and chopped the book to pieces in a hurry.”

These disciples were saved, but did not have proper baptism and they were not serving the Lord in His church. They were saved by hearing a man preach who knew nothing about the church and baptized by a man who knew nothing about baptism. This passage is also a death knell to the “priesthood Baptist” and if they were honest with themselves and God’s word, they would admit that in Acts 18, there was one man who was preaching, who was not a Baptist whose converts, I believe, are found in Acts 19. Even if the priesthood men say it was not by the preaching of Apollos that these disciples were save, someone preached to these twelve men who did believe the gospel and someone baptized these men who didn’t know anything about baptism and someone preached to them who didn’t know anything about the church. Whatever position one takes in interpreting this text, you must agree with the fact that this passage teaches believers baptism and the problem was not with John’s baptism but the administrator and authority of the person who first put them under the water. As I have told Presbyterians in the past, either way, you have made Paul an Anabaptist.

Douglas Newell IV

State of the blog

2010-11-01T13:47:00.004-04:00

I’ve been thinking about the blog, since I haven’t been posting recently. I have been neglecting posting original content, even though I have it on the PC. It just stopped being fun. So I have decided to keep it simple, reduce the number of posts and try to have some continuity here.

Monday’s will be the Monday Morning QB, a reflection of the past week, the coming week, the Sunday sermons, and some random thoughts on current events.

Once or twice a month, I hope to write an article. Maybe more, but I think right now, one or two will be what we are looking at.

I started the blog as a hobby, so I could mess around with basic HTML, get some biblical truth on the interwebs, and have some fun. I enjoy writing, and most of my posts are either articles I am writing, or I am thinking through something, and it helps me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Writing helps the thought process and I believe writing helps make better preachers. Somewhere along the line, the blog became a burden, it stopped being fun, productivity slowed, then it stopped. I have some regular readers, and I appreciate you, but I think you deserve SOME expectation of content. And, lets face it, there are A LOT of blogs to keep up with, if you keep up with blogs. Hopefully this will give a little structure, and I can get back to enjoying keeping up with it.

Lord willing, we’ll have regular Monday posts, and original posts every other week.

Unless it changes.

Because it might. Because it usually does. 8^)

______________________________________________________________________

Douglas Newell IV

Did they die in vain?

2010-10-30T10:52:00.002-04:00

W.N. Nevins in his book Alien Baptism:

“Under bloody Mary, blood flowed from Baptist veins, and Queen Elizabeth followed the example of her wicked father, and like him, banished Baptists, giving them twenty days to leave the realm. For two hundred years, [after the reformation] according to court records, Baptist were persecuted in England.” “Catholics might persecute Episcopalians, and Episcopalians, when in power, persecuted the Catholics, but both joined in their animosity and persecution of the Baptists.... Did they die in vain? You, who call yourselves Baptist today, will you throw away this priceless heritage that they preserved for you at the price of persecution, martyrdom and death? When you do this, you not only brand them as fanatics, but you surrender the principles that differentiates us, and Baptists become on branch of the Universal Church, with no more authority to administer the ordinance than apostate Rome or her daughter, the Church of England.”

The Value of Memorizing Scripture

2010-10-26T09:59:00.002-04:00

I'm Sorry You Were Offended

2010-10-21T10:08:00.001-04:00

Win. (click to enlarge)

HT: challies.com

A Day is a Day

2010-10-20T11:07:00.002-04:00

When is a day not a day? When someone is trying to discredit the Word of God. Genesis is clear that the universe was created in 6, 24 hour days. Here is another good quote from John MacArthur from his book Battle for the Beginning.

“But the order of creation itself rules out the possibility that the “days” of Genesis 1 were really long ages. For example, plant life was created on day three (Gen. 1:12), including flowering plants and seed production trees. But birds didn’t appear until the 5th day (Gen 1:21), and earth-bound animal creatures—including insects (creeping things Gen. 1:24) – were not created until the 6th day. As every gardener knows, there is a necessary symbiosis between most flowering plants and the insect kingdom that utterly rules out the existence of one apart from the other. All these different, interdependent life-forms could not have evolved together simultaneously; neither could the flowering plants have been created thousands of years before the insects and birds.”

Wife Beating Rules from the Religion of Peace

2010-10-19T13:53:00.003-04:00

Religion of peace huh? Yeah. Prove it to us instead of telling us about it. That should be our reply to "religion of peace" statements from nitwits who are blinded to the true nature of Islam and the Koran. Show us your peace. Prove it to us, don't tell me about it, show it to us in action, in deed, in message, in your followers.

He made a great point about that it comes down to with Jesus or against Him.

