tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91090922392806223342024-03-19T03:48:05.418-07:00The Preacher's DeskA Devotional Blog for ChristiansLogan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-60815099125717577962017-12-14T08:05:00.000-08:002017-12-14T08:05:18.605-08:00The Sanctity of the Lord's Day: Resources
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Here are some excellent resources on the sanctity of the
Lord’s Day:</div>
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1. In order to understand the basic doctrine of the Lord’s
Day, I would begin by studying the succinct statements in the Westminster
Confession and Catechisms. Westminster Confession, Chapter 21, is titled, “Of
Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day.” Larger Catechism Questions 115-121
expound the fourth commandment. Shorter Catechism Questions 57-62 do the same.
The Confession and Catechisms are available online for <a href="http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/">free</a>. </div>
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2. If you want to go deeper than these basic statements, I
would encourage you to read <a href="https://www.wtsbooks.com/lords-day-joseph-pipa-9781857922011">Joseph Pipa’s TheLord’s Day</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Call-Sabbath-Delight-Walter-Chantry/dp/0851515886/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513267319&sr=8-1&keywords=call+the+sabbath+a+delight+by+walter+j.+chantry">Walter Chantry’s Callthe Sabbath a Delight</a>. These books provide the biblical basis and practical
application of the commandment.</div>
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3. There are a variety of free online resources.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alistair
Begg’s sermons on the fourth commandment are available <a href="https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/holy-day-or-holiday-pt1/">here</a></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>David
Strain’s article, <a href="https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/well-spent-sabbath/">“A Well-Spent Sabbath,”</a> is worth a read</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/ethics/sabbath/sabbath_Dabney.html">R.L. Dabney’streatment</a> of the subject is fantastic, although it isn’t easy reading</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-88878160886019371662017-12-13T11:47:00.003-08:002017-12-13T11:51:34.461-08:00Answering a Jewish Objection to Jesus: World Peace <br />
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Jewish people who do not believe
in Jesus claim that Jesus cannot be the Messiah because he did not
bring world peace. In support of this Jewish objection to Jesus are a variety
of messianic prophecies. One of many examples is Isaiah 2:4, which says, “He
shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war anymore.” Since the nations are still at war, Jesus cannot be the Messiah,
according to the Jews.</div>
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How should Christians respond to
this objection? Let's begin with areas of agreement. We concur that these texts are Messianic. The Hebrew Bible
foretells the coming of a Messiah who will be an exalted King. This Ruler will bring peace to the world. There is no question about that. However,
when we read the Bible carefully, we will also find many messianic passages,
which give a different view of the Messiah. These passages must be equally
taken into account.</div>
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The Messiah is depicted as one who
comes riding on the clouds of heaven in exalted glory (Daniel 7:13), but we also
read of Messiah coming “humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). Isaiah’s
prophecy contains many references to the Messiah. The earlier prophecies in
chapters 2, 9, and 11 certainly emphasize that Messiah will be a righteous King
who brings peace to the world. However, when we read the Servant of the Lord
prophecy in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, we discover that Messiah will only be exalted
after a period of suffering and death. In the end, God’s servant will be “high
and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (Is. 52:13), but that only takes places
after “he was wounded for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities”;
“upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Is. 53:5). “All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord
has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). God’s servant did this
because he was “an offering for guilt” (Is. 53:10). Thus it is only after the
Messiah suffers and dies that he is exalted to his throne (Is. 53:12). </div>
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When it comes to the biblical
portrait of the Messiah, then, we find this pattern: <i><b>suffering precedes glory</b></i>. The same pattern is found in Psalm 22. Suffering
and rejection come first (Ps. 22:1-21); then comes exaltation (Ps. 22:22-31).
It doesn’t happen overnight, but God has promised: “All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall
worship before you.” </div>
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Jesus truly is the Prince of Peace
(Is. 9:6). He purchased peace by his death on the cross (Is. 53:5). His peace
doesn’t begin the outward (the cessation of war) but the inward (the
forgiveness of sins). We must have peace <i>within</i> before we have peace <i>without</i>.
