Price of Peace?

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

This question has haunted me over the last week. It says a lot about people who will give up liberty for safety and peace. There was a time when men believed in eternity. When there were things that were higher than our bodies, our safety, our comfort. When men would hazard for truth and the glory of God and the good of their fellow man. I've been listening to biographies of American Christian hero's recently, and one thing they had in common was how they lived sacrificially. They believed they were in the hands of a Sovereign God and that they were bought and purchased by the blood of Christ and they were safe in Him. Many were soundly Calvinistic in theology and had a firm reliance and trust in God's providence and would gladly lay down their lives for what was right. Not all thought like that, as is made plain in quote above. Patrick Henry asks a good question. What is the cost of peace?


In fact, one could go further and ask if it was really peace that they had. Henry asked if they would purchase their "peace" with chains and slavery. They could live and they could avoid war, but it would cost them freedom and liberty. Not only for them but for all the colonies and subsequent generations. The war was not over high taxes, that is a over simplification of the war. There was long and settled constitutional practices that were being trampled upon. Did they actually have peace, or did they have a lack of  immediate conflict? I contend that the avoidance of inevitable conflict is not peace.


Peace at any cost is no peace at all. When there is tyrany and wickedness, there can be no peace. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said “These easy-going, peace at any price people are often lacking in a sense of justice and righteousness; they do not stand where they should stand; they are flabby. They appear to be nice; but if the whole world were run on such principles and by such people it would be even worse than it is today.  So I would add that your true peacemaker is not an “appeaser”, as we say today.  You can postpone war by appeasement; but it generally means that you are doing something that is unjust and unrighteous in order to avoid war. The mere avoidance of war does not make peace; it does not solve the problem.” 


I'm afraid too often we conveniently say I want peace, I won't fight, when we really mean I want no conflict -which isn't really the same thing. 


I have been encouraged and blessed by learning about these godly men. I'm a victim of the public school system, so I learned that George Washington was the first president and he may or may not have chopped down a cherry tree. We fought a war against the British and one, and there used to be 13 stars on the flag because there were 13 colonies. Time for recess. 
You can Patrick Henry's whole speech or download and listen to a dramatic reading HERE.

Doug -

Dan'l Boone

David Grisman and Mike Barnett - Fretboard Journal from fretboardjournal on Vimeo.


Here is a video of my favorite mandolin player David Grisman (aka Dawg) and Mike Barnett playing Dan'l Boone.

Enjoy!

The Image of the Invisible God

The book of Colossians was written while the apostle Paul was in a Roman prison. Epaphras was the pastor of the church at Colosse and had made a long, dangerous journey of over 1,000 miles to speak to Paul. Overall, the church at Colosse was spiritually sound. However, there were some false teachings coming into the church – some thoughts and ideas and doctrines that put “secrecy wisdom” ahead of God’s Word. It would develop into what is called Gnosticism.

The book of Colossians deals with that heresy by giving the antidote to it – The Lord Jesus Christ.   Their problem was a mixture of a type of Judaism, mysticism and philosophy that corrupted the truth about who Jesus Christ is. Much like many of the cults today (Mormonism, J.W.) they were using the words of Christianity, but applying different doctrines and philosophies and meanings to the words.

There were many errors, many serious problems in the church, but there was one answer that was the antidote to all the problems—Christ is enough. Christ is all and in all. He is sufficient. He is the creator, He is the Savior, He is the Head of the church, He is our Lord  that in all things he might have the preeminence (Col. 1:18). The first chapter tells us who the Lord Jesus Christ is instead of telling why all the other heresies were wrong. Jesus is the Godman. Edwin Dargin said “We have in these verses on of the most profound and important passages in all the writings of Paul.” 


Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

John MacArthur:

"Unlike man, Jesus Christ is the perfect, absolutely accurate image of God. He did not become the image of God at the incarnation, but has been that from all eternity. Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus as the radiance of God's glory." Christ reflects God's attributes, as the sun's light reflects the sun. Further, He is said to be the exact  representation  of God's nature. Charakter ("exact representation") refers to an engraving tool, or stamp. Jesus is the exact likeness of God. He is in the very form of God (Philippians 2:6). That is why He could say He who has seen me has seen the Father". In Christ, the invisible God became visible "and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father" John 1:14."

The verses go on to describe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Far from this verse showing that Jesus was a created being, these verses show He is God. The irony in the J.W. using these verses in Colossians is that the book was written to combat a heresy very similar to their own. The book was written to show that Jesus was not an angel, a gnostic emanations, an eon, but God himself.

Our family was studying this passage when we were interrupted by a knock on the door. I was handed some literature and was provided with an illustration of why it is important for Christians to know what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Listen to God, not your heart.

