The Limits of Atonement

"Let there be no misunderstanding at this point. The Arminian limits the atonement as certainly as does the Calvinist. The Calvinist limits the extent of it in that he says it does not apply to all persons...while the Arminian limits the power of it, for he says that in itself it does not actually save anybody. The Calvinist limits it quantitatively, but not qualitatively; the Arminian limits it qualitatively, but not quantitatively. For the Calvinist it is like a narrow bridge that goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half-way across. As a matter of fact, the Arminian places more severe limitations on the work of Christ than does the Calvinist."  

Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination

Justified

The Canons of Dort- First Head, Article 7

Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world, He has out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will, chosen from the whole human race, which had fallen through their own fault from the primitive state of rectitude into sin and destruction, a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ, whom He from eternity appointed the Mediator and Head of the elect and the foundation of salvation. This elect number, though by nature neither better nor more deserving than others, but with them involved in one common misery, God has decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call an draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification, and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His son, finally to glorify them for the demonstration of His mercy, and for the praise of the riches of His glorious grace; as it is written "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Eph 1:4-6). And elsewhere: "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Rom 8:30).

Read it all here.

Try a Lazy Boy

C.H. Spurgeon -

"I recollect an Arminian brother telling me that he had read the Scriptures through a score or more times, and could never find the doctrine of election in them. He added that he was sure he would have done so if it had been there, for he read the Word on his knees. I said to him, "I think you read the Bible in a very uncomfortable posture, and if you had read it in your easy chair, you would have been more likely to understand it. Pray, by all means, and the more, the better, but it is a piece of superstition to think there is anything in the posture in which a man puts himself for reading: and as to reading through the Bible twenty times without having found anything about the doctrine of election, the wonder is that you found anything at all: you must have galloped through it at such a rate that you were not likely to have any intelligible idea of the meaning of the Scriptures."

HT: Phil Johnson

Careless with Fire

God forgive me.

(HT Justin Taylor) - Doug

I Go to Prepare a Place for You

A.W. Pink
"God never has, and never will, take His people into a place un-prepared for them. In Eden God first "planted a garden," and then placed Adam in it. It was the same with Israel when they entered Canaan: "Deuteronomy 6:10-11  And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,  And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full." And what can we say of the grace manifested by the Lord of glory going to prepared a place for us? He will not entrust such a task to  the angels. Proof, indeed, is this that He loves us "unto the end."

A Pedigree Without a Horse

 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. - 1Timothy 1:4

BH Carroll from An Interpretation of The English Bible:

"Later, these fables grew into the Talmud, which may be likened to a "continent of mud," or, on

account of the dryness of the matter, to the "Sahara Desert minus its oasis. It is as unpalatable as sawdust bread. Its diet is as void of nutritive properties as the sick soldiers's soup, according to his own hyperbolic description "A piece of blue beef held up between the sun and a pot of boiling water, so as to boil its shadow.

Old Testament genealogies had an intelligent purpose till Christ came, for they located Him. After that they were of no value, and when they were arbitrarily spiritulized they became vicious.

In a political race in McLennan County one of the candidates devoted an hour to the tracing his honorable descent from illustrious families. The other won the race by a reply in one sentence "I would rather be a horse without a pedigree than a pedigree without a horse."

Book Review: The Full Armor of God

The Full Armor of God:

Defending your life from Satan’s Schemes

Larry Richards

Bethany House Publishers, Chosen Books

Christians are in a spiritual war. The Full Armor of God, by Larry Richards is an attempt to help Christians understand the battle and use the resources God has provided to endure to the end. Richards uses the book of Ephesians as the outline to instruct the believer in “spiritual warfare”.  Unfortunately, I believe that the book fall short in what it sets out to accomplish.

There are some helpful aspects to the book, but I would not recommend this book. The book is a combination of the Biblical text with affirmations of self worth. Not in every case, but I did notice a theme that the “demons” were bad feelings over a bad childhood. The Christian does have the answer to emotional issues, pain, and struggle -- satisfaction in Jesus Christ. He is where you find peace, love, and forgiveness.  Richards seeks to apply worldly salve to a spiritual problem. For example, in the chapter on “Putting on the Helmet of salvation” one part of the application is to “Tape a picture of yourself as a child on the bathroom mirror. Each time you see the picture, bless the child that you were, and remind her or him of how deeply she or he is loved by Jesus.”  This kind of worldly wisdom cannot free a person from the true pain that they receive. The Bible is sufficient to teach and guide, these exercises are not.

There is a chapter on casting out demons. It is three pages long. Half of the three pages are dedicated on how to cast demons out. Five paragraphs. First, let me say that I do believe in demon possession. Secondly, I do believe that Apostles and the early churches had the power to cast out demons. Thirdly, I believe these gifts ceased.  The Bible does not teach us to go about and cast demons out of things, and the Bible does not teach us how to recognize demon possession, so in a chapter to instruct, there should be a theological foundation, and Biblical instruction. There wasn't, and there is a reason for the absence.  The rest of the chapter was another plug for the “Freedom Workshop”.

From the start, I felt like the book was a advertisement for his Freedom Workshops that he teaches all over the country.  Through the book, we are reminded of the Workshop and given an appendix of exercises to be done in group settings, in “Live Free” sessions -  not what one would expect when purchasing a book on spiritual warfare.

I’m very grateful Bethany House Publishers and Chosen Books for sending me this review copy. Though I did gain some from the book, I would not recommend this book.

Tender Majesty

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1

The twelve were sitting in the upper chamber, stupefied with the dreary, half-understood prospect of Christ’s departure. He, forgetting His own burden, turns to comfort and encourage them. These sweet and great words most singularly blend gentleness and dignity. Who can reproduce the cadence of soothing tenderness, soft as a mother’s hand, in that ‘Let not your heart be troubled’? And who can fail to feel the tone of majesty in that ‘Believe in God, believe also in Me’?

Alexander MacLaren

But what are you REALLY trying to say?