</div>
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Through his resurrection Jesus has been exalted to God’s throne where he rules
and reigns as the Lord’s Anointed. But as was the case in the days of King
David, the nations are rebelling against the Lord’s righteous rule. “Why do the
nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth and the
rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us” (Ps. 2:1-3).
The nations are still at war because the nations are still rebelling against
the Lord and his Anointed. </div>
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God’s purpose, however, isn’t thwarted by mankind’s
rebellion. “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in fury, saying, ‘As
for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill’” (Ps. 2:4-6). God has
established Jesus as King. He laughs at the futile attempts of the nations to
resist his righteous rule. “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You
are my Son; today I have begotten you’” (Ps. 2:7). </div>
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The good news is that God
will give to his only begotten Son the nations as a heritage (Ps. 2:8-9). But
again, this doesn’t happen overnight. Though Christ, God has now sent out his
word from Jerusalem (Is. 2:3), summoning the nations to his presence (Matt.
28:19-20). Until the nations bow before King Jesus, the Prince of Peace, nation
will rise up against nation (Matt. 24:7) and the gospel will be proclaimed to
all the nations (Matt. 24:14). Only then the end will come. The earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Is. 11:9). </div>
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The main reason this objection
fails is that it doesn't distinguish the two comings of Messiah. First, the
Messiah comes in humble suffering. Second, he comes in triumphant victory.
Peace will come to the world; war shall cease. But that will not happen until
the nations are evangelized and Jesus returns to establish his kingdom on the
earth. But when that happens, what a day of rejoicing it shall be! </div>
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So let me
encourage you, my Jewish friend, to obey the words of King David: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all
who take refuge in him” (Ps. 2:12). Find your refuge in Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the King of kings, and the Prince of Peace! </div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-73869522050304718892017-11-20T09:20:00.000-08:002017-12-02T18:55:27.438-08:00Reading List for Growing Christians <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">A Reading List for Growing Christians</span></u></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here’s a list of books that will strengthen your
walk with the Lord. This isn’t fluff. Many of these books will challenge you
intellectually and spiritually. Obviously, this list isn’t exhaustive, and I’m
sure I’ll edit it over time. At the end of the list, there are some links to
online Reformed bookstores. Unlike the average bookstore at a shopping mall,
most of what you find in these online stores will be solid. Happy reading! <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">God’s Existence
& Perfections-</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Knowing God, </i>by
J.I. Packer</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Attributes of
God, </i>by A.W. Pink</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Existence and
Attributes of God, </i>by Stephen Charnock </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Holy Scripture-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scripture Alone, </i>by
James White </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Knowing Scripture</i>,
by R.C. Sproul</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taking God At His
Word</i>, by Kevin DeYoung</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New Testament
Documents, </i>by F.F. Bruce </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The King James Only
Controversy</i>, by James White</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Understanding
the Bible-</span></u></b></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Reformed Study
Bible, </i>by Ligonier Ministries </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Read the
Bible for All Its Worth, </i>by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Whole Bible
Commentary, </i>by Matthew Henry</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Commentaries, </i>by
John Calvin </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Biblical
Worldview-</span></u></b></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The writings of Francis Schaeffer </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How Now Shall We
Live</i>, by Colson and Pearcy </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Total Truth, </i>by
Nancy Pearcy </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Creation Regained, </i>by
Al Wolters </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Justification
by Faith-</span></u></b></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Everlasting
Righteousness, </i>by H. Bonar </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Justification</i>,
by J.V. Fesko </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The God Who Justifies,
</i>by James White </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Christian Life
(Sanctification)-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Holiness, </i>by
J.C. Ryle</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transforming Grace,
</i>by Jerry Bridges </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Joy of Fearing
God, </i>by Jerry Bridges</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Godly Man’s
Picture</i>, by Thomas Watson </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Quest for
Godliness, </i>by J.I. Packer</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Holiness by Grace, </i>by
Bryan Chapell </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pilgrim’s Progress,
</i>by John Bunyan </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">God’s Law-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ten Commandments:
Manual for the Christian Life, </i>by J. Douma </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pathway to Freedom:
How God’s Laws Guide Our Lives, </i>by Alistair Begg</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How Jesus Transforms
the Ten Commandments, </i>by Edmund P. Clowney </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Reformed