Proverbs 28:26  He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Matthew Henry says:

"The character of a fool: He trusts to his own heart, to his own wisdom and counsels, his own strength and sufficiency, his own merit and righteousness, and the good opinion he has of himself; he that does so is a fool, for he trusts to that, not only which is deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9), but which has often deceived him. This implies that it is the character of a wise man (as before, Prov. 28:25) to put his trust in the Lord, and in his power and promise, and to follow his guidance, Prov. 3:5, Prov. 3:6. 2. The comfort of a wise man: He that walks wisely, that trusts not to his own heart, but is humble and self-diffident, and goes on in the strength of the Lord God, he shall be delivered; when the fool, that trusts in his own heart, shall be destroyed."

Over the Rainbow and Psalm 18

No, over the Rainbow and Psalm 18 is not a lame sermon illustration, but a Sunday acoustical musical extravaganza! Not one, but two - that's right, TWO songs for your abundant, auditory amusement.

Up first we have, courtesy of the Fretboard Journal, John Reischman playing Over the Rainbow on the mandolin.




To close things out, Natan Clark George with a rendention of Psalm 18. (Right click to download.) The second link, if one were adventurous enough to click it and because Mr. Clark is a good brother, you would discover that he has provided for you the chords and lyrics! So, click away my guitar pickin' friends. Click, listen, worship, learn and then play at your church and use the gifts God has given you to worship in the assembly.

Psalm 18 along with the chords and lyrics.


Enjoy!

Under the gospel oak.

Jeremy Walker wrote an article on Singing in Worship that I found to be very thought provoking. This portion in particular struck a chord (pun intended) with me.

It seems to me that simplicity is of the essence of our worship, allowing the spiritual substance to be expressed with sincerity and without distraction. As I have commented to our own congregation, imagine a situation in which the church is being persecuted. The secret police have learned that following the people who leave their homes with pianos on flatbed trucks on Sunday mornings is usually quite a productive train of enquiry, no less so those who carry violin or guitar cases. Perhaps it is too great a risk even to carry a Bible. Therefore, taking all necessary precautions, the believers meet at a pre-appointed place in the misty dawn, perhaps under a gospel oak as they did in days not so long ago. The saints gather swiftly and silently and with much prayer for their safety. There the appointed preacher arrives, and after prayer asks one of the saints to recite from memory the portion from which he intends to preach. He then expounds the passage, making its appropriate applications. The saints softly sing a couple of psalms or hymns together, ones easily memorized and readily learned. In a nearby stream a new convert is baptized, changing swiftly out of wet clothes, and then the Lord's supper is celebrated by the saints breaking bread and passing around wine. Before they depart they sing again, their voices muted but intense. Before long, the service is over, and the believers melt away into the growing day, leaving in various directions and small groups so as to arouse no suspicion.
What more is required? I am not saying that this is the ideal, or that anything different would be inherently sinful, but I do contend that absolutely nothing is lacking to make this pleasing to the Lord.

When we become comfortable, little things mean a whole lot more than essentials. That things we want become things we think that we NEED in order to worship the Lord God. Something to think about. You can read the whole thing by simply clicking here.

Book Review: Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer

Christ’s Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer

General Editors: John MacArthur & Richard Mayhue

Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012. 220pp. ISBN: 9780802401618

Can a person really know what the Bible says about prophecy? Is Israel, Israel? Are you supposed to take the Old Testament prophets literally? It is little wonder some Christians shy away from the study of the end times. Christ’s Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer provides a beneficial introduction to Futuristic Premillinalism and lays out a scriptural foundation for what the Bible teaches about the promises God made in the Bible. Each of the five contributors provide a Biblical explanation and overview of the theological end times position known as Futuristic Premillinalism, which teaches the Biblical prophesies concerning the nation of Israel, the return of Jesus Christ, and His kingdom are to be believed literally and are future in fulfillment.  This primer, or basic introduction, defines, discusses and defends Futuristic Premillinalism while showing that Biblical prophecy is both profitable and knowable if we hold to the sufficiency and perspicuity of scripture and we treat prophetic passages as we treat other passages in our interpretation.

The strength of the book excels in what so many books on end times fail to do – it begins at the beginning, the interpretation of scripture. The differences in eschatology can be boiled down to one question: “how do we interpret the Scriptures?”  The overall theme of the book derives from the necessary principle that we must interpret Scripture literally and read them as the author intended. Later chapters deal with the inconsistencies in many in the reformed camp who use a literal interpretation but switch to an allegorical method of interpretation when coming to end times prophecy. This issue is addressed in the chapter Does Calvinism Lead to Futuristic Premillinalism?  John MacArthur explains that “Futuristic Premillinalism results from understanding and applying prophetic Scripture in a way that is most consistent with the normal or literal approach for interpreting Scripture.” However, this is not a book on hermeneutics - rather the book illustrates how a literal interpretation of scripture applied to prophesy must by necessity leave one to a Futuristic Premillennial view.