“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 one could then have thought of attributing to it a wholly different sense, such as ‘sprinkle’ or ‘pour’ without distinct explanation to that effect…..[speaking of protestants who sprinkle]. 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

Locust and Honey - there is no app for that

Matthew 3:4  And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

It would have been difficult to follow the Old Testament dietary laws. John didn’t have a Bible app or the ability to google “can Jews eat locusts?” How did John know it was OK to eat locusts? John had to know the law. He had to have it hidden in his heart. First, he had to go where the Word was to hear and read it, memorize it so he could go and keep it and apply it. After all, it would be hard for the Jewish people carry all those scrolls when they were walking by the way, lying down and waking up. The Word of God had to be foundational - an entire worldview, which is the way it should be for us. It can become easy to use the Bible as a reference book, to go to for recommendations on how you should live rather than the authoritative Word of God that informs how we live and think. The Bible should shape and form our thoughts, transforming our minds and the way we think. That was why it was difficult for Peter to eat unclean things. Think how deeply ingrained these food regulations had to be to live in those times, knowing what you could and couldn’t eat. If you were at sea, on the sea shore, in the wilderness, in the market place, what can you eat and how would you know? The Word of God had to be the lens in which you looked at the world. Sources close to me tell me that the nutritional labels we have on our food came much later in history, besides, how would you put the calorie intake on the back of a locust?

 1 Timothy 4:4-5  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Bing Crosby, Red Delicious, and the Gospel Ministry

My family stopped celebrating Christmas when I was too young to remember. My wife’s family had always celebrated Christmas, so when we were dating, I told her why we didn’t celebrate it and she told me what it was like to do so (We were/are not heretics unless you would consider this heresy . We refrained from the celebration, in a sort of 17^th century, non-conformist Puritan sort of way. And, we can get into that if the masses insist). I had an idea that every Christmas was like a Bing Crosby song, complete with argyle sweaters, men contemplatively resting the elbow on the mantel piece next to a toasty fire and the wafting aroma of leather and pipe tobacco. I could imagine children laughing and dancing along to the melodic sounds of a jazzy piano coming from the sitting room. It was the sort of dream that, as Psmith  said “one feels that one could gladly settle down into a peaceful retirement and grow a honey colored beard.” That was Christmas in my mind. Apparently, (according to my wife anyway, I’m still skeptical) this isn’t an accurate representation of the season.

With reckless abandon, and little regard for segue, let’s go to the farm. I grew up on an apple orchard and it was hard work that never ended. Pruning trees, fertilizing, insecticides, thinning the apples, on and on it goes. Not only is it nonstop work, but we usually were pushing to get it all done. You have to have everything ready to pick the apples, to package, to haul the apples. Tractors, wagons, picking bags and all the things that are needed to get them in and then out the door, so to speak.  Harvest always came whether you were ready for it or not. It always aggravated me at school when the kids would talk about how great it would be to live on the farm, because you only had to work two months out of the year. Pick apples in the harvest and sit back and count your money to the next year. They would talk about sauntering out (sauntering wasn’t the preferred word of the 4^th grade class at Sunshine Elementary, but work with me here). Where was I? Oh yes, sauntering out in the afternoon and selecting an apple for the tree for a lazy day snack. In fact, I could probably count on my hands the number of times I walked out and picked an apple and ate it because you can’t pick an apple when it’s ripe to eat and sell it, unless you think a rotten ball of mush is in high demand (stranger things have happened II Kings 6:25). The apples are picked a few days before they are ready to eat.  Much like my view of Christmas, my classmates had an idealistic view of farm life. We saw what we wanted to see and didn’t consider that we  live in a Genesis 3 world, fallen and broken.

When Paul was telling Timothy to get ready for the life of the ministry, one example he used was that of a farmer.  II Timothy  2:6  The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. God gives every pastor ground, and that is the ground he is to work. Some men in history have worked in years of feast and some toil in years of famine. Many (most?) men who enter the gospel ministry have an idealistic view of what it will be like and how their ministry will prosper. Perhaps that because of their desire and faithfulness, God will surely bless them with "success" in their preaching. Then, if it isn't like they thought, they get depressed and give up. The gospel ministry is not a results based, but gauged on faithfulness, though all desire to see the results. The bossman of the harvest on an apple orchard is success based. How much did you bring in and how quickly did you do it? The only means of success in farm work is product based. The LORD of the harvest judges His laborers by faithfulness, because He is the Lord of the harvest. Our desire is not mere reformation, but regeneration. Our desire is that the dead be brought to life and we haven’t that kind of power, but the Lord of the harvest does.

 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.

We desire that men come to the truth, but it is a truth that is from Heaven that God Himself teaches His people. A ministry must be able to teach, but at the same time God illuminates. 

John Calvin "...Only when God shines in us by the Holy Spirit is there any profit from the Word. Thus the inward calling, which alone is effectual and peculiar to the elect, is distinguished from the outward voice of men."

 Our labor in the Word and with men may seem to bring no result but it is doing something because God’s Word does not go forth void (Isa.55:11). The faithful man of God always triumphs in Christ when he faithfully brings the Word (II Cor. 2:14-17).  You may be an Ezekiel.

Eze 3:6-7  Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.  But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

Consider that. If Ezekiel had been a foreign missionary and preached the same message, he would have many converts. But God had Ezekiel labor in hard ground to a people that would not hear in an act of judgment.

So, when a man begins the good work of Gospel ministry, I’m not saying he ought to despair, but he ought to trust in God. The place where God has him may be good ground, or tough ground, but it is the ground he was given to keep. The ground is rocky. It’s hard. I look at other ground and I see others reaping the harvest. I see others, whose children have been saved. I look and can only see the dirt. The dry ground. The rocky soil. The sun is hot. There is a drought and the earth is cracked. The only water I can perceive are my tears. Sowing in tears. Preparation. Labor. Toil, but the harvest hasn’t come. My hands are calloused, by back is sore. Is it fruitless? No, never. I trust in the sovereign Lord. 

Idealistic expectations reveal our will. I'm not saying that our will is even wrong. It is not wrong to desire to see many people saved. However, the man of God must preach on even when our will is not done. Do we delight in our will being done only, or when our will is crushed but God's will is done?

A More Compelling Argument

If one were to click this link and listen, at the 4:00 minute mark on, you would hear from the "fair and balanced" folks who are "looking out for us", that besides the Bible, there really isn't a compelling argument against homosexual marriage. While I don't agree with that statement, think about that assertion and you will understand why our civilization is crumbling. The Omnipotent  Sovereign God, created man,  male and female and then God Himself created the Divine institution of marriage and provides instruction on what a marriage is, what it is for, its bounds, its intentions, and how both parties are to act in the marriage. So, beside that, what other argument do you have?