Theology-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Westminster
Confession of Faith, </i>G.I. Williamson</span><u></u></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ecumenical Creeds
and Reformed Confessions, </i>Published by Faith Alive</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Systematic
Theology, </i>by Louis Berkof </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grace Unknown: The
Heart of Reformed Theology, </i>by R.C. Sproul </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Reformed
Doctrine of Predestination, </i>by Lorraine Boettner </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sovereignty of
God, </i>by A.W. Pink</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chosen by God, </i>by
R.C. Sproul </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Lord’s Day
(Christian Sabbath)-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Call the Sabbath a
Delight, </i>by Walter Chantry</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lord’s Day, </i>by
Joseph Pipa </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Corporate
Worship-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">With Reverence and
Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship, </i>by Hart and Muether </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reformed Worship, </i>by
Terry L. Johnson </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the Splendor of
Holiness, </i>by Jon D. Payne </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">O Come, Let Us
Worship, </i>by Robert G. Rayburn</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Christian
Baptism-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">William the Baptist:
A Classic Story of a Man’s Journey to Understand Baptism, </i>by James M.
Chaney </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Word, Water,
Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism, </i>by J.V. Fesko </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Christian Baptism</i>,
by John Murray</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Children of the
Promise: the Biblical Case for Infant Baptism</i>, by Robert R. Booth </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Children of
Promise, </i>by Geoffrey W. Bromily </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Lord’s
Supper-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Given for You:
Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper, </i>by Keith Mathison </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mystery of the
Lord’s Supper, </i>by Robert Bruce</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Church History-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Church in
History, </i>by B.K. Kuiper</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Church History in
Plain Language, </i>by Bruce Shelley </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Presbyterianism-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On Being
Presbyterian, </i>by Sean Michael Lucas</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seeking a Better
Country, </i>by Hart and Muether </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Evangelism-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God-Centered
Evangelism, </i>by R.B. Kuiper </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tell the Truth, </i>by
Will Metzger </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Soul Winner, </i>by
Charles Spurgeon</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Old
Evangelicalism, </i>by Iain Murray </span><br />
<br />
<i>Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God</i>, by J.I. Packer </div>
<i></i><i></i><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Biblical
Counseling- </span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Competent to
Counsel, </i>by Jay Adams</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Counsel
Biblically, </i>by John Macarthur </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Marriage-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Each for the Other,
</i>by Bryan Chapell </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When Sinners Say, “I
Do,” </i>by Harvey </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reforming Marriage,
</i>by Doug Wilson </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Raising
Children-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bringing the Gospel
to Covenant Children, </i>by Joel Beeke </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shepherding a
Child’s Heart, </i>by Tedd Tripp</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gospel-Powered
Parenting, </i>by William Farley</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">A Godly Home-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Family Worship, </i>by
Joel Beeke</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Christian Living in
the Home, </i>by Jay Adams</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Creation-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Creation and
Change: Genesis 1:1—2:4 in Light of Changing Scientific Paradigms, </i>by Douglas
F. Kelley </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Did God Create in
Six Days? </i>Eds. Joseph Pipa and David Hall </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Darwin on Trial</i>,
by Phillip E. Johnson </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Gender Issues-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Recovering Biblical
Manhood and Womanhood, </i>by Piper and Grudem </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Abortion-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Abortion: A
Rational Look at an Emotional Issue, </i>by R.C. Sproul </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Homosexuality-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Same-Sex
Controversy, </i>by James White and Jeff Niell</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bible and the
Homosexual Practice, </i>by Robert Gagnon </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Valuable Sets
for the Home:</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Christian’s
Reasonable Service</i>, by Wilhelmus a Brakel <br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer </i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Promise and Deliverance</i>, by Degraaf</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Christian in Complete Armour, </i>by William Gurnall</span><br />
<i></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