Richard Mayhue skillfully tells us why we should study prophecy in the introduction - that the Biblical message of the end times is plenteous and is Christ centered. We can be certain about Biblical prophecy because God’s Word is clear and authoritative. This book is not a sensational “interpret the headlines” kind of book and condemns such attention grabbing works. The plethora of fantasy novels, books, diviners of the nightly news along with the unscriptural view of salvation by some dispensationalist have muddied the waters as to what dispensationalism actually teaches. Michael Vlach spends a couple chapters telling us what Dispensationalism is and what it is not. The term Futuristic Premillinalism is helpful in defining this eschatological view and as John MacArthur explains in the preface that the term “serves as a more focused term than dispensationalism when addressing prophetic issues.” There have been some dispensationalists who combined their eschatology with their faulty soteriology to add peripheral issues to define dispensationalism, and that is unfortunate. To quote MacArthur again “…dispensationalism shapes one’s eschatology and ecclesiology. That is the extent of it. Pure dispensationalism has no ramifications for the doctrines of God, man, sin, or sanctification. More significantly, true dispensationalism makes no relevant contribution to soteriology or the doctrine of salvation.”  The book then sets out to prove the basic tenets of Futuristic Premillinalism that:

1.       A normal interpretation of scripture is used for prophesy

2.       God’s promises to Israel in the Old and New Testament are future

3.       God’s promises in Revelation are future

4.       The church is not Israel

Chapter three begins the study of Biblical prophecy by defining the common eschatological views, how they differ, and then on to why the Bible teaches Futuristic Premillinalism. The introduction of other views is important to the work as these other views will be mentioned throughout while comparing them to Premillinalism. Every chapter title is a question (i.e. “Why a Pretrib rapture?” or “What about Israel?”) so every chapter is both explaining the position and answering common objections. 

The book is written by different authors, so you have different voices and different styles from chapter to chapter. There is a few instances overlap in some of the arguments of different portions of scripture (Acts 1 and Revelation 20) made by different contributors in different chapters. Chapter four answers common objections to Futuristic Premillinalism and I felt it interrupted the flow of the book and may have been better served as an appendix for future reference. However, the book will likely be most beneficial as a study guide or to come back as a reference book, so these are minor quibbles. The teaching style of the book was well written, plainly introducing each topic and leading the reading into the next. This will be helpful for those unfamiliar with prophetical study.

Christ’s Prophetic Plans set out to be an introduction on Futuristic Premillinalism and succeeds. This book would well serve anyone who is unfamiliar or intimidated by Biblical prophecy or one who may think that eschatology is vanity and not important. I also believe that those in the postmil/amil camp would benefit from reading what Futuristic Premillinalism actually teaches. Christ’s Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer is a readable introduction to the subject - but is by no means lightweight or frivolous. This could also be a great resource for pastors and teachers who are looking to do a study on eschatology to help map out a plan of attacking the series - it does a great job of laying out the basic beliefs on a logical and easy to follow path.  I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. My thanks to Moody Publishers.

But what are you REALLY trying to say?

"Never in the Bible is "year" used with a numerical adjective when it does not refer to the actual period of time that it mathematically represents. Unless evidence to the contrary can be provided, Revelation 20 is not the one exception in the entire scripture" Richard Mayhue - Christ's Prophetic Plans

Thought experiment for my Amillienatst friends that I've read others use with Genesis and creation. If God wanted to write down in a book that there would be a thousand year kingdom, how would He go about it? What words would he use?

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

 How could that be communicated any clearer? Answer: It couldn't be any clearer or more explicit. 

One of these things is not like the other.

What's worse? A hamburger in a tattoo parlor, or a getting your tattoo at Burger King?

Doug

But which vessel is more precious?

1 Peter 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Another good & thought provoking video from Ten2ndRule.

Guaranteed Success!

Isaiah 42:1-4  
Last time we asked if the Old Testament saints would have believed what they read and had faith that Messiah would not fail. This time, Jonathan Edwards helps us to consider the same passage from God's perspective. Would Christ succeed in His mission? Was there a chance that He wouldn't?
Shall He? 

"If Christ had not kept the Father’s commandments, he could not have continued in His love. He would have been cast out of favor. Nevertheless, it was impossible that Christ should not continue in His Father’s love for He was entitled to such help and support from him as should be effectual to uphold him in obedience to His Father. Therefore through the perfect obedience of Christ, God remedied the weakness of the first covenant and guaranteed the success of the second covenant. What the law failed of, being weak through the flesh, Christ performed.”  Jonathan Edwards 

Shall He?

Isaiah 42:1-4  Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

If I were a Hebrew living in exile in Babylon and was wondering if we would ever be delivered, and if I were looking for the Messiah and my hope was in God., and if I read Isaiah's message and believed it, I wonder if I thought the Messiah would fail? If I believed the message, how could I believe anything but exactly what it said?

There are a lot of "shalls" here. A lot of definitive statements that God said the Messiah WOULD do. In fact, it says that He SHALL NOT FAIL and not even fail, but be discouraged, or be crushed, or be broken. He will not be defeated. If I were a Hebrew, living in the Old Testament days reading the Bible, I would believe that the Christ not only WOULD not fail, but COULD not fail and i would have a lot of hope in the coming Saviour.