The foundations are gone. Our society is making moral judgments and trying to overturn the basic foundation of human society on emotional argumentation. A people who KNOW what God says about the issue, but just do not care. Only a miracle of Divine grace can save us now. Once the "anything goes" door is open, who is going to shut it and why? Homosexual advocates are not for marriage equality because they don't want a man to marry his brother and his sister. So in five years, what answer will the Supreme Court give to these siblings who want to get married? What arguments will anyone have to say "no, that's not right."? Who is going to shut the door and why? 

When a society is overtaken by sin, as part of Divine judgment, God gives them over to their depraved thoughts. We loose our ability to think and reason and are blinded by our sinfulness. That is what you see before us now. People are given over to their rebellious thoughts and the Divine, authoritative Word of God is not a "compelling argument." We can hear things like "the Bible says that sure, but we are Americans and we believe in FREEDOM!" Without a foundation of moral law and the ability of self-control, freedom will die. Freedom to live in depravity is not freedom at all, it is bondage to sin. The further one goes into this "liberty" the more they are in bondage to their sin. 

 So what do we do now? We need to thump the Bible - more clearly and more authoritatively. We need to study this issue. We need to know what Leviticus says and why. We need to know what Jesus said about marriage and why and what He appealed to in His defense of marriage (hint: 'have you not READ?'). These are exciting times in which we live. Think about it, how many generations have been witness to the decline and fall of a great civilization? I did say exciting, not enjoyable. When we talk about this issue, we should be seen as the "Bible Thumpers" and be unapologetic about it. What is likely to happen is both political parties will want to distance themselves from this issue, and when both Republican and Democrats agree, they have to have someone to blame all this opposition on - and I wonder if there is a group of people out there they could blame? People who just won't listen to "reason" and keep going back to that Book. Who don't make compelling arguments, who just keep going back to that Book. People who won't change with the times, they just keep going back to that Book. That Book that tells me I'm a sinner and need a Savior. That Book that tells me that there is a Creator and I'm not Him. That Book, that reminds me I'm not the judge of right and wrong, and that there is a judgment coming for those who break the laws the Book contains. That Book.  How man hates that Book. Despite the "folks" who are "looking out for us" say, I think "because God said" is a pretty compelling argument. 

Consolation in Christ

It has been four hundred years since there had been a prophet in Israel. The nation was now under the rule of King Herod and under the thumb of the mighty Roman Empire. They were a long way from King David and the glories of Solomon’s reign. The ruling class in the priesthood preached a doctrine of legalism and had gone far from the truth of God’s revealed word of grace and faith found in the law and the prophets. Simeon, who was now an old man, was sorrowful. He sorrowed over the condition of his people. He sorrowed over the condition of the nation. He sorrowed over the condition of his own soul. There was no solace in possible political reform or military upheaval against Rome. There was no comfort in King Herod’s reign or the temple he built. As the Pharisees, scribes and Sadducees jockeyed for position and power and as the politicians maneuvered back and forth for power, Simeon a devout man of God sorrowed and waited. Yet he was not as those who had no hope.

Simeon, being just and devout, knew the promises of Scripture. He knew that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. He knew that all the nations of earth would be blessed through the seed of Abraham. He knew that the Seed of David would sit on the throne in Jerusalem and have an everlasting kingdom. He knew that the servant of Jehovah would be wounded for our transgressions and be acquainted with our grief. Simeon had hope and comfort from his sorrows in the consolation of Israel. Simeon knew and looked for what we know and see by faith. Our consolation, our comfort, our hope is found in Christ Jesus the Lord. He forgives the sinner of His sins. He clothes the sinner in His righteousness. Our comfort and consolation is that by grace, through faith, we are in Christ. By the death of Christ and His resurrection from the tomb, we stand in Christ clean, forgiven, and justified. That is consolation. 

The Pen is Mightier than the PC?

There was a very interesting Q&A session at the 2013 Shepherd's Conference. The men discussed their sermon preparation and outlining processes, to wit the use of pen and paper. In fact, it was such an interesting conversation, I'm considering making the switch back. If you are interesting in peeking in the study of preachers and looking over their shoulder at their notes, you will enjoy giving this a listen.

Shepherd's Conference Q&A audio.

Grace & Peace,
Doug

The Oxford Comma

I got a kick out of this. I am firmly on the affirmative with the Oxford Comma and I suppose we can still be friends if you wrong on this issue of vital importance. Enjoy a little gregarious grammatical guidance!

Source: cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com via RockRavn on Gentlemint

Exclamation of Joy

Ever wonder where the exclamation mark came from? Oh. Would you like to know anyway?

I found this interesting from the OUP word blog:

Both these punctuation marks [the ! and the ?] were originally manuscript abbreviations in Latin texts.
To take the exclamation mark first: it derives from a vertical version, written in the margins, of the Latin word Io, meaning ‘exclamation of joy’. The vertical stroke was the ‘I’ above the ‘o’, in which the ‘o’ eventually became a dot. 

The question mark, meanwhile, goes back to the word Quaestio meaning ‘questioning, investigation’ and indicating a question. Quaestio was eventually abbreviated to a curly ‘q’ above the ‘o’, while the ‘o’ became a dot. 

Why were these marks needed in the first place? Their prime function in Latin manuscripts was to show people the right intonation: a question, a surprise, a shout, etc. If you combine them you get a different effect: ?! delivers an immediate sense of incredulity: a little like smileys or emoticons in our text messages today.

This is an excerpt from What Made the Crocodile Cry? by Susie Dent.

Gun Control and Apologetics

Conservatives are outraged at the hypocrisy of people in heavily armed offices dictating that only gun-free zones will make you safe. We can easily see how foolish it is to pass more laws to stop lawbreakers who wouldn’t obey the first law. What does a gun free zone tell a criminal? It tells the criminal that the law abiding citizen has laid down their best weapon of defense.

When we engage unbelievers, being salt and light we are engaging in spiritual battle and they are wanting and expecting a “Bible free zone” of apologetic in the public square.  It goes something like “You can’t argue from the Bible because I don’t believe the Bible, so we must debate on common ground of what I consider to be good sound reason.”  They want you to give up your starting point but they get to keep theirs. You must abandon your worldview and engage their worldview FROM their worldview. They borrow Christian terms like “right” and “wrong” and “good” and “evil” that can only exist with a standard of right and wrong and good and evil. And if there is standard, where did that come from and why?

