"Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.
"Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading."
-- J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, p, 136
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
"No doubt as to what we believe and teach"
"We have nowadays around us a class of men who preach Christ, and even preach the gospel; but then they preach a great deal else which is not true, and thus they destroy the good of all that they deliver, and lure men to error. They would be styled "evangelical" and yet be of the school which is really anti-evangelical.
"Look well to these gentlemen. I have heard that a fox, when close hunted by the dogs, will pretend to be one of them, and run with the pack. That is what certain are aiming at just now: the foxes would seem to be dogs. But in the case of the fox, his strong scent betrays him, and the dogs soon find him out; and even so, the scent of false doctrine is not easily concealed, and the game does not answer for long.
"There are extant ministers of whom we scarce can tell whether they are dogs or foxes; but all men shall know our quality as long as we live, and they shall be in no doubt as to what we believe and teach.
"We shall not hesitate to speak in the strongest Saxon words we can find, and in the plainest sentences we can put together, that which we hold as fundamental truth."
-- Charles Spurgeon
"Look well to these gentlemen. I have heard that a fox, when close hunted by the dogs, will pretend to be one of them, and run with the pack. That is what certain are aiming at just now: the foxes would seem to be dogs. But in the case of the fox, his strong scent betrays him, and the dogs soon find him out; and even so, the scent of false doctrine is not easily concealed, and the game does not answer for long.
"There are extant ministers of whom we scarce can tell whether they are dogs or foxes; but all men shall know our quality as long as we live, and they shall be in no doubt as to what we believe and teach.
"We shall not hesitate to speak in the strongest Saxon words we can find, and in the plainest sentences we can put together, that which we hold as fundamental truth."
-- Charles Spurgeon
Saturday, January 28, 2012
What are the marks of a true Christian?
From Jonathan Edwards: (via Tyler Kenney)
Being a Christian doesn’t only mean that you assent to a certain set of doctrines. There are other equally important things that must be true. Jonathan Edwards explains.
It is essential to Christianity
"Religious Affections," 334; bullets added.
Being a Christian doesn’t only mean that you assent to a certain set of doctrines. There are other equally important things that must be true. Jonathan Edwards explains.
It is essential to Christianity
- that we repent of our sins,
- that we be convinced of our own sinfulness,
- that we are sensible we have justly exposed ourselves to God’s wrath,
- that our hearts do renounce all sin,
- that we do with our whole hearts embrace Christ as our only Saviour;
- that we love him above all, and
- are willing for his sake to forsake all, and
- that we do give up ourselves to be entirely and forever his.
"Religious Affections," 334; bullets added.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Success and Jesus
In my opinion, Ray Ortlund, Jr. is one of the most encouraging, edifying and balanced 'bloggers' out there today. He's truly a gospel-centered pastor. Here's another post from him:
In a world of secrets, outward success is everyone’s goal. If we can just succeed, we won’t have to face ourselves. No wonder that doesn’t work. It can’t work. The reality of what we are will always topple this house-of-cards persona we so earnestly wish were true.
The gospel is not God’s way of giving us an even better self-improvement goal. The gospel is God’s judgment on our better selves and his replacement of it all with Jesus.
Every one of us thinks, “If only I could do __________ or be __________, then I would arrive.” So, what does “arrival” look like to you? If it isn’t Jesus, the risen Lord himself, every arrival you achieve is only another set-back.
If you make financial security your arrival, you are already trapped in anxiety. If you make a thin body your identity, you will hate yourself more. If you make a porn-free life your okayness, you are doomed to compulsion. God’s remedy for you is not more money or better looks or perfect control. God’s gift to you is Jesus. With Jesus, we are saved. Everything is going to be okay. Without Jesus, we are damned. Nothing will go right.
Forsake all fraudulent success. Make Jesus your goal, your arrival, your identity, your comfort, your okayness, and he’ll gladly give himself to you — and on terms of grace. But reach for anything else, and it will turn into its opposite and betray you.
To paraphrase the apostle Paul, “I’ve lost everything, and I don’t even care, because now I get Jesus” (Philippians 3:8).
In a world of secrets, outward success is everyone’s goal. If we can just succeed, we won’t have to face ourselves. No wonder that doesn’t work. It can’t work. The reality of what we are will always topple this house-of-cards persona we so earnestly wish were true.
The gospel is not God’s way of giving us an even better self-improvement goal. The gospel is God’s judgment on our better selves and his replacement of it all with Jesus.