By God's grace, I would believe (as I do now) that the Christ is a perfect Saviour. I would have (and do) believe every word of Isaiah. When God said "He shall" I believe that He will - will not even the slightest chance of failure. I love the passages that point us to the Rock, the Anchor, the Stronghold of my soul - because He is a perfect Saviour, then and now and today and forever.

Stay tuned, there is more to come on this topic...

Doug 

David's Testimony

Psa 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.


By: James Smith 

(Grace Gems)

Ease and prosperity breed a number of temptations, and it is but seldom that we escape being taken in some of them. Hezekiah could pray, wrestle, and prevail with God in affliction — but when ease and prosperity were his lot, he soon turned aside! In ease and prosperity — the heart gets hardened; and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Even the Lord Himself gets no attention; hence He complains, "I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice."Jer 22:21

David could maintain his character in afflictions, much better than in prosperity — it was from the mount of prosperity that he fell, in the case of Uriah the Hittite. The prosperity of fools destroys them, and the Lord's family would be very much injured, if it were not for trials and troubles.

Look at the afflictions of David — how many, how various! Saul hunts him for a long period, like a partridge upon the mountains; Keilah, the city he lived in, is burnt — his wives and property are gone into captivity, and the people talk of stoning him. His beloved child, by Bathsheba, is taken away in judgment. Amnon ravishes his sister Tamar. Absalom raises a rebellion, defiles his concubines, drives him into exile, and is at length cut off in his sins. The three days' pestilence came upon the land in consequence of his sin, and seventy thousand people are cut off. These and other afflictions, are recorded in his history; and be looks upon them as the consequences of his going astray.

Affliction is to call him back to his closet, his Bible, and his God. Afflictions are corrections for sin, and intended to teach us. "Your own wickedness shall correct you, and your backsliding shall reprove you; know therefore and see, that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and that my fear is not in you, says the Lord Almighty!"

Rightly viewed, our afflictions humble us before God, give us a greater hatred to sin; and urge us to cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart. They are designed to reveal to us the nature of sin, the effects of transgression, the necessity for watchfulness, and the need of being daily upheld by the right hand of Jehovah's righteousness. When they lead us to search, plead, apply, and obey God's word — they accomplish a most desirable end; and it is evident they are blessings in disguise, and have done us real good.

Believer, prize your Bible; study the Lord's will; aim in all things, and at all times, to be ruled by its wholesome and holy precepts.

I know your judgments, Lord, are right,

Though they may seem severe; 

The sharpest sufferings I endure 

Flow from your faithful care.

Yes, I have found it good for me

To bear my Father's rod;

Afflictions make me learn your law,

And live upon my God!

Before I knew your chastening rod 

My feet were apt to stray;

But now I learn to keep your word, 

Nor wander from your way!

Yoked to Work for Wages Right

Read 

This 

From

Jeremy Walker 

And click the links above to read more.

"I am working on a piece on Matthew Henry, born 350 years ago this year, and came across some gems of advice from his father, Philip Henry.....

From a pious aged father to his son a minister newly married

Dear Pair, whom God hath now of two made One

Suffer a Father's exhortation.

In the first Place see that with joynt indeavour -

You set yourselves to serve the Lord together,

You are yoakt to work but for work Wages write,

His Yoak is easie, & his burden light,

Love one another, Pray oft together, and see,

You never both together Angry bee -

If one speak fire t'other with water come,

Is one provok'd be tother soft or dumb -

Walk low, but aim high, spotless be your life

You are a Minister, and a Minister's Wife

Therefore as Beacons set upon a Hill -

To angels and to men a spectacle -

Your slips will falls be calld, your falls each one

Will be a blemish to Religion -

Do good to all, bee affable and meek

Your converse must be Preaching all the week -

Your Garb and Dress must not be vain or Gay,

Reckon good works your richest, best array -

Your House must be a Bethel, and your Door

Always stand open to receive the Poor

Call your estate God's, not your own, ingrave

Holiness to the Lord on all you have

Count upon suffering, or you count amis,

Sufficient to each day its evil is,

All are born once to trouble, but saints twice,

And as experience shews Min[iste]rs thrice,

But if you suffer with and for your Lord,

You'l reign with him according to his Word.

M . H. Lee, Diaries and Letters of Philip Henry (London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1882),  359-60, quoted in Allan Harman, Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence(Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2012) 

Incidentally, Philip Henry, from his deathbed, gave Matthew further advice in response to his son's request, "Oh, sir, pray for me that I may but tread in your steps." Philip replied, "Yea, follow peace and holiness, and let them say what they will."

The Accessibility of Christ

A couple weeks ago I was privilaged to be invited to the  New Testament Baptist Church in Bristol, TN.  Lewis Kiger is the faithful pastor there, and a dear friend.

Here is a message I preached on the Accessibility of Christ.



People in positions of power and authority often don’t have time or the desire to be called upon by the "little people" and make themselves only accessible to those in equal or greater power and authority. Do you think you could go to the Oval Office today and get a meeting with the President?