Let’s imagine you are awakened from dreaming about living in a free Republic to find you are being robbed. As a vigilant citizen you reach for your Smith & Wesson and proceed to engage the lawless and disobedient. Full of good courage, you play the man and catch the thief with his arms hugging your television. When confronted with superior firepower he says  with a furrow of anxiety upon the brow “I don’t believe in the right of a man to defend his home with a gun. I think this ought to be a gun free zone.” Would you reply “Oh, yes, certainly - allow me to holster my gun, since you don’t believe in it, and we will get on common ground.”

What has happened? You have conceded to his presuppositions. You have laid down your weapon because he doesn't like you having it or doesn't want you to use it. He may genuinely not like it and not believe in it – but should that stop you from using it?  The believer who attempts to argue apart from scripture has conceded that the unbeliever somehow is coming from a neutral position. You believe in the authority of God’s Word. He disagrees, but be sure he is not coming from an unbiased position.

If a person denies that the Bible is living and powerful, does that make it not so? Is the Bible quick and powerful regardless of what a person thinks about it? When we engage unbelievers who do not want to concede that God’s Word is truth, don’t voluntarily turn in your Sword to the proper authorities, who happen to have weapons of their own. I believe in divinely inspired Word of God. This leads to the next reason - since the Bible is divinely inspired, it is authoritative and I must bow the knee to God’s Word. And, as if I planned it this way, leads to a thirdly - I believe the Bible to be supernatural in power and sharper than any two-edged sword. That the Bible gets down to the meat & bones of the matter and discerns your thoughts and intentions. It is a powerful, spiritual weapon and our only weapon. Thus when engaging in spiritual warfare, don’t turn the debate into a Bible free zone.

Grace & Peace

Doug

Fighting Today's Battles

J.C. Philpot battled a great error that was gaining ground in his day - the denial of the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ. In his introductory remarks he answered the objections some had made to confronting that heresy in the first place. One group thought the battle was not necessary because they did not understand the full significance of the error. Some were persuaded by some “Big Guns” who had decided for themselves (and for their followers) what the Bible said and that settled the question once for all. A third group thought it was a fight over words and why cause a fuss over semantics and the question should never been waged in the first place.

When confronting error there are usually these separate battles that the truth must confront. Not only do you fight the error but sometimes you have to deal with those who should be on your side but for some reason or the other decided to sit this one out. Sitting it out wouldn’t be as bad, but often they cheer for the other team which stings a little.

Philpot said 

“Those who from self-interest, love of carnal ease, entanglement in error, or cowardice of spirit, wished things to remain quiet as they were, all lift their voice against the disturbers of the general peace.” 

Come on, ye who troubleth Israel, if you were quiet, none of this would have happened (1Kings 18:17). It is amazing to see that the battles will change but the tactics and the positions of the enemies of truth rarely do. 

Considering one of the great fights of our day, which I believe is on Biblical marriage, we are starting to see these groups appear. There are groups that don’t understand what the fuss is all about. Others who think it’s better to live and let live. There are others that wish it was like it used to be and among conservative Christians we are most susceptible to the last excuse. Remembering the glory days when you didn’t have to give a definition for marriage  we can say that it should not be like this because it did not used to be like this. Both are true statements, but unfortunately, that line of argument is a useless defense of the truth because they say "so what?" and if we shrug and saunter away mumbling to ourselves away as to avoid the controversy because we did not get to pick the fight we lose the fight anyway.  

 Few who live in exciting times that we like to read about would choose the exciting time for themselves.  An old proverb went something like “blessed are the forgotten nations of history.” Why? Who wants to read a story about a country that lived in quiet peace for centuries.

There are fights in every generation that rise. Sometimes the fight is greater than we think that we can stomach. Sometimes it’s a fight we would rather not have at all. All who pick up the sword of truth wish that it needn’t be so and it grieves us that God’s Word is not obeyed. There shouldn’t be any that relish fighting – but that should not stop the men of God. We can look at the spiritual battles for truth about us and wish it were not so, wish for quieter times and peaceful seasons, but that is not for us to decide. God has placed you in this time to fight the battle that is going on now. It’s easy to be on the right side of a fight that is already over-the test comes when the battles just starting to get hot. Your story has been written, it is not for you to decide what times you live in – it is for you to decide how you will live.

Once more from Brother Philpot:

 “Old Mrs. Bigotry is dead and buried; her funeral sermon has been preached to a crowded congregation; and this is the inscription put, by general consent, upon her tombstone:

For modes of faith let graceless bigots fight;

He can’t be wrong whose life is in the right. 

But if to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints is bigotry, let us be bigots still; and if it is a bad spirit to condemn error, then let us bear the reproach rather than call evil good and good evil, put darkness for light and light for darkness, bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

A Love that Rejoices

"Paul wants [the Philippian church] to join him in cruciformity—to follow the One who laid down his life for the spiritual benefit of to others by likewise laying down their lives for the spiritual benefit of others. This is a love that rejoices in what is best for others... This kind of love will not result in selfish behavior that sinfully exploits others but produces “sincerity and blamelessness for the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:10). This kind of love will fill the Philippians “with the fruit of the righteousness that is through Jesus the messiah, for the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:11). God will be glorified when the Philippians live this way because mercy and love condemn selfishness and hate -salvation coming through discerning judgment for God’s glory." - James Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation through Judgement.

This kind of Christian love wants the best for others for the glory of God. 

False Humility is Pride

Pride is a tricky sin. Sometimes we are most proud when we think we are most humble. False humility is really pride.

Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

It is hard to find a guilty man when we make ourselves the judges of right and wrong, and make ourselves the author of our own laws. We try and do the work of Christ in our own life and try to justify ourselves. Christ is the Just and the justifier (Romans 3:25-28). 

However, there is a false humility that decries everything in our souls that denies the truth of God’s work in our souls.

Richard Sibbes in his wonderful book The Bruised Reed was speaking to those ‘smoking flax’ Christians, who are in continual despair over their salvation because they see no fruit or deny or explain away the fruit that is evident in their life.

 We must neither trust to false evidence, nor deny true; for so we should dishonor the work of God’s Spirit in us, and lose the help of that evidence which would cherish our love to Christ, and arm us against Satan’s discouragements. Some are as faulty in this way as if they had been hired by Satan, the ‘accuser of the brethren’ (Rev. 12:10), to plead for him in accusing themselves.