Puritan Paperbacks, published by Banner of Truth </div>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Online
Bookstores with a Reformed Perspective-</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.wtsbooks.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.wtsbooks.com</span></a> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.prpbooks.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.prpbooks.com</span></a> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.banneroftruth.org/"><span style="color: blue;">www.banneroftruth.org</span></a>
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.heritagebooks.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">www.heritagebooks.org</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.ligonier.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">www.ligonier.org</span></a> </div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-54776397056868070102017-03-30T06:47:00.000-07:002017-03-30T06:47:09.465-07:00The Old Self Is Dead
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“We
know that</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"> our old self was crucified
with him </span></b><span style="font-size: large;">in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that
we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Romans 6:6</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Do
not lie to one another, seeing that </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">you have
put off the old self with its practices</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> and have put on the new self, which
is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” Colossians
3:9-10</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">***</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">There's a popular misconception
about the nature of a Christian. It claims that a Christian is a hybrid of two
equal natures: an old self and a new self. It's the idea of a believer as a fifty-fifty combination of two radically different natures. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the surface, this view </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">seems</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> correct because it </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">feels</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> correct. As Christians, we definitely
struggle with sin. “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and
the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each
other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17). And
what Christian can’t identify with Paul’s experience in Romans 7:15-20? Conversion
doesn’t eradicate sin in the Christian’s life. We will be fighting and putting
our sin to death until glory.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the same time, we must not think of the
Christian’s nature as having two </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">equal</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> parts: old and new. This can convey the
impression that my true self is really </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">neutral</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">,
and I must daily choose between my two natures. When I choose to live according
to my new nature, I have victory in the Christian life, but when I choose to
live according to my old nature, I fall. Put in these terms, hopefully, we can
see the problem. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The core identity of the Christian isn’t
neutral. The old self is dead! He was crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6), and
we put him away at our conversion (Colossians 3:9). We are new creatures in
Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have now put on the new self which is being
renewed day by day. Instead of thinking of ourselves as a hybrid of an old self
and a new self, we need to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ
(Romans 6:11). </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">How then should we describe ourselves as Christians? We are new selves
with remaining corruption in our lives. Anthony Hoekema says, "We are </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">genuinely</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> new, though we are not yet </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">completely</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> new." Paul calls this remaining corruption “the
sin that dwells in me.” What is interesting is that Paul doesn’t speak of
indwelling sin as being at the core of my nature. Read Romans 7:20 carefully: “Now
if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells
within me.” As a man with a new self, Paul wants to do what is right, but when
he fails—and this is very important—he says, “it is no longer </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> who do it.” Now we know Paul isn’t
denying the Christian’s responsibility for sin. Paul knows he is responsible
for his sins. At the same time, he refuses to say sin is part of his identity
(his “I”). He clearly sees himself as a new man with remnants of sin in his
life, but those remnants no longer define him as a man in Christ. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is critical. It means, when a Christian
sins, he is acting contrary to his new nature in Christ. He is contradicting
himself at a fundamental level. If you took the hybrid view, then, when a
Christian sins, he is simply making a bad choice between two equally-opposing
forces. But that’s not the way Paul speaks. When a Christian sins, it is no
longer I who do it! Instead, I am allowing my remaining corruption to take over who I truly am! </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">So it’s best to say that as Christians we are
new selves with remnants of our old man. The old man has been crucified with
Christ. The old man has been put off. Now we must live according to who we
really are in Christ. We must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God
in Christ (Romans 6:11). We must put to death our remaining sin (Colossians
3:5). We must stop offering our bodies up in the service of sin (Romans 6:13).
We are new! Sin no longer defines us. We are not under the dominion of sin
(Romans 6:14). We are living the Christian life from the point of decisive
victory in the present and an assured victory in the future. To paraphrase John
Owen, we can kill our sin because it has already been killed in Christ on the cross.