Every one of us thinks, “If only I could do __________ or be __________, then I would arrive.” So, what does “arrival” look like to you? If it isn’t Jesus, the risen Lord himself, every arrival you achieve is only another set-back.
If you make financial security your arrival, you are already trapped in anxiety. If you make a thin body your identity, you will hate yourself more. If you make a porn-free life your okayness, you are doomed to compulsion. God’s remedy for you is not more money or better looks or perfect control. God’s gift to you is Jesus. With Jesus, we are saved. Everything is going to be okay. Without Jesus, we are damned. Nothing will go right.
Forsake all fraudulent success. Make Jesus your goal, your arrival, your identity, your comfort, your okayness, and he’ll gladly give himself to you — and on terms of grace. But reach for anything else, and it will turn into its opposite and betray you.
To paraphrase the apostle Paul, “I’ve lost everything, and I don’t even care, because now I get Jesus” (Philippians 3:8).
Thursday, January 26, 2012
How we think of God, how we think of the atonement
"All inadequate doctrines of the atonement are due to inadequate doctrines of God and man. If we bring God down to our level and raise ourselves to his, then of course we see no need for a radical salvation, let alone for a radical atonement to secure it. When, on the other hand, we have glimpsed the blinding glory of the holiness of God, and have been so convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit that we tremble before God and acknowledge what we are, namely ‘hell–deserving sinners’, then and only then does the necessity of the cross appear so obvious that we are astonished we never saw it before. "
— John Stott
The Cross of Christ
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 109
— John Stott
The Cross of Christ
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 109
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
With Jesus, we have everything...
More gospel-centered Biblical wisdom from Ray Ortlund, Jr.:
"In a world of secrets, outward success is everyone’s goal. If we can just succeed, we won’t have to face ourselves. No wonder that doesn’t work. It can’t work. The reality of what we are will always topple this house-of-cards persona we so earnestly wish were true.
"The gospel is not God’s way of giving us an even better self-improvement goal. The gospel is God’s judgment on our better selves and his replacement of it all with Jesus.
"Every one of us thinks, “If only I could do __________ or be __________, then I would arrive.” So, what does “arrival” look like to you? If it isn’t Jesus, the risen Lord himself, every arrival you achieve is only another set-back.
"If you make financial security your arrival, you are already trapped in anxiety. If you make a thin body your identity, you will hate yourself more. If you make a porn-free life your okayness, you are doomed to compulsion. God’s remedy for you is not more money or better looks or perfect control. God’s gift to you is Jesus. With Jesus, we are saved. Everything is going to be okay. Without Jesus, we are damned. Nothing will go right.
"Forsake all fraudulent success. Make Jesus your goal, your arrival, your identity, your comfort, your okayness, and he’ll gladly give himself to you — and on terms of grace. But reach for anything else, and it will turn into its opposite and betray you.
"To paraphrase the apostle Paul, “I’ve lost everything, and I don’t even care, because now I get Jesus” (Philippians 3:8)."
"In a world of secrets, outward success is everyone’s goal. If we can just succeed, we won’t have to face ourselves. No wonder that doesn’t work. It can’t work. The reality of what we are will always topple this house-of-cards persona we so earnestly wish were true.
"The gospel is not God’s way of giving us an even better self-improvement goal. The gospel is God’s judgment on our better selves and his replacement of it all with Jesus.
"Every one of us thinks, “If only I could do __________ or be __________, then I would arrive.” So, what does “arrival” look like to you? If it isn’t Jesus, the risen Lord himself, every arrival you achieve is only another set-back.
"If you make financial security your arrival, you are already trapped in anxiety. If you make a thin body your identity, you will hate yourself more. If you make a porn-free life your okayness, you are doomed to compulsion. God’s remedy for you is not more money or better looks or perfect control. God’s gift to you is Jesus. With Jesus, we are saved. Everything is going to be okay. Without Jesus, we are damned. Nothing will go right.
"Forsake all fraudulent success. Make Jesus your goal, your arrival, your identity, your comfort, your okayness, and he’ll gladly give himself to you — and on terms of grace. But reach for anything else, and it will turn into its opposite and betray you.
"To paraphrase the apostle Paul, “I’ve lost everything, and I don’t even care, because now I get Jesus” (Philippians 3:8)."
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Beauty of God's Holiness and Love
"If we stress the love of God without the holiness of God, it turns out only to be compromise. But if we stress the holiness of God without the love of God, we practice something that is hard and lacks beauty. And it is important to show forth beauty before a lost world and a lost generation. All too often young people have not been wrong in saying that the church is ugly. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we are called upon to show to a watching world and to our own young people that the church is something beautiful.