Don’t bear false witness against yourself and don’t deny the work of the Spirit in your life if you are in Christ. There will be evidences of the grace of God and it is not humility to deny His work in sanctification. It is prideful to take credit. It is prideful to look down at others. It is prideful to want to be noticed and praised for the evidence of God’s grace.  However, it is not prideful to see God’s grace in your soul and to use what God has given you for His glory and thank Him for His goodness.

Bearded Gospel Man Joe Thorn in his excellent book Note to Self touches on this in his section on pride.

Poor self-esteem in not an indication of humility or meekness. In fact, It may be a disregarding of the gifts God has given you and a mocking of the work he is doing in your life. How does this connect to pride? Haven’t you used this excuse of no ability and no talent to clear yourself of responsibility? Isn't it possible that you have used poor self-esteem as an excuse for doing nothing or as a means of saving face? Who could fault you when you don’t claim to be good at anything. Make no mistake about it – you are proud.

We must remember what we are – creatures.

We must remember who we are – children of God.

We must remember where we are – in Christ Jesus.

Pride is a sneaky sin. There is no easy way to spot pride except to always be hunting it down in our lives and be killing it-to spot him when he tries to sneak in the house. Sometimes Pride will knock on the door in a T-shirt that says LIBERTY in some ultra hip font.  Sometimes Pride comes dressed in his Sunday’s Finest complete with a Full Windsor. Sometimes Pride saunters about like an extra from Downton Abbey. Sometimes Pride knocks on the door in beggars’ clothes.  We need to be careful when we open the door and be quick to show Pride to the door when he sneaks through the vestibule. We need to keep him "screwed to the sticking place".

The answer is to think much of Christ and the cross. To remember what He did for us, what He does for us, what He is doing for us, and what He as promised us. 

You and Your Sword

Paul W. Martin at Unashamed Workman has some good advise for the preacher specifically but for all Christians in general.

So preacher, if you are not already, then begin today to:

• Read your Bible. 
• “Eat” your Bible (Jeremiah 15:16), 
• study your Bible (Ezra 7:10), 
• run your life by your Bible (Psalm 119:9-11) 
• and do not add a thing to your Bible (Revelation 22:18).

Chapter and Verse

“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.”  
Charles Spurgeon 

Book Review: A Lie Never Justifiable by H.C. Trumbull

H.C. Trumbull was a prisoner of war during the Civil War and his captured cohorts devised a plan to escape that hinged on him lying to the guards. They put their confidence in the wrong man since he refused to go along with the plan because he said it is always wrong to lie. Needless to say, he was not the most popular man in the hoosegow and his cell mates failed at their attempts to persuade him that sometimes it is justifiable to lie, especially to Confederates and especially when lying would free you from said Confederates. Trumbull, at the time, felt it was wrong but wasn't settled that he had done the right thing, so he determined if and when he was released from prison, he would devote himself to coming to the conclusion of the matter.

The title gives away the ending. You know his conclusions going in but get to benefit from his search as he goes as deep into the subject as a person probably could and quite frankly, deeper than most people really want to go - down to if it is possible to lie to a fish if you are using artificial bait. There are all sorts of scenarios he goes over, i.e. is it a lie to leave lights on in your home to pretend you are home, is it a lie to throw a change-up, deceiving the batter (I think that is the illustration, but I could be mistaken - which, by the way, wouldn't be a lie would it?). There are several others, that gave me a chuckle, but I got the point when he asked if you can lie to your horse, and if you can, should you?

Trumbull gives some interesting anthropological information concerning tribes and peoples and religions all over the world, looking for a group that did not believe that lying is wrong. According to his research, he couldn't find a society that accepted lying in their morality. He also gives the Christian history of the argument and that this has been debated since the days of the early Christians, which I thought was very interesting.

His point is basically since God cannot lie, neither can you. He addressed the common objections such as Rahab (brother Proctor jogged my memory of the book) and the lying spirits in I Kings 22 and gives a sufficient answer, in my opinion. However, he does make distinctions by defining what actually constitutes a lie. For example, if you have no right to the information, I don't have the obligation to give it to you. If you are deceived by your lack of information, it is not my duty to make sure you are not deceived by telling all I know. If you are the goodman of the house, you don't have to make sure to reveal when you are going to be the most vulnerable to theft. So it is vital to tell the truth, but it is not vital nor wise to tell all the truth in all situations in a pearls before swine sort of way.

If you are interested in reading his position, there are reprint editions available or you can get it on you favorite e-reader for free.

Grace & Peace,
Doug

Please Stand By

Hello dear readers. The blog has been a little slow. Full report to come.

Grace & Peace.

Miscellany

I have a whole list of random things I was going to write about, but never finished. So I'll give you a bit of weekend randomness, miscellaneous materials, indiscriminate items, unsystematic observations – stuff. Enjoy.

Item 1 

Tolkien didn't want The Hobbit published in Nazi Germany: Though he was popular in Germany for his academic writing on old Germanic and Norse cultures, Tolkien was disgusted by Nazi Germany, and called Adolf Hitler a "ruddy little ignoramus." When it came time for a German edition of The Hobbit, a German official asked Tolkien to prove that he was "Aryan" enough, in accordance with Nazi law. Tolkien instead wrote a letter back expressing regret that he didn't have Jewish ancestors. (Link embedded to original article).

Item 2
This summer we went to the place where General Stonewall Jackson died. He was shot by his own men, and killed by his own doctors (not purposefully mind you, but does that really make it any better?). They spent all efforts to save him, but what was "good medical treatment" at the time actually killed him. Had he not been on the receiving end of the priority treatment, he would have probably survived.

This is the bed that General Jackson died in. The blanket at the foot of the bed also was the same blanket that covered him.











The clock on the wall also was original to the room.  The daughter of the home was 11 years old when Stonewall died. She kept the bed, the blanket, and the clock for 70 years. She donated them to the National Park services, and came into the home and arranged the furniture exactly how she remembered it when Stonewall passed away.


Item 3
The King James Bible shaped our language. You won't say that about modern translations.

Winking and Prating

Proverbs 10:10  He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

I hope that you aren't winking and prating about because that would indeed grieve the heart. You may ask "how do I know that is it bad to be prating and winking?" We know this from the result of each - sorrow and falling. So we know from the start that this is not a good thing. Since we know it is bad, let's figure out what it is that is bad. 

