"The Genuine Life" by Rev. Scotty Smith

Pastor Smith writes an extremely wise and gracious essay about 'the genuine life.'

-- HT: Justin Taylor

Convicting, Compelling Commitment

" He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

-- missionary/martyr Jim Elliot 1949 (at age 21)

Is Scripture Enough?

"We don't really believe Scripture is enough. It must be supplemented with techniques, programs, experiences, exercises, entertainment. The Reformation put the pulpit (for the preaching of the Word) at the center, and we're working hard to move it aside and replace it with a thousand and one distractions. 'Preach the word!' Paul cried to Timothy as he finished his own course. God grant us ears to hear, greater hearts to grasp, bolder lips to proclaim, and stiffer spines to stand on the Word alone."

-- Dan Phillips (from an interview by Guy Davies)
HT: Justin Taylor

The Accomplishment of Christ's Atonement

“Christ’s atoning death ratified the inauguration of the new covenant, in which access to God under all circumstances is guaranteed by Christ’s one sacrifice that covers all transgressions (Matt. 26:27-28; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 9:15; 10:12-18). Those who through faith in Christ have ‘received reconciliation’ (Rom. 5:11) ‘in him . . . become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor. 5:21). In other words, they are justified and receive the status of adopted children in God’s family (Gal 4:5). Thereafter they live under the motivating constraint and control of the love of Christ for them as made known and measured by the cross (2 Cor. 5:14).”

- J. I. Packer, “Sacrifice: Jesus Christ Made Atonement for Sin“ (from "Concise Theology")
posted at "Of First Importance"

Paul Tripp Resources

Justin Taylor provides a helpful overview of recent resources from Paul Tripp, one of the best Christian counselors I know of.

"Amazing Grace" (extended version)

John Newton’s Full Poem
(from which we get the hymn, "Amazing Grace")

In evil long I took delight,
unawed by shame or fear;
Till a new object met my sight,
and stopped my wild career:

I saw One hanging on a tree
in agonies and blood;
Who fixed His languid eyes on me
as near His cross I stood.

Sure, never till my latest breath
can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
and plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had shed,
and helped to nail Him there.

Alas, I knew not what I did,
but all my tears were vain;
Where could my trembling soul be hid,
for I, the Lord, had slain!

A second look He gave that said,
"I freely all forgive!"
"This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I died that thou mayest live!"

Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
'Tis grace hath bro't me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
as long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine;
But God Who called me here below
shall be forever mine.

-- John Newton

Kevin DeYoung on Relating to Jesus as He Really Is

Here is Kevin's intro to his blogpost: The greatness of God is most clearly displayed in his Son. And the glory of the gospel is only made evident in his Son. That’s why Jesus’ question to his disciples is so important: “Who do you say that I am?”

Read his entire post here.

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Eating Disorders: The Quest for Thinness

In this article, Ed Welch describes how easy it is, in a weight-conscious world that also uses food for comfort, to take the small steps that lead to a full blown eating disorder. He gives a road map for dealing with this difficult problem that includes understanding the thoughts and emotions that trigger destructive eating habits and then encouraging those who struggle with food addictions to take the big step of trusting God, instead of food rules and rituals.

Naming Names

As pastors, one of our important obligations is to seek to guard the flock by warning against false teaching and false teachers (cp. Matt. 7:15ff.; Acts 20:25-32; the Pastoral Epistles; John's Epistles; Jude 3-4, etc.).

To do this effectively, one approach would be to single out contemporary teachers who, in my judgment, are so substantially unreliable in what they teach that whatever their worthwhile content, it is so greatly outweighed by the 'chaff' that they do more harm than good (e.g., Joel Osteen, Brian McLaren,...).

But there is another approach, and that is to call attention to Christian teachers, pastors, authors, theologians who are consistently and reliably faithful and edifying in their teaching of God's truth. So that's what I want to do in this post. The list won't be exhaustive, but my point is that if you learn from people like these, I think you will learn all you need to know about authentic Christianity...

Jerry Bridges
D.A. Carson
Charles Colson
Mark Dever
Kevin DeYoung
Mark Driscoll
Elisabeth Elliott
Sinclair Ferguson
Billy Graham
Wayne Grudem
Michael Horton
Tim Keller
R. Albert Mohler
J.I. Packer
John Piper
David Powlison
R.C. Sproul
John Stott
Joseph Stowell III
Tullian Tchividjian
Paul Tripp
David Wells
Michael Wittmer

"Hast Thou Heard Him, Seen Him, Known Him?"

Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him?
Is not thine a captured heart?
Chief among ten thousand own Him;
Joyful choose the better part.

Idols oft they win thee, charm thee
Lovely things of time and sense;
Gilded thus does sin disarm thee,
Honeyed lest thou turn thee hence.

What has stripped the seeming beauty
From the idols of the earth?
Not a sense of right or duty
But the sight of peerless worth ......

Not the crushing of those idols
With its bitter void and smart [pain],
But the beaming of His beauty
The unveiling of His heart.

Who extinguishes their taper [candle]
Till they hail the rising sun?
Who discards the garb of winter
Till the summer hath begun?