"Several years ago I wrestled with the question of what was wrong with much of the church that stood for purity. I came to the conclusion that in the flesh we can stress purity without love or we can stress the love of God without purity, but that in the flesh we cannot stress both simultaneously. In order to exhibit both simultaneously, we must look moment by moment to the work of Christ, to the work of the Holy Spirit. Spirituality begins to have real meaning in our moment-by-moment lives as we begin to exhibit simultaneously the holiness of God and the love of God."
-- Francis A. Schaeffer, The Church before the Watching World (Downers Grove, 1971), page 63.
"Several years ago I wrestled with the question of what was wrong with much of the church that stood for purity. I came to the conclusion that in the flesh we can stress purity without love or we can stress the love of God without purity, but that in the flesh we cannot stress both simultaneously. In order to exhibit both simultaneously, we must look moment by moment to the work of Christ, to the work of the Holy Spirit. Spirituality begins to have real meaning in our moment-by-moment lives as we begin to exhibit simultaneously the holiness of God and the love of God."
-- Francis A. Schaeffer, The Church before the Watching World (Downers Grove, 1971), page 63.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Implications of Divine Judgment
"It must be emphasized that the doctrine of divine judgment, and particularly of the final judgment, is not to be thought of primarily as a bogey with which to frighten men into an outward form of conventional righteousness. It has its frightening implications for godless men, it is true; but its main thrust is as a revelation of the moral character of God, and an imparting of moral significance to human life."
- J. I. Packer
- J. I. Packer
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Packer on Why We Should Meditate on the Four Gospels More than Any Other Book
J. I. Packer:
"[We can] correct woolliness of view as to what Christian commitment involves, by stressing the need for constant meditation on the four gospels, over and above the rest of our Bible reading: for gospel study enables us both to keep our Lord in clear view and to hold before our minds the relational frame of discipleship to him.
"The doctrines on which our discipleship rests are clearest in the epistles, but the nature of discipleship itself is most vividly portrayed in the gospels.
"Some Christians seem to prefer the epistles as if this were a mark of growing up spiritually; but really this attitude is a very bad sign, suggesting that we are more interested in theological notions than in fellowship with the Lord Jesus in person.
"We should think, rather, of the theology of the epistles as preparing us to understand better the disciple relationship with Christ that is set forth in the gospels, and we should never let ourselves forget that the four gospels are, as has often and rightly been said, the most wonderful books on earth."
—J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2005), p. 70, 71.
HT: Justin Taylor
"[We can] correct woolliness of view as to what Christian commitment involves, by stressing the need for constant meditation on the four gospels, over and above the rest of our Bible reading: for gospel study enables us both to keep our Lord in clear view and to hold before our minds the relational frame of discipleship to him.
"The doctrines on which our discipleship rests are clearest in the epistles, but the nature of discipleship itself is most vividly portrayed in the gospels.
"Some Christians seem to prefer the epistles as if this were a mark of growing up spiritually; but really this attitude is a very bad sign, suggesting that we are more interested in theological notions than in fellowship with the Lord Jesus in person.
"We should think, rather, of the theology of the epistles as preparing us to understand better the disciple relationship with Christ that is set forth in the gospels, and we should never let ourselves forget that the four gospels are, as has often and rightly been said, the most wonderful books on earth."
—J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2005), p. 70, 71.
HT: Justin Taylor
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Jesus as Lord and Friend
"The companionship of Jesus is indeed a gracious thing for burdened souls; but it is a terrible thing for those who have any trust in a righteousness of their own. No man can call Jesus friend who does not also call Him Lord; and no man can call Him Lord who could not say first; ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, Lord.’
"At the root of all true companionship with Jesus, therefore, is the consciousness of sin and with it the reliance upon His mercy; to have fellowship with Him it is necessary to learn the terrible lesson of God’s law. "
— J. Gresham Machen
"What is Faith?"
"At the root of all true companionship with Jesus, therefore, is the consciousness of sin and with it the reliance upon His mercy; to have fellowship with Him it is necessary to learn the terrible lesson of God’s law. "
— J. Gresham Machen
"What is Faith?"
Thursday, January 19, 2012
"Is there enough teaching in the church?"
More counter-(church)cultural thinking from Kevin DeYoung.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
"Clothing Matters"
What we wear to church may matter more than we think. An article from Duane Liftin.