Winking with the eye in the Bible is always shown as a devious act (Pro. 6:13; Job 15:12; Psa.35:19). Really no different than it is today. 

Prating is babbling, and the fool who babbles speaks his heart. So a prating fool goes on and on, with each word revealing to every unfortunate soul in earshot that he is indeed a fool. 

In this proverb, as in most, we have two different people, with two different outcomes. The word "but" separates the the two situations. Often "but" will transition from good to bad. For example, if you would scan up to the previous verse, we conveniently have an example in Proverbs 10:9.  He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. Here we see that the upright walk sure footed *but* the man that perverts the way shall be known. You have the godly and ungodly compared and contrasted showing you one way is superior to the other.

Our proverb is different though, because both ways are bad and both outcomes are bad. 

A) He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: 

but 

B) a prating fool shall fall.

So the "but" in verse 10 doesn't transition from bad to worse, but we know that this conjunction does transition us some way, so what are we contrasting? Both A and B are people you do not want to be and both end results are places you do not want to go. Now we need to think about what the difference is in order to gain wisdom.

The difference is in the person that is hurt. The "winker" of line A hurts other people. He causes sorrow. The prating fool of line B hurts himself. The fool who rambles on in his foolishness can and often does hurt other people (read the whole of chapter ten with the theme of work and words in mind and you can see the result of the words of a fool). Though he may not necessarily hurt others, he will hurt himself. He is going to fall.

I believe that this proverb is a warning for those with a foolish mouth. The liar and the deceiver the backbiter and the thief is universally known to hurt other people. We all know the kind of person that is being described and we've all experienced the pain of a wrecking ball of deception  Perhaps, such were some of you. But the foolish talker doesn't realize the pain he causes because he hurts himself, and nobody wants to hurt themselves, for no man ever yet hated his own flesh. If the foolish talker knew he was a) a foolish talker and b) was hurting himself, he would surely probably stop. 

Here is the important part. We have to press on. We can't stop here, or we just learned a proverb. We have to look in the mirror and examine our own words. Am I a foolish babbler? What do I talk about? Does my mouth have a break and if so does it work and do I know where it located? Is there a filter between head and mouth and if so, is it working? 

Think about it this way. In you minds eye, the part of "he that winketh with the eye" will be played by a car thief  The prating fool will be portrayed by a person who never checks their oil in their car. The car thief will cause sorrow to others. But the person who never checks or changes the oil in their car only brings hurt on themselves. They hop in the car, cruising with the windows down, without a care in the world. "Those windshield wipers slappin out a tempo, keepin perfect rhythm with the song on the radio, gotta keep rolling" says Mr. Rabbit and all is right in the world. But the fun and games come to a stop when the engine does. The whole car was groaning under the foolishness of the car owner, who was oblivious to the harm their foolish behavior was causing and the pattern of foolish behavior brought the bad fruit. There is another option, which I think hits the mark for most people. The fool knew they were doing wrong and just didn't care or didn't believe the warning was true. 

The prating fool will fall.

Doug

Post Election Wrap-up

Well, that didn't go like I thought it was going to. I am disappointed and I am sad for our country, but do not despair, because God is still God and he is in control of the affairs of men.

I pray for President Obama. He is a husband, father, and a soul. I pray that he will hear the true and saving gospel. I pray that God, in his common grace, would direct his mind and give him wisdom.  He is the commander in chief and has the lives of many of our men and women in his hand. Proverbs 21:1  The king's (and President’s) heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

I pray, that by God’s grace, he would grant that His elect be able to live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty here in this country. We have had so much freedom - to write, to preach, to witness, to worship, to broadcast over the airwaves. Let’s face it - we are on our way to being socialist nation now because that is what the majority of Americans wanted. Secular and socialistic countries eventually will limit speech. To what degree, it remains to be seen, but I pray that it doesn't.

I pray that God would give grace to His people in this country and that we will do the will of God as citizens and “put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” and by living submissive and godly lives, by living for King Jesus (I Peter 2).

                                                                                                                                                      

I pray that we will remember that the election did not take God by surprise.

If you have a few moments read the introduction to A.W Pink's Sovereignty of God today. After you finish this, of course!

I pray that my words, thoughts, prayers today will be seasoned with love. Love for my neighbors  love for my Saviour, and love for my fellow citizens. May we be salt and light. 

I pray that Governor Romney will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in saving faith.  

Luke 10:2  “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” - Jesus Christ

I pray that people who trusted the Republican Party, and who are now without hope, will find that Jesus Christ is the only true Hope of humanity. Christ is already victorious over death and those that put their trust in His finished work on the cross and His resurrection have eternal life. There will be a lot of conservative pundits trying to give people hope in the next election cycle. I hope they hear a preacher of the gospel today. 

I pray that those that are currently putting their trust in the Democratic Party will become equally disillusioned.

Socialism and class warfare is another name for covetousness. As God’s people, let’s use God’s terminology and wield the Sword of the Spirit. The sword of Ronald Reagan is a Nerf toy.

God's judgment is not coming. We have been in the midst of it for a while (Romans 1:18-32). However, let it move us to be more like Paul "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel..." Romans 1:15

Government is given by God as a common grace to restrain evil. The government’s job is greatly hindered when those in charge call evil good and good evil. That is where we come in. It is our job to call good, good. It is our job to call evil, evil.

I pray this will finally give Christians a realistic view of the country. We are not a Christian nation - we are a secular nation. I hope that this finally displays that superficial, non-Lordship salvation, nominal cultural Christianity that has been so prominent has bore its rotten fruit and been worse for this country than either party could be. President Obama ran on a pro-abortion platform, mentioning Planned Parenthood no less than four times in the town hall debate, and yet a nation that is supposedly a majority Christian nation, overwhelmingly supported him. Combine that with the advances that the homosexual marriage results, there should be little doubt about the souls of our fellow citizenry. But that is a good thing, in a way. It is far better to be awakened to the truth than to continue to believe a lie.

Ronald Reagan is not going to come back, and there is only one Good Man on a white horse (Rev. 19:11) that will save us, and he isn't coming to “restore American” (Psalm 2) and there is none good but God. Stop waiting for a political Saviour. Serve the only Saviour.