It is like that for most, but not all.The most powerful of all Kings, the greatest of all Lords made Himself accessible - not to dignitaries and those of great power and influence, but the undesirables, the little people, the sinners.

What a Saviour! What a King! Christ Jesus, the eternal Son of God, to stoop to make Himself accessible to us!

Toughness

"No one is saying that a boy with a severed limb should be yelled at for bleeding on the carpet. Neverthless, instilling toughness in boys is extrodinarily important. A masculine toughness is the only foundation upon which a masculine tenderness may be safely placed. Without a concrete foundation, thoughtfulness, consideration, and sensitivity in men [are] simply gross."--Douglas Wilson, Future Men

That's right..

Yes, that's right - another name change. And it might change again because I can't leave it blank. My plight apparently is a common one. As Luke might say "blogs that are titled "An Untitled Blog" are not a few".  Which says something about me - I am not alone in my struggle to name my blog, or I like change, or it just means that I'm not very creative.

When my fourth son Jacob was born, we went to the hospital not knowing what we were going to name him. We joked that we had just run out of boy names. After he was born, I was with the hospital staff as they were counting fingers, toes, and other necessary extremities to make sure they were all accounted for and where they were supposed to be, they asked"well Dad, what's his name?"

After briefly considering saying that I would follow ancient Jewish custom by naming the child on the eighth day, but not willing or able to go back under the law - I said the first name that I could think of in the list of names we were considering: Jacob.

He is still Jacob by the way.

He was always going to be Jacob, I just didn't know it. That is the awesome thing about God's sovereignty. This world isn't spinning out of control, though it feels like it. Our lives aren't spinning out of control, even though it feels like it.

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.  (Isa 46:9-11)

As long as we are being devotional and you are still with me, allow me to tell you another awesome thing about God's sovereignty. God is sovereign over the big things, but not just the big things. God is sovereign ALL THE TIME. When life seems out of control and the world is crazy, but also over the flight pattern of the blue bird that is currently residing in my back yard. God is sovereign over  the rock that I ran over with the lawn mower Saturday that has been waiting underground for thousands of years to make its appearance above the earth to glorify God in dulling my mower blades. God's sovereignty is displayed in a foul ball with the tying run on third and it is displayed in the next pitch that sends the batter back to the dugout.

It is also in the naming of blogs and children. The name of this blog is really inconsequential in the scheme of things I suppose, but as I consider how God has used this for me personally to meditate on God's greatness I can see how He cares for my soul even in my struggles - which makes me Rejoice in the Lord.


Grace & Peace - DP Newell

He stooped...we laughed

“Busy are the wise men of this world at this very time all over the world, busy in gathering thorns and twisting them, that they may afflict the Lord’s Anointed.  Some of them cry, “Yes, he was a good man, but not the Son of God” others even deny His superlative excellence in life and teaching; they cavil at His perfection, and imagine flaws where none exist.  Never are they happier than when impugning His character.  Full often have they torn their own hands in in weaving crowns of thorn for Him.”


“Let us remember that our Lord’s weakness was undertaken for the sake of His people; for us He became a lamb, for us He laid aside His glory, and therefore it is the more painful for us to see that this voluntary humiliation of Himself must be made the object of so much derision and scorn, though worthy of the utmost praise.  He stoops to save us, and we laugh at Him as He stoops; He leaves the throne that He may lift us up to it, but while He is graciously descending, the hoarse laughter of an ungodly world is His only reward.  Ah me! Was ever love treated after so unlovely a sort?  Surely the cruelty it received was proportioned to the honor it deserved, so perverse are the sons of men.” 


CH Spurgeon - “Crown of Thorns” 12 Sermons on the Passion and Death of Christ

Be Doers of the Word

James 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Drops in a Bucket

Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.  (Isa 40:10-15)

Having problems? Concerned about our nation? Discouraged? Wondering how God is going to work in your present situation? Perhaps you have forgotten who God is and need a little reminder.


Read the scriptures above (come on, we all know that you just skimmed through it) and then click HERE. 


HT John Piper
DPN

Follow who?

From Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson.

The Gadarene Swine Rule - just because a group is in formation doesn't mean it knows where it is going.

Douglas Newell

Book Review: James Robinson Graves: Staking the Boundaries of the Baptist Identity.

James Robinson Graves: Staking the Boundaries of the Baptist Identity.

By: James A. Patterson
B&H Publishing Group 
Copyright 2012 

The publisher describes the book as the “first biography of Graves in more than eighty years” but in reality the book suffers from an identity crisis, halting between two genres. It is both a book about Baptist doctrine and a biography, but fails at becoming either. From the outset Patterson says his book “… should not be read as a traditional biography; instead, it is weighted more towards Grave’s thought than his life.” Though billed as a biography, the book is an editorial piece about the influence of J.R. Graves. I’m thankful for his honesty up front, but disappointed that I bought a biography and read an editorial. The book is how J.R. Grave and Landmarkism put its mark on the Southern Baptist Convention from the perspective of someone who is not very happy with that. The book is also not a scholarly treatment of Landmarkism, but rather a diatribe against it.  A biography would tell the unbiased story of the man. A critical treatment of Landmarkism would explain the doctrines and deal with the scriptural nature of the subject. This book doesn’t do very much of either one.