Monday, January 16, 2012
"Getting it right...." (by Paul Tripp)
Getting It Right
"But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge, that I may tell of all your works" (Psalm 73:28).
"It is a grace to get it right, because so often I get it wrong. No, I don't mean that I fall into gross and willing sin, and I don't mean that I am seduced by the old arguments of new atheism. No, I don't mean that I occasionally question the tenets of my faith or question whether ministry is really worth it. No, getting it wrong is much more subtle. Getting it wrong is not about the big, dramatic, consequential moments of life. No, getting it wrong is much more about the little mundane moments of everyday life.
"It is easy to let up your guard and be all too relaxed in these moments precisely because they are little. It is also tempting to minimize the wrong choices that you make in these little moments. But the opposite is true. The little moments of life are profoundly important because they are little. Little moments are the ones we live in everyday. The character and course of a person's life is not set in three or four grand, significant moments. No, the character of a person's life is shaped in 10,000 little moments. You carry the character formed in the mundane into those rare consequential moments of life.
"The last verse of Psalm 73 is a manual on getting it right, so it also instructs us on what it looks like to get it wrong. Getting it right means acknowledging God's presence, remembering his rescue, and obeying his call.
Acknowledging God's Presence
"These might be the most important words to have constantly ringing in the ears of your heart: "it is good to be near God." "Near God" is something you could never have earned, deserved, or personally achieved. "Near God" is the exact opposite of where sin takes you. "Near God" brought Jesus to earth and required him to die. "Near God" restores to you what sin destroyed and what only grace can restore. "Near God" is where you were designed to live.
"Grace has brought you close to God once again. Grace means he is in you and you are in him. Grace has made it impossible for you to be alone. God's greatest gift to you is himself! But you and I don't always acknowledge his presence. There are moments in life when we get it wrong, where we live as if he doesn't exist. When we act as if he is distant, we panic in the face of the normal difficulties of life in this fallen world and in the face of the perplexities of God's sovereign plan. Or else we fall into trying to do God's job, and in so doing, complicate our lives all the more. Does your daily living celebrate that grace has brought you near to God and God near to you?
Remembering God's Rescue
"In a fallen world that does not always operate in the way the Creator intended, and where temptation and danger lurk, these words are also vital: "I have made the Lord God my refuge." Under the heat of life in this broken world you will run somewhere for refuge when you become weary, wounded, and discouraged. But you must remember God is the only hiding place worth running to. He alone can heal the wounds of your heart. He alone can give you the strength you need to get up once more and continue. He alone can give inner peace when there is little peace to be found around you. He alone can forgive your sins and strengthen you when you are weak.
"But we often forget that grace has given us refuge. We forget that God welcomes us to run to him. So we run to the creation rather than the Creator for refuge, and when we do, we never get the solace we are seeking. We may successfully numb or distract ourselves for a while, but our hearts are not strengthened or encouraged. The replacement refuges of people and things cannot relieve, only distract us from our burdens, so we have to return to them repeatedly. We never end up strengthen and encouraged. We only end up fat, addicted, and indebted. Are you getting it right? When you are weak, weary, and discouraged, do you run to the one refuge who can deliver peace?
Obeying God's Call
"Getting it right is also about answering his call and remembering that God gives you himself and his grace to fulfill that calling, not so you can build a kingdom of your own design. "That I may tell of his works" says it very well. No longer do I live for the glory of getting what I want, indulging what I feel, and satisfying my needs. I now live with the recognition that I have been sovereignly gifted and positioned so that all that I do and say points to the one glory that can satisfy their hearts. I look for opportunities to point to his work as Creator, his work as sovereign, and his work as Savior.
"Sadly, I don't always get it right. Often I live as if there were few things as important as my schedule, plans, comfort, and success. Where the rubber meets the road in daily live, I put myself in the center of my world and forget that place had been reserved for God alone. When I make it all about me, I live in low-grade frustration and irritation. I miss the daily opportunities that God gives me to connect with something vastly bigger and fundamentally better. Are you concretely living for something bigger than your daily agenda?
"Because of God's grace, we often get it right. But because of remaining sin, we so often get it wrong. In which place are you living today? May your hands be productive because in your heart you get it right: God is near, he is my refuge, and I will obey his call."
Paul Tripp is the president of Paul Tripp Ministries, a nonprofit organization whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." Tripp is also professor of pastoral life and care at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas, and executive director of the Center for Pastoral Life and Care in Fort Worth, Texas. Tripp has written many books on Christian living that are read and distributed internationally. He has been married for many years to Luella, and they have four grown children.