I pray that this wakes us up. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Rom 13:11-14)

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. The essential cause of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars".--Will Durant in Caesar and Christ. HT: The Imaginative Conservative

In 1352 Pope Clement VI issued a decree for a “purification” of France of the Baptist.  In “The History of the Waldenses” by J.A. Wylie it is documented how many of the Baptist were saved from the sword.  

“The zeal of the Pope, however, was but indifferently seconded by that of the secular lords. The men they were enjoined to exterminate were the most industrious and peaceable of their subjects; and willing as they no doubt were to oblige the Pope, they were naturally averse to incur so great a loss as would be caused by the destruction of the flower of their populations.” 

 These godly Anabaptists, who suffered the heavy hand of persecution, were the prize citizens of their country.  Our government should look upon the populous and say that if every citizen acted like the Christians, this country would be a better place. If we suffer, if we are persecuted and hated, let it be for righteousness sake, not for the Republican or Democratic Party’s sake.

In Christ, you have a living hope because you have a living Saviour. 1 Peter 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Grace & Peace,

Doug

Intro to Psalm 1: The Happy Man

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. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.  (Psa 1:1-6)

What a glorious way for the book of Psalms to start, BLESSED!  HAPPINESS! What a wonderful God we serve, blessedness and happiness are His ways for us. How truly great and merciful is our Lord, not only does He save us, but desires and provides ways for our happiness. Isn't that what the world is looking for? Isn't that what most people are looking for in a President, one that would bring them happiness? People want to be happy, but don't know where to find happiness. Don't believe me? Look at how many results come up when you Click here. This is clearly something people are looking for something people THINK they have the answer to. 

God tells all people how they will be happy, yet His ways are forsaken. Are you looking for happiness? If you have not found this gladness of heart, where are you looking for it? There are two paths, two roads in the Psalm. The happy man doesn't walk with the ungodly, he does not stand in the way of sinners, he does not sit with the scornful. Are you looking for happiness with the wind driven chaff?

Happiness and gladness of heart comes from the Lord and contentment in His ways and His Word. There is delight in the scriptures. There is happiness in thinking about them, meditating on them, learning more of Christ. The Holy Spirit takes that Word and grounds us in that blessed truth, then produces fruit in us, which only brings about more happiness. 

I exhort you to take this Psalm to heart, to memorize it, to keep it with you all the days of your life, that you will never forget the way of peace and joy.

“This Psalm carries blessedness in the frontispiece [the decorative engraving on the first page of a book] ; it begins where we all hope to end; it may well be called a Christians’ Guide, for it discovers the quicksand where the wicked sink down in perdition, and the firm ground on which the saints tread to glory” Thomas Watson’s Saints’ Spiritual  Delight

Grace & Peace,

Doug

Vinegar upon Nitre - Not a Good Thing

Proverbs 25:20  As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.

First things first. What in the world is nitre?

I like the definition in Nave's Topical Dictionary. I think he understood as much as I do. His full definition: "a chemical". So, there you go. 

Since I'm no chemist and somehow passed chemistry in high school by the skin of my teeth by putting in Naves-like effort in learning about chemical properties, I'll give you what little I have come to understand about the aforementioned nitre. This chemical, from what my betters have discovered, is potassium nitrate, which is like a soda or carbonate and bubbles and fizzes when combined with acids, like vinegar. Apparently it was used to wash clothes in ancient times. Some sort of Ancient Egyptian Secret. I did a search on YouTube for potassium nitrate, and apparently we Americans have harnessed this power in different ways.

Without exactly knowing that vinegar causes nitre to be as bubbly as a Hello Kitty tour guide, we can tell by the taking the coat away in the cold example, that it isn't a good thing. It doesn't do much good taking a persons coat when they are freezing. Nor would it help a person carrying nitre to have you go and start a chemical reaction in their hands. Upon reflection, neither of these things would be optimal.

The "as" and the "so" is the key. Not to be overly simple, but these little words clue us in on how to read proverbs. As these two bad things are, so it is equally bad to do this other bad thing. In other words, only a jerk would take away a man's coat in a blizzard or dump water in a box of a man's Tide and everyone knows that.

It is equally bad to sing songs to a heavy heart. It is trying to overlook the pain of one whose heart is heavy by applying the wrong medicine at the wrong time. Proverbs 17:22  says A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. But be discerning enough to know when to apply this salve to which wound. I'm sure Tylenol would help the pain of a rattlesnake bite, but lets deal with the deadly poison coursing through my veins first. In other words telling someone to "cheer up" when they have just been devastated is not likely to be the best medicine. Another bit of science, the world doesn't revolve around you, or me as far as that goes. In fact, almost failing chemistry is one of the ways I learned that said earth's rotation has little to do with me and my proximity. Because you are not sad, that doesn't mean others are not, and trying to make them happy by singing songs is not going to help the situation, it is only going to make it worse.

There are those unfortunate souls who revel in sorrow and are their happiest when they are miserable. We are dealing with a person who is genuinely sad and a person who genuinely wants to help. One person has a very good reason to be brokenhearted, and the other person hates to see them that way. The problem arises in how to help them. Solomon is telling us if we go and act like a morning radio show in the midst of someone's sorrow to try to "help them" you are going to make it worse.

There are exceptions, of course, but if most people could just "cheer up" they would. There is a time to grieve and if you want to be a friend, don't be superficial with your friends pain. Sympathize, show loving compassion. There is a middle ground between being a clown and being a "friend to Job".

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh. Learn the difference.With kindly and brotherly affection, weep with them that weep. Help them, hear them, pray for them, and point them to Christ.

Grace & Peace,
Doug

How Many Legs Does a Dog Have?

Most Christians would affirm this and hold to the sufficiency of scripture. But there seems to be an exception when it comes to the church and how the church is supposed to operate. Like everything else concerning the Word of God, it does not matter what we think is right and wrong, but what God say’s is right and wrong. The church is a divine institution, with a divine head, who gave her a mission and book of faith and practice. We are at no more liberty to move an inch with the church than we are with any other portion of scripture.

 Abraham Lincoln once said “How many legs does a dog have, if you call his tail a leg? The answer is four, because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.”  It doesn’t matter what we think is right, but what IS right, and we know what is right and wrong by the Word of God.  When it comes to the church, Christians sometimes become like the world and say that a “tail is a leg.”  