The first half of the book is dedicated to trying to figure out why JR Graves was motivated to “establish” Landmarkism, even though Patterson admits himself that Graves 

“stood as a fairly typical representative of Baptist belief and practices that he had encountered in Vermont, Ohio and Kentucky; his thinking, particularly about the church, was not unusual or exceptional” 

and later he quoted Alan Cureton as saying “neither Graves nor any other Landmarker, invented [church] successionism; they simply adopted what most Baptist historians of the 19^th century espoused.” While Patterson attempts to make Graves the creator of Landmarkism, he admits and even chronicles Landmark belief prior to Graves.

I didn’t have to go very far into the book (the introduction) before I realized what I had gotten myself into by reading this book. How would this book about Baptist history in the late 1800’s begin? Why, drawing implications that Landmarkers are pseudo-pagans of course! 

“The practice of boundary beating actually traces back to pagan Britain more than 2,000 years ago. First the Celts and later the Romans often incorporated the inspection of boundaries with superstitious ceremonies of blessing for crops or animals. For instance the Roman god Terminus was the deity assigned to boundaries and landmarks…”

 Patterson goes on to describe rituals of the Celts in setting boundaries and landmarks (see, get the connection?) in their pagan rituals, describing a Catholic landmark ritual. He then says

 “Ritual, whether pagan or Christian, consequently functioned to help maintain the integrity of historic boundary lines. While these time-honored rites may seem quaint or even bizarre to the average American living in a bustling city or suburb, they point to the basic human need for a sense of place that is delineated by well-defined borders.”  

He goes on to quote Dean Hodge, former professor of Catholic University of America and sociologist Zygmunt Bauman to tell us that there is something in human beings that need to have boundaries and landmarks, an “us vs. them” mentality about things. So, in Patterson’s mind, anyone that holds to Landmark teaching is fulfilling a sociological need to know who we are bordering on paganism.  Patterson says “Indeed, both boundary-beating rituals and boundary-maintenance theories suggest some intriguing applications for interpreting the life and legacy of J.R. Graves.” As Mr. Patterson searches for the reason why JR Graves ‘came up with’ Landmarkism, he lists sociological reasons, family history and the stories of his family fighting in the Revolution. He lists political reasons and even Andrew Jackson gets some credit in shaping Landmarkism through his Republicanism.  The only time that biblical references are used in explaining the church, they are used in a disparaging offhanded way. In Patterson’s mind 

“…Graves’ ecclesiology cannot be fully understood apart from the radical individualism that undergirded it”. 

So, naturally, I’m ready to dig into the first chapter of this “unbiased” biography.

On more than one occasion, Patterson sets the tone for Graves using conspiratorial language and claims of outright dishonesty in his life and ministry of JR Graves.

 “In two articles in 1855, Graves approvingly cited Brown to justify the need for rewriting of church history and to propose that a revisionist tack demanded a special focus on faithful believers through the ages who had suffered at the hands of ecclesiastical tyrants.” 

This is the first of many great ironies in the book. Patterson portrays Graves as a dishonest, mean spirited intolerant man – while showing none to the subject of his book. He decries the tone of Graves’ writings, but he himself implores a more sophisticated way of insulting someone he disagrees with. He decries his son in law O.L.Haily for not being a reliable historian because of his close ties to his subject because he is unable to be objective – but it is equally true that someone who has a disliking for his subject will be equally as biased against him.  Another irony is within the same book he decries Graves for holding to Baptist distinctive and his battles against those who disagreed with him, Patterson portrays him as a villainous deceiver and a disrupter of Baptist unity. 

“While the level of purity might be questioned, there can be no doubt that Graves creatively applied the criteria of a Christian republicanism to justify his Landmark Baptist ideas and to denigrate conflicting ideologies.” 

You see, it’s okay for Mr. Patterson to question the “purity” of Graves, his intentions, his truthfulness because he disagrees with him, but it isn’t okay for Graves to do the same. We would have unity if everyone would just agree with me. Also, you have the freedom to disagree with me, but just don’t say anything about it.  This theme comes up in almost every chapter. He continues to question or to call into question Graves’ intention, his heart and his words. There has only been one perfect man and it certainly wasn’t J.R. Graves, but I would prefer in a biography, someone to tell me what happened, instead of telling me what they think this person probably thought.

Mr. Patterson’s editorial has much to say about the book The Trail of Blood.  The arguments against Baptist “secessionism” as he calls it, puts historical writings of men above scripture.  Patterson fails to realize that Landmarkism takes God’s Word as true and interprets everything through the eye of scripture. Whether he agrees with that or not, makes no difference to me, but it shows a lack of respect for those he disagrees with to completely ignore the foundation for Landmark belief, the Bible. He said 

“Ultimately, Grave’s subordination of history to ecclesiology dealt a troublesome setback to the Baptist historical enterprise. After carefully assessing the successionist legacy, Baptists who are serious about history might well wonder whether they have been victims of identity theft.”  