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The struggle is real. We will battle with our
sin until the day we die. We want to please Christ, but sin lies crouching at
the door, ready to pounce. But we need to remember that we are not a
fifty-fifty combination of flesh and Spirit. Yes, it may </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">feel</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> like that, but all is not as it seems! Our minds and hearts
must be informed by the truth of what is, not what seems to be. We have been
crucified with Christ. Our old self has been dealt a lethal blow, and we have
been given a new self. This is who we are now. We are not neutral. We are
</span><i><span style="font-size: large;">disposed</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> toward godliness. God has changed our desires and direction in life.
In Christ we are bent towards obedience. The old man is dead. Believe the
gospel!</span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-7855275584613628442017-02-06T17:49:00.000-08:002017-02-06T17:49:37.589-08:00Covenant Baptism: Is It the Same Thing as a Baby Dedication?
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">When
Christians who aren’t from a Reformed background try to understand covenant
baptism, they often compare it to a baby dedication. There are, of course, obvious
similarities, making this a natural comparison, but there are meaningful
differences—and the differences go beyond the use of water! Essentially, in a
baby dedication, the ceremony focuses on the act of the parents; the parents
are dedicating their child to God. They certainly do this in a covenant baptism,
too, but this isn’t its primary purpose.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
In a covenant baptism, the purpose is to signify and seal God’s promises to us</b>.
Yes, parents dedicate their children to God, but we must understand this as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">response</i> to God’s covenant promises to
be God to us and our children (Genesis 17:7, Acts 2:38-39). The primary thing
is the action of God. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God</i> is making
promises to us. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God</i> is assuring us of
his promises through the waters. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God</i>
is placing his triune name upon us. As always, it isn’t about you—it’s about
God.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-4141457566033433312016-11-14T06:52:00.000-08:002016-11-14T06:52:38.639-08:00Should We Begin with God's Love in Our Evangelism?
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Contemporary approaches to
evangelism almost always begin with God’s love. People are told, “God loves
you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” or simply, “God loves you.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In
most churches, it's taken for granted that this is the place to begin when sharing the gospel. In fact, if you challenge this approach, many Christians will
look at you as if you had a second head! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Well,
the more I have studied the Bible, theology, and church history, the more I
have become convinced that it's generally unwise to begin our evangelism with
God’s love. Please don’t misunderstand me. I certainly believe we must proclaim
God’s love, but I don’t think it’s the biblical starting point. Here are some
of the considerations that have led me to this conclusion.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There is not one example of anyone taking this approach in the New
Testament.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">
Neither Jesus nor his Apostles began evangelistic encounters with “God loves
you.” If this were the right approach, why can’t we find one example of it? Read
through the four Gospels and the Book of Acts and you’ll find a variety of
starting points. You won’t find one example that begins with “God loves you.”
Surely there is wisdom in this. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Sinners will not embrace God’s love unless they are first
convinced of their sin.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"> Although saying, “God loves you,” may be used by the Holy Spirit to
convince a sinner of his guilt, it doesn’t ordinarily have that impact.
Instead, “through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). How will
sinners be able to comprehend God’s love for them in Christ’s death unless they
are first made aware of their sin? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">This approach gives sinners the false impression that God doesn’t
have a holy hatred for sinners.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"> Most people are unaware that God has a holy
hatred for the wicked, which is astounding. Christians have been fed so much
cheap grace that they are shocked when you show them the very clear verses
speaking of God’s hatred. For example, see Psalm 5:5; 11:5 (Read those verses
carefully. Notice that they teach a hatred for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sinner</i>, not just the sin.) <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">This approach fails to distinguish the different aspects of God’s love</span></b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">. We affirm God’s
love for mankind in general. According to Jesus, God shows this love in the rising
and setting of the sun and the sending of the rain upon the earth (Matt. 5:45).