Backhoe vs. China Vase

Douglas Wilson On I Peter 3:7

 "Too often men read this passage and unfortunately respond to it with a junior high mentality. Thinking of every difference in terms of competition, they start doing a little touchdown dance. 'My wife loses! I am the strong one!' But this response just proves, among other things, that the men can't read. Peter assumes that the information he is providing will lead men to honor their wives. A china vase is weaker than a backhoe. But it is superior to the backhoe for a whole range of activities. And the backhoe is better for others. Our triune God did not create differences in the world so that we could try to figure out whether the sun or moon is better" (From 5 Paths, p. 75).

 

The Beauty of Holiness

Psalms 96:9  O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

The beauty of God’s holiness and the fear of the Lord go hand in hand. Even the holy angels that spend their existence in the presence of God declaring his holiness must cover their eyes before Him. When Moses was called to the burning bush, God told him to remove his feet because he was on holy ground and Moses “hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God (Exodus 3:5-6).”  There is a fear that is in all creatures when we come to the holy God. But the fear comes from the greatness of God, and that greatness of His holiness is beautiful. It is at the same time beautiful and fearful. God’s beautiful holiness is too much for any person to behold.

Holiness is the magnificence of every attribute. God could not be just without being holy. God could have ultimate strength, but could not be God without holy strength.

All of His attributes are seasoned by holiness.

His strength is His holy arm, (Isaiah 52:10).

All his works and ways are holy ways  (Psalm 145:17).

His promises are holy promises (Psalm 105:42).

His law and commandments are holy (Rom 7:12).

His calling is a holy calling (II Timothy 1:9).

His mercy is holy, His Justice is holy, His sovereignty is holy, His omnipresence is holy

His love is holy love His mercy is holy mercy.

God’s holiness is an eternal holiness. God’s Holiness is beautiful, and all His attributes are beautiful.  They are pure, perfect and right in every way.  Beauty is this sinful world is fleeting.  The young girl who stops traffic with her beauty, will in the process of time, loose her beautiful appearance.  The young man, whose beauty is his strength and athleticism, will in the process of time, become slow and weak because of sin.  Beauty in mankind is always fading because of the corruption of sin.  But God, who is eternally holy, never fades, His holiness never lacks luster or beauty. What is pure now will be forever.

God cannot sin because is opposed to who He is.

God cannot sin in ignorance; He is infinitely wise.

God cannot sin is weakness; He is infinitely strong.

God cannot sin in wickedness; He is infinitely good.

God cannot sin unjustly; He is infinitely just.

God cannot sin in thought; He is infinitely pure.

God cannot sin in rebellion; He is infinitely unchangeable.

God cannot sin by being deceived; He is infinitely omniscient.

God has called us to be holy. That is the great end of our salvation.  Ephesians 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. What end were we chosen? That we would be holy. Negatively put, we are without blame, and positively put, holy. That is the fearful and beautiful hope and should be the object of every child of God to pursue holiness.

Psalms 96:9  O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

Grace & peace,
Doug

Single Sisters, Don't Settle

A man that truly loves a woman will honor her, not exploit her. He will fight for her honor and would never dishonor her himself. He will treat her with respect. He will treat her with dignity. He will treat his wife as his own body and would rather die than allow harm to come to her. A man that loves a woman will live sacrificially and will protect her. He will delight in who she is and respect her as a person made in the image of God. Dear Sisters in Christ, if you are unmarried, do not settle for a “boy” who does not treat you as an heir to the grace of life that you are. I Peter 3:7  

Grace and Peace.

Doug

A.W. Pink and the Impeccability of Christ

Picking back up where I left off I found this article by A.W. Pink article on the Impeccability of Christ.

"The constitution of Christ’s person proves His impeccability.  In Him were united (in a manner altogether incomprehensible to created intelligence) the Divine and the human natures. Now “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:13); “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18). And Christ was “God manifest in flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16);“Immanuel”—God with us (Matt. 1:23). Personality centered not in His humanity. Christ was a Divine person, who had been “made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). Utterly impossible was it, then, for the God-man to sin. To affirm the contrary, is to be guilty of the most awful blasphemy. It is irreverent speculation to discuss what the human nature of Christ might have done if it had been alone. It never was alone; it never had a separate existence; from the first moment of  its being it was united to a Divine person."

The heart of the issue arrives from the definition of a man as well as Christ. Those that hold that Christ could have sinned, take their view of humanity from themselves, i.e. they are the standard of humanity. Since Christ was a man, He had to be like they are now in order to succor those who are tempted. But Christ was not born depraved, Christ was without sin, He was the perfect man. When the Word was made flesh, He was what humanity was to be, not what humanity has become. You and I are deformed, we are mutated and depraved. We are far from what true humanity is supposed to be. Jesus was fully man and fully God, He was not less man, nor was He less God, but the Godman. His perfection did not detract from His humanity. His impeccability did not detract from the attack of Satan.

We are so corrupted and tainted by sin, we cannot begin to conceive of sinless perfection. However, our imperfection and the knowledge of who we are should only cause us to bow in humble adoration to the truth of our Great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus the Lord.

A nice ceremony

There was a man whose favorite place on earth was my dad’s farm. He told his family that he wanted to be cremated and his ashes sprinkled on top of the hill overlooking the apple orchard. The family honored his request.

My dad watched them as they said a few solemn words as the sun crept over the mountain and opened the urn and dumped the ashes. If the swift breezes that are common to a Kentucky hilltop was one of things that endeared the man to this particular spot, he had left his family in the dark. Just as they turned him upside down, there was a gust of wind followed by the family spitting the remains out of their mouth and brushing him out of their hair.

All things considered, a nice ceremony. 

Animal Illustration

Matthew 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Jesus uses four animals in this illustration. Two animals describe people categories and the other two are used to describe personal attributes and actions. The sheep are God's elect and Christ's servants and the wolves are the predatory servants of Satan. The serpents and doves are used to describe how the sheep are to act.

Neither the serpent nor the dove by itself is a good example. It is no good to be subtle as a snake (Gen 3:1) with no direction. It is no good to be harmless like a dove with no zeal (Hos 7:11). However, when combined we find wisdom.

A wise snake without love is a tyrant.

A harmless dove without wisdom is a coward.

The dove without backbone hides from every danger, flies from every conflict and hides from every opposition.

But a harmless servant of Christ, who wisely walks through this world, sees and understands the times and what is going on with a Biblical mind, renewed and transformed by the Spirit and the word will glorify Christ - for they will be Christ like.