In other words, secular history trumps Biblical authority. Secular history also tells us that the world is a billion years old and that man evolved from monkeys and any Christians who is “serious about history” may wonder what Christians are doing preaching that the world is 6,000 years old and was created in six 24 hour days. Patterson looks for every reason (except the one Landmarkers actually give) for the succession of the church, the Biblical promises of perpetuity. He mentions this once in the book in passing, but in a disparaging way. 

“In the face of [a challenge of church succession] Graves primarily repeated his oft-utilized argument from Scripture (Matt 16:18): ‘If Christ’s words be true, His church has had a continuous existence from His day until our own, and if His words are not true He is not the Christ of God, and we have no Saviour.’ Since history could not always prove what was needed to validate successionist dogma, Graves turned to his trusted biblical hermeneutic to defend his cause.” 

The book attempts to prove Graves was always looking for links to Jerusalem that did not exist to hold his thesis; Patterson does the same with Graves’ life and belief. Patterson attempts with innuendo and assumption that J.R. Graves’ political thoughts are what influenced him. Because Graves held the view that the scripture taught church perpetuity, he looked for it in history. Patterson believed that Graves was wrong about the church, so he looked for reasons for his ecclesiology. Maybe he could have named his book the “Trail of Thought” since much of the book is Patterson telling us what Graves may have thought, why he may have thought it and what his intentions were when he thought them. Ultimately, the book was written by a man who doesn’t understand the position or the motives of the man he is writing about, or didn’t care to portray his subject in a fair light by allowing Graves to speak for himself.

Regarding those men that J.R. Graves disagreed with, the book is sympathetic to the views of those who oppose Landmarkism –even more sympathetic to Alexander Campbell than to Graves when he said that Campbell had some “problematic” teachings. Having grown up in Eastern Kentucky, very close to a Church of Christ seminary, in a region where Alexander Campbell’s influence still reeks havoc on the souls of men in the churches belief in Baptismal regeneration, I would say that a damnable heresy is a little more than problematic. Patterson, scolds Graves for setting up boundaries, because those boundaries differ from his own.  The idea that J.R. Graves was a Baptist and that he held to Baptist principles and believed those to be right seems bewildering to Patterson. In a post-modern world where right and wrong is left up to the individual to find their own truth, the idea that a Baptist can say “I’m right, you’re wrong” is offensive.  Patterson seems to have missed the motive behind Graves’s zeal. The Bible teaching on the church, the ordinances on doctrine are very clear, and if a Bible believing Christian believes those things, they should hold to them. Graves did not believe salvation was locked up in a Baptist church, but he believed immersion means going under the water, and if you are not going under the water, well, you are not going under the water. It seems offensive to Mr. Patterson that J.R. Graves actually held to his beliefs about the church and thought it was important enough to stand for those truths.

If you are looking for a biography of J.R. Graves, this is not for you. If you are looking for an honest critique of Landmarkism, this book is also not for you. If you are looking for a book from an author who, neither likes J.R. Graves, nor Landmarkism, and would like a denunciation against both, you have found it in James Robinson Graves: Staking the Boundaries of the Baptist Identity.


Doug Newell 

BH Carroll on Gnosticism

"Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis, which means "knowledge, like "agnosticism," which means ignorance, not knowing. We get some conception of Gnosticism from mystical dreamers. We occasionally meet them in the present time. They are very confident of everything saying "I know, I know, I know." "How do you know?" "Well, I just feel that it is so." "Can you prove it from the Bible?" "The Spirit moves men now as well as he did in the Bible days." So he goes on Spirit knowledge, as he calls it, and places what he says above what is written.

I believe the Word of God is more reliable than any mystic philosophy, and if a modern mystics wants me to accept his vagaries, let him give the sings of an apostle. Let him by miracle accredit his inspiration. Let him raise the dead and perform other miracles, and then I will be ready to accept what he says, provided it harmonized with God's written Word."

What's Whiter than Snow?

From The Watchman's Message: 1877

"Do you know anything whiter than snow? I put that question to an old man, one who was tottering on the brink of the grave, and to whom I was endeavoring to speak of Jesus. Some remark having been made relative to the late fall of snow, I seized the opportunity, and asked him the question I ask you now. He seemed surprised, hesitated, and then declared that he did not. I said I did. 

He, looking very hard at me asked what it was. 

I replied " A sinner washed in the precious blood of Jesus." I then told him of the verse in Isaiah which says "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"; also the end of the seventh verse of the first epistle of John " the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." and of David's prayer "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." 

Have you been washed whiter than snow in the precious blood of Jesus? You can never enter Heaven unless you are. 

Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on HIM and pardon me."