We also affirm that God has a loving posture toward all mankind and invites all
to believe the gospel (John 3:16). But we also need to recognize that God has a
special, unique love for his elect, and, in most cases, when the Bible speaks
of God’s love, it speaks of his love for his Church. Believers are those who
are loved by God (Romans 1:7). We are the “beloved.” If you simply consult a
concordance, you’ll find that most references to God’s love are in the
epistles, which are addressing believers. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">This approach is relatively new in church history</span></b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">. As far as I
can tell, this emphasis goes back to D.L. Moody. If you consider the
Protestants who preceded him, they simply didn’t preach this “God loves you and
has a wonderful plan for your life” gospel. Instead, they spent a great deal of
time talking about God’s holiness, his law, and man’s sin and guilt. The older
preachers certainly spoke about God’s love in Jesus, but they did so only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i> they had explained God’s holiness
and righteousness. If you look at the track record of the new approach, I don’t
think it can be disputed that it has produced many false conversions. If you
want a good study of the older approach, which is far more biblical in my
opinion, consult <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Old-Evangelicalism-Truths-New-Awakening/dp/0851519016/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479134501&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Old+Evangelicalism">Iain Murray’s </a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Old-Evangelicalism-Truths-New-Awakening/dp/0851519016/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479134501&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Old+Evangelicalism">The OldEvangelicalism: Old Truths for a New Awakening</a>.</i> </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-80499294296244734202016-10-25T13:28:00.000-07:002016-10-25T13:53:22.024-07:00Celebrating Reformation Sunday <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbp7r5hYc40219MeI7GYOy5mq73NizL8STueeXoO-5fKeoQUmgmmoyBprBjBwkuSOmS3J2V87YOZwI8h-q87yXc1fmq6SUssF1yz3YQ9m5mgrzX85F9RP-P6rVCsC7MEQPQ05oFppna8/s1600/Luther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbp7r5hYc40219MeI7GYOy5mq73NizL8STueeXoO-5fKeoQUmgmmoyBprBjBwkuSOmS3J2V87YOZwI8h-q87yXc1fmq6SUssF1yz3YQ9m5mgrzX85F9RP-P6rVCsC7MEQPQ05oFppna8/s320/Luther.jpg" width="185" /></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">The last Sunday in October is known as
Reformation Sunday. It celebrates the beginning of the Protestant Reformation
when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church
in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
Reformation Sunday is a time for us to
celebrate how God acted in history to preserve the gospel for us today. We
are beneficiaries of what God did through men like Luther. Let us never forget
to study Church History, thank God for his mercies to us, and learn
the lessons of God’s providential dealings with his people. </span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Here are some practical ways to celebrate the
Reformation this upcoming Lord’s Day.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">Prayerfully read and study the Scriptures addressing Reformation
themes. </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">For example, read about the
authority of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17), salvation by grace (Ephesians
2:1-10), and justification by faith alone (Romans 3-4).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px;"> </span>Digest a biography about
one of the Reformers.</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"> A good
biography on Martin Luther is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/HERE-STAND-Life-Martin-Luther/dp/0452011469/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477427007&sr=8-2&keywords=roland+bainton+here+i+stand">Roland Bainton’s </a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/HERE-STAND-Life-Martin-Luther/dp/0452011469/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477427007&sr=8-2&keywords=roland+bainton+here+i+stand">Here I Stand</a></i>. T.H.L. Parker has a good <a href="https://www.amazon.com/John-Calvin-Biography-T-Parker/dp/0664231810/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477427045&sr=8-1&keywords=THL+Parker+Calvin">book</a> on Calvin’s life and
legacy.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px;"> </span>Watch a movie about
Luther and the Reformation</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">. There is
an <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Annette-Carell/dp/B00006JDUS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477427073&sr=8-2&keywords=Martin+Luther+movie">older</a> version and a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Luther-Joseph-Fiennes/dp/B0002C9D9U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477427073&sr=8-1&keywords=Martin+Luther+movie">newer</a> one. This can be a great family activity! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px;"> </span>Include your children by
reading to them an age-appropriate version of the Reformation and its heroes.</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.heritagebooks.org/products/martin-luther-christian-biographies-for-young-readers-carr.html">Reformation Heritage</a> has put out some great books for
kids.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Visit
<a href="http://www.ligonier.org/">Ligonier Ministries</a> and listen to excellent sermons and lectures on the history
and theology of the Reformation</b>. They are completely free!</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">I hope you have a wonderful Reformation Day with your family! </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-8317790591585006742016-10-11T19:08:00.000-07:002016-10-11T19:08:06.263-07:00What Legalism Is and Isn't<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Christians
are quick to charge others with legalism without clarifying what they mean. The
charge of legalism, however, is a serious accusation and shouldn’t be thrown
around lightly. We need to be more careful about calling other believers “legalistic" because what we call legalism isn't always so. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">What Legalism Is</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Legalism
comes in many different forms. One form is what we might call <b>full-blown
legalism</b>. This is the teaching that sinners can be saved by good works. Whether
it’s completely by good works or a mixture of faith and good works, it doesn’t
matter. Salvation is by God’s grace alone, and to teach otherwise is legalism.
This form of legalism is pretty rare, though it’s certainly a problem in
sections of the church today. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Another form
of legalism, which is much more common, is <b>the idea that Christians must obey
manmade rules and regulations in addition to the commands of Scripture</b>.
Sometimes this comes in the form of arbitrary rules about makeup, clothing, and
the length of your hair. At other times, these extrabiblical requirements
concern holy days and dietary laws. The point is, no one other than Christ
speaking in the Scriptures has the authority to bind your conscience. It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> legalistic to make up rules for all
Christians without any biblical warrant.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">The most
common legalism is best described as an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>attitude</b></i>.
We are guilty of legalism when we fall into the trap of thinking that God loves
us more when we perform better. There more quiet times, the more Bible reading,
the more prayer time, the better God loves me. That’s legalism, and that’s
deadly. <b><i>We must never forget that we are forever accepted in God’s sight
because of what Jesus did for us on the cross once and for all.</i></b> Christ’s
finished sacrifice reconciles us to God and forever absolves us of all our
shortcomings. Even though we know this in our heads, we have trouble believing
this in our hearts. So we need to remind ourselves every day that we are not
accepted by God on the basis of what we do. We are secure in our Father’s love because
of who he is and because of what Christ has accomplished in our behalf.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">What Legalism Isn’t</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">It is also
important to understand what legalism isn’t. First of all, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the desire to obey God is not legalism</b>. If we are truly born again,
we want to obey God because we want to please our heavenly Father. We are not
trying to earn our salvation; we are expressing our gratitude for the salvation
he has freely given us in his Son.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Secondly, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the attempt to follow God’s law is not
legalism</b>. Believers should delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on
it day and night. We aren’t using the law as the basis of our justification.
The law is holy, righteous, and good. It sets before us a perfect pattern of
God’s righteousness. The law reflects the righteousness and generosity of the
God who gave it. So we cherish the law and delight to obey it out of love for
Christ. The Reformers called this “the third use of the law” or the “regulative
use of the law.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Thirdly, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">striving to be careful and exact in our
obedience is not legalism</b>. Some Christians believe that we should simply “feel
the Spirit” and do whatever subjective impulses come to mind. Whatever we feel
is right is what we should do. This subjectivism is totally foreign to the
Bible. True Christians want to do exactly what God says. We want to do it right
away. We want to do it as he commanded. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Much more
could be said on this topic, but we should seek to study the Scriptures on the
subject and not throw around this serious charge without knowing exactly what
we mean by the term.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-53597847188761328982015-03-03T08:07:00.001-08:002015-03-03T08:31:04.400-08:0045 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Christians
should pray for their pastors on a regular basis. But do we know how to pray
for our ministers? I offer this list of 45 items as a guide of biblically-informed prayers.
Obviously, this list is suggestive, not exhaustive. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<ol style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: decimal;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor continually abides in Jesus (John 15:5). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor engages often in the duty and delight of private prayer (Mark
1:35; Matthew 6:6).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor loves God above all other loves (Matthew 22:37) and that he
loves people (Matthew 22:39). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor loves his wife as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25) and
that he raises his children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord
(Ephesians 6:4).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor manages his own household well, with all dignity keeping his
children submissive (1 Timothy 3:4).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor commands his children and his household after him to keep the
way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice (Genesis 18:19).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor and his household would serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor is delivered from worldliness (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17) and
especially the love of money (Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:10).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray
that your pastor pursues sanctification and abstains from sexual immorality (1
Thessalonians 4:3). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor exercises self-control over his tongue,
his temper, and his appetite (1 Timothy 3:3; Galatians 5:22-23).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor makes the best use of the time God has
given him (Ephesians 5:16).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor puts on the whole armor of God so that
he might stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-20).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor burns (gospel heat) and shines (gospel
light) the truth of God (John 5:35).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor studies the Law of the Lord, does it,
and teaches it to God’s people (Ezra 7:10).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor studies God’s Word so that he might
handle it rightly (2 Timothy 2:15). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor keeps a close watch on himself (life)
and the teaching (doctrine) so that he might save both himself and his hearers
(1 Timothy 4:16). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor teaches what accords with sound
doctrine (Titus 2:1).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor speaks only what God says (1 Kings
22:14).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor prioritizes prayer and the ministry of
the Word (Acts 6:4).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor preaches Christ and him crucified in
the power of the Holy Spirit, not in the wisdom of men (1 Corinthians 2:2). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor proclaims the gospel of the grace of God
(Acts 20:24).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor proclaims the whole counsel of God
(Acts 20:27).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor faithfully shepherds the sheep who have
been purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor does not lead by domineering over the
flock but by serving as a good example (1 Peter 5:3).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor gives a good account of the souls
entrusted to his care on Judgment Day (Hebrews 13:17).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor speaks to please God, not men (1
Thessalonians 2:4; Galatians 1:10).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor preaches the Word of God, in season and
out of season, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with complete patience and
teaching (2 Timothy 4:2).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor effectively protects the sheep from
wolves (false teachers) (Acts 20:29-30).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor is able to refute those who contradict
sound teaching (Titus 1:9).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor does the work of an evangelist (2
Timothy 4:5).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor is willing to endure everything for the
sake of the elect, that they may obtain salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor keeps his ministry faithful to God’s
Word for the sake of the faith of God’s elect (Titus 1:1).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor proclaims the truth that accords with
godliness (both right doctrine and right living) (Titus 1:1). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor shares both the gospel and his life with
the congregation (1 Thessalonians 2:8). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor is like a gentle mother nursing her
children (1 Thessalonians 2:7) and like a faithful father exhorting his sons (1
Thessalonians 2:11-12).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor practices hospitality (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus
1:8).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor is strengthened by God’s grace (2
Timothy 2:1) to disciple faithful men who will disciple others (2 Timothy 2:2).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor is prepared to share in suffering as a
good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor avoids getting entangled in civilian
pursuits (distractions) and keeps his focus on pleasing God (2 Timothy 2:4).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor is a hardworking farmer who plants
seeds and waters them (2 Timothy 2:6).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor would gladly spend and be spent for
souls (2 Corinthians 13:15). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor’s planting and watering is blessed with
God-given growth (1 Corinthians 3:7). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor ministers in light of eternity, seeking
the things that are above (Colossians 3:1-2) and keeping in mind that all
people will soon die and face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor aims to present everyone mature in
Christ (Colossians 1:28).</span></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pray that your pastor dies to himself so that he might bear fruit for God (John 12:24).</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
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</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-53713797429796373062014-12-31T08:28:00.000-08:002014-12-31T08:28:23.505-08:00Declension in Love
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.pastorloganalmy.blogspot.com/2014/12/personal-renewal.html">