The Religion of Evolution

2010-10-19T12:03:00.000-04:00

"Consider the dogma of evolution for example. The notion that natural evolutionary processes can account for the origin of all living species have never and never will be established as fact. Nor is it “scientific” in any true sense of the word. Science deals with what can be observed and reproduced by experimentation. The origin of life can be neither observed nor reproduced in any laboratory. By definition, then, true science can give us no knowledge whatsoever about where we came from or how we got here. Belief in evolutionary theory is a matter of sheer faith. And dogmatic belief in any naturalistic theory Is not more “scientific” than any other kind of religious faith.”

John MacArthur Battle for the Beginning.

Frustrating the Grace of God

2010-10-18T08:10:00.002-04:00

Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Paul, Barnabas and Titus (a gentile) went up to Jerusalem and preached the same gospel to the Jerusalem church as he had among the Gentiles. Titus, the Greek Christian, was not forced to be circumscised to be among the predominantly Jewish church.

There were some false preachers who had slipped into the church, to spy out the liberty in Christ the believers had, intending to enslave them again into the bondage of the law.

Gal. 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. (in other words: Didn't yield for even an hour for the truths sake)

These men seemed to be influential among the brethren. Paul didn't care who they were, and whatever they were didn't make a bit of difference to Paul because God isn't a respecter of persons and doesn't show partiality, so he didn't care what they thought of him or said. And Peter James and John saw that Paul's gospel and ministry were of God, they gave them the hand of fellowship.

When Peter later on, went to the church at Antioch, he ate with the Gentiles, until these so-called influential Jews showed up, and then Peter separated himself again. Paul saw that Peter was afraid of these Jews, or at least was so concerned about what these influential men thought that Peter bowed to them, and in order to appease the false teachers he fell under their influence. The situation was so bad that even Barnabas followed with these false teachers. Peter went back to the separation and dietary laws, that said the Jews and Gentiles couldn't eat together. Peter fell to these so-called important men, even after God himself had explicitly told Peter in Word, showed Him in both vision and in practice that ...What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. [Acts 10:15].

Paul confronted Peter face to face before everyone and told him he was wrong. ..."I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" Gal 2:14

This brings us to our text. I think that Paul gave this message at Antioch, and is giving it again to the churches in Galatia. They were having the same problems. There were false teachers about who would sneak into churches and try to put men back under the law in order to be saved.

Galatians 2:14-21 is a logical and theological proof that we must be saved by Grace or we won’t be saved at all. The only hope of salvation, forgiveness and pardon to guilty sinners is by faith in Jesus Christ; all other ways will break down and ultimately fail, resulting in eternal punishment for sins.

Frustrate means, to break or interrupt; hence, to defeat; to disappoint; to balk; to bring to nothing.; or to abrogate. Christ abrogated the ceremonial law by fulfilling it in full. Christ frustrated the law, I am not going to frustrate the grace of God.

We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ
i. Substitution - took our place on Calvary, paid the penalty
ii. Imputation of sin to Christ -- our sin became His, He paid it
iii. Imputation of righteousness to us – His right. Is ours, we are righteous
iv. Satisfaction – Father’s wrath, law’s penalty satisfied on the cross
v. Justification – as if we had never sinned. Our sin is paid for and we are hidden in Christ, clean, forgiven and righteous.

Psalms 8:3-5 When I consider thy heavens...

2010-10-06T12:13:00.002-04:00

Psalms 8:3-5 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

I saw this second video at the Creation Museum. Awesome.

The Logical Conclusion of Abortion

2010-10-04T14:59:00.003-04:00

If you can kill a child in the womb, why not outside it? This is where the culture of death ends when carried out to its logical conclusion.

The host is genuinely shocked, so is the other guest. She goes on explaining as if they didn't understand what she was trying to say. No, we understand what you said, you have no problem killing a baby because it was suffering. You consider human life a bunch of cells (her words, not mine) and that the picture of love is killing something that doesn't experience pleasure.

Then at 0:12 she clarifies, ANY suffering thing. This illustrates that abortion has nothing to do with "choice".

Potentates, princes, priests and people

2010-09-28T12:48:00.005-04:00

Jeremiah 1:17-18 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

God told Jeremiah to gird up his loins, or as we might say now "man up." Jeremiah earlier said that he couldn't speak because he was a child. By himself, he was right, he had no strength. God didn't plan on sending him out in his own strength.

Potentates, princes, priests and people stand against God's people, we are like a defensed city, iron pillar and brazen wall in Christ.

Jeremiah 1:19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

Yes, they will fight against you and they will not listen, but they did not send Jeremiah, did they?

God sent, God gave the message and God would be with Jeremiah in the fire. They fight against you Jeremiah, but I, Jehovah, am there to deliver you. Christ, the deliverer had promised. Christ the deliverer HAS promised. Trust Him.