The Antinomian Legal Spirit

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

Charles Hodge:

"All divine names and titles are 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 are ascribed 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 upholder and ruler of the universe. All things were created by Him and for Him; and by Him all things consist. He is the object of worship to all intelligent creatures, even the highest; all the angels (i.e., all creatures between man and God) are commanded to 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 character and 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 Holy Spirit; to give them rest and peace; to raise them up at the last day and to give them eternal life. God is not more, and cannot promise more or do more that Christ is said to be, to promise and to do. He has therefore been the Christian’s God from the beginning, in all ages and in all places."

Evil and Error by J.C. Philpot

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

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

How would you answer the question Jesus asked the blind men? Do you believe that God is able?  The Holy Word of God is full of victorious language to the saints of God.  They are doubtless words to doubting men.  Time and time again we are encouraged in the inspired scriptures and are told how great our God is, and with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible, and we can do all things through Christ which strengthen us. God is able!  Speaking as a man, God has power to 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 keep God from doing what he wills.  There is no power in Heaven or Earth that can overcome God.  In other words, God can!  Where man fails, God is able, when you and I can’t even try, God can.  When I don’t have 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’s lost, and that we are defeated.  That is what happens when we rely on self and live by sight.  But we serve a mighty God, and our Lord Jesus is our victorious King!  We are in Christ, and Jesus is all powerful, and with Him all things are possible.  As obedient children, we must submit to the will 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, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

 God can heal our physical bodies, without question, but more importantly, He is able to heal the soul. Sunken and consumed in the depravity of the human heart, I am not able to offer my wicked heart 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 to yourself. No, it is only Jesus the Christ who could be able to be made sin for another, the holy, blameless, righteous Eternal Son of God, only He is able.  Jesus is able to save 

 Hebrews 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God 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 Lamb of God, who is able to intercede.  It’s not a blind faith in uncertainty and unproven experiments, but a living faith in the risen Saviour!  What the bible declares 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 exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.  

God is able to HELP

Hebrews 2:16-18  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

  Our Great High Priest has the power to help us, no matter the trouble. Whether facing a giant Philistine, or facing a fiery furnace He has the power to help. Whether accused by Potifars wife, or accused by 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 better phrase. Our merciful High Priest knows how we need help. As he was fully man as well as fully God, He is experienced (yet without sin) in the temptations we face. He also desires to help those He loves. How often we run to those who can’t help us, or won’t help us, or don’t care even if they do try to help us. We, who are saved, have a merciful and faithful priest. When we are tried or 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 holds us. Not only does he start the work, but is able to see it through. You may not be like me, I sometimes will think I would like to try my hand at a certain project, or a new hobby.  I will be resolved to finish it, but as time goes on, the thought of the project or hobby was more enjoyable than the work, and it may go unfinished. Are there any half finished projects laying around our homes or work areas, or maybe project we didn’t put all we had into it, 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 from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.  He is able to keep us from falling into sin.  Where would you be, had not the Lord kept you from fulfilling all the lust of your heart? Our Lord is able to keep us to him, his love constrainth us, and thank God he doesn’t leave us to ourselves. He is able to keep us from falling into error. Let us not be so bold as to think that we hold to the truth by our great intellectual prowess and fortitude. God keeps us from falling by his marvelous grace.  I know men who have fallen farther spiritually than I thought was possible. Not one of us is beyond or above falling into error, save God keep us from falling. How happy Satan must be when a child of God, who is blessed to be a member one of the Lord’s churches, falls into error and from the truth.  He is able to keep us from falling into temptation.  If Jesus wasn't able, then why 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 led away?  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 to keep 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 the presence 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 half the job, but one who is able and will save me to the uttermost, and with Him, I stand and fall.  He WILL present me faultless, cleansed by His blood, with great joy, and He is the only one who can, 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

"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

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

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

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

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

Selah.

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

A Queen and Two Kings

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?

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

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?

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

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

1. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;   
2. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;   
3. To give subtilty to the simple, 
4. to the young man knowledge and discretion.   
5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:  
6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.  
7. 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

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

“The greatest lack of all Christendom today is the absence of the Holy Spirit’s power and blessing. Review the activities of the past 30 years. Millions of dollars have been freely devoted to the support of professed Christian enterprises. Bible institutes and schools have turned out “Trained workers” by the thousands. Bible conferences have sprung up on every side like mushrooms. Countless booklets and tracts have been printed and circulated. Time and labors have been given by an almost incalculable number of “personal workers.”  And with what results? Has the standard of personal piety advanced? Are the churches less worldly? Are their members more Christ-like in their daily walk? Is there more godliness in the home? Are the children more obedient and respectful? Is the Sabbath day being increasingly sanctified 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 among the Lord’s churches:

·         an apathy towards truth,

·         a coldness towards service

·         an indifference towards of godly living

·         an scoffing of separation until there is no difference between us and the world, let alone churches of Christ and worldly churches 

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

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

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

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.

It's not about you

"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

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.