‘Tis the look that melted Peter,
‘Tis the face that Stephen saw;
‘Tis the heart that wept with Mary
Can alone from idols draw.

Draw and win and fill completely,
Till the cup o'erflow the brim;
What have we to do with idols
Who have companied with Him?

Chorus: Captivated by His beauty
Worthy tribute haste to bring;
Let His peerless worth constrain thee,
Crown Him now unrivaled King!

A "Spiritually Hygienic" Person (Authentic Holiness)

"...A spiritually hygienic person is one who combines strengths and flexibilities, disciplines and freedoms, all working together from a renewable source of vitality. This is a person who flourishes like a fine sapling rooted into the bank of a dependable stream.

"What are some features of this flourishing? As Christians see her, a spiritually whole person longs in certain classic ways. She longs for God and the beauty of God, for Christ and Christlikeness, for the dynamite of the Holy Spirit and spiritual maturity. She longs for spiritual hygiene [i.e., true holiness] itself -- and not just as a consolation prize when she cannot be rich and envied instead. She longs for other human beings: she wants to love them and to be loved by them. She hungers for social justice. She longs for nature, for its beauties and graces, for the sheer particularity of the way of a squirrel with a nut. As might expect, her longings dim from season to season. When they do, she longs to long again.

"She is a person character consistency, a person who rings true wherever you tap her. She keeps promises. She weeps with those who weep and, perhaps more impressively, rejoices with those who rejoice.....

"Her motives include faith -- a quiet confidence in God and the mercies of God that radiate from the self-giving work of Jesus Christ. She knows God is good; she also feels assured that God is good to her.

"Her faith secures her from the ceaseless oscillations of pride and despair familiar to every human being who has taken refuge in the cave of her own being and tried there to bury all her insecurities under a mound of achievements. When her faith slips, she retains faith enough to believe that the Spirit of God, whose presence is her renewable resource, will one day secure her faith again.

"Since faith fastens on God's benevolence, it yields gratitude, which in turn sponsors risk-taking in the service of others. Grateful people want to let themselves go; faithful people dare to do it. People tethered to God by faith can let themselves go because they know they will get themselves back...."

-- Cornelius Plantinga, "Not the Way It's Supposed to Be" (p.34-35, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995)

"The Healthiest People Are the Ones Who Praise the Most"

Psalm 145:6-7

"Some people are never satisfied. They think others drive too slow and eat too fast. They're convinced government is crooked, the schools are worthless, and the church is full of hypocrites. Something is wrong with every sermon these people hear, every program they see, every dish of food they are willing to try.

"Such people seem to spend the whole of their sour little lives in front of a complaint window. They are like the pessimistic farmer who had six chickens hatch one morning. He was inconsolable. When someone asked him what was wrong, he replied bitterly: 'I had six chickens hatch this morning, and now all of 'em have died but five.'

"Open, grateful human life resounds not with complaints but with praise. The healthiest people are the ones who praise the most. Family, friends, books, sports, music, nature --all these draw praise from healthy people. 'Did you see that? Wasn't it great!' 'Did you hear what he did for her sister? Isn't she a generous person?'

"But Christians reserve their highest praise for the goodness and greatness of God. The psalms ring with it: 'The Lord is great and greatly to be praised! Praise the Lord!' At creation, says the Book of Job, 'the morning stars sang together, and all the angels shouted for joy.'

"Praise is a way of expressing awe and admiration for the stunning greatness of God and his deeds, and for the ingenious ways in which God keeps fitting his help to our need. Our prayers ought to include some hearty praise. But whether in prayer or other speech, our praise of God may never be glib. Some people say 'Praise the Lord!' with no more reverence than they lavish on 'Have a nice day!'

"Not that. Our praise of God must be both candid and thoughtful. For praise of God is the very music of heaven...."

-- Cornelius Plantinga, "Assurances of the Heart" (pp. 66-67, Zondervan: 1993)

Martin Luther's Reply to the Devil's Accusations

It is well-known that in his writings in table conversation Luther would often refer to visits from the Devil, how the Devil would come to him and whisper in his ear, accusing him of all manner of filthy sin: "Martin, you are a liar, greedy, lecherous, a blasphemer, a hypocrite. You cannot stand before God."

To which Luther would respond: "Well, yes, I am. And, indeed, Satan, you do not know the half of it. I have done much worse than that and if you care to give me your full list, I can no doubt add to it and help make it more complete. But you know what? My Saviour has died for all my sins - those you mention, those I could add and, indeed, those I have committed but am so wicked that I am unaware of having done so. It does not change the fact that Christ has died for all of them; his blood is sufficient; and on the Day of Judgment I shall be exonerated because he has taken all my sins on himself and clothed me in his own perfect righteousness.

Luther knew what temptation looked like; he knew his own wickedness; but he also knew the all-surpassing perfection and grace of Christ.

-- from an online article by Carl Trueman

"Why We Love the Church"

Another good book on a crucial theme from Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck: "Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion." Justin Taylor gives a good introduction to the book, due out at the end of the month.

Undiscerning Evangelicals...

Justin Taylor points to an article from Christianity Today Online, highlighting yet another example of the lack of discernment that plagues so much of evangelical Christianity.