"But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge, that I may tell of all your works" (Psalm 73:28).
"It is a grace to get it right, because so often I get it wrong. No, I don't mean that I fall into gross and willing sin, and I don't mean that I am seduced by the old arguments of new atheism. No, I don't mean that I occasionally question the tenets of my faith or question whether ministry is really worth it. No, getting it wrong is much more subtle. Getting it wrong is not about the big, dramatic, consequential moments of life. No, getting it wrong is much more about the little mundane moments of everyday life.
"It is easy to let up your guard and be all too relaxed in these moments precisely because they are little. It is also tempting to minimize the wrong choices that you make in these little moments. But the opposite is true. The little moments of life are profoundly important because they are little. Little moments are the ones we live in everyday. The character and course of a person's life is not set in three or four grand, significant moments. No, the character of a person's life is shaped in 10,000 little moments. You carry the character formed in the mundane into those rare consequential moments of life.
"The last verse of Psalm 73 is a manual on getting it right, so it also instructs us on what it looks like to get it wrong. Getting it right means acknowledging God's presence, remembering his rescue, and obeying his call.
Acknowledging God's Presence
"These might be the most important words to have constantly ringing in the ears of your heart: "it is good to be near God." "Near God" is something you could never have earned, deserved, or personally achieved. "Near God" is the exact opposite of where sin takes you. "Near God" brought Jesus to earth and required him to die. "Near God" restores to you what sin destroyed and what only grace can restore. "Near God" is where you were designed to live.
"Grace has brought you close to God once again. Grace means he is in you and you are in him. Grace has made it impossible for you to be alone. God's greatest gift to you is himself! But you and I don't always acknowledge his presence. There are moments in life when we get it wrong, where we live as if he doesn't exist. When we act as if he is distant, we panic in the face of the normal difficulties of life in this fallen world and in the face of the perplexities of God's sovereign plan. Or else we fall into trying to do God's job, and in so doing, complicate our lives all the more. Does your daily living celebrate that grace has brought you near to God and God near to you?
Remembering God's Rescue
"In a fallen world that does not always operate in the way the Creator intended, and where temptation and danger lurk, these words are also vital: "I have made the Lord God my refuge." Under the heat of life in this broken world you will run somewhere for refuge when you become weary, wounded, and discouraged. But you must remember God is the only hiding place worth running to. He alone can heal the wounds of your heart. He alone can give you the strength you need to get up once more and continue. He alone can give inner peace when there is little peace to be found around you. He alone can forgive your sins and strengthen you when you are weak.
"But we often forget that grace has given us refuge. We forget that God welcomes us to run to him. So we run to the creation rather than the Creator for refuge, and when we do, we never get the solace we are seeking. We may successfully numb or distract ourselves for a while, but our hearts are not strengthened or encouraged. The replacement refuges of people and things cannot relieve, only distract us from our burdens, so we have to return to them repeatedly. We never end up strengthen and encouraged. We only end up fat, addicted, and indebted. Are you getting it right? When you are weak, weary, and discouraged, do you run to the one refuge who can deliver peace?
Obeying God's Call
"Getting it right is also about answering his call and remembering that God gives you himself and his grace to fulfill that calling, not so you can build a kingdom of your own design. "That I may tell of his works" says it very well. No longer do I live for the glory of getting what I want, indulging what I feel, and satisfying my needs. I now live with the recognition that I have been sovereignly gifted and positioned so that all that I do and say points to the one glory that can satisfy their hearts. I look for opportunities to point to his work as Creator, his work as sovereign, and his work as Savior.
"Sadly, I don't always get it right. Often I live as if there were few things as important as my schedule, plans, comfort, and success. Where the rubber meets the road in daily live, I put myself in the center of my world and forget that place had been reserved for God alone. When I make it all about me, I live in low-grade frustration and irritation. I miss the daily opportunities that God gives me to connect with something vastly bigger and fundamentally better. Are you concretely living for something bigger than your daily agenda?
"Because of God's grace, we often get it right. But because of remaining sin, we so often get it wrong. In which place are you living today? May your hands be productive because in your heart you get it right: God is near, he is my refuge, and I will obey his call."
Paul Tripp is the president of Paul Tripp Ministries, a nonprofit organization whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." Tripp is also professor of pastoral life and care at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas, and executive director of the Center for Pastoral Life and Care in Fort Worth, Texas. Tripp has written many books on Christian living that are read and distributed internationally. He has been married for many years to Luella, and they have four grown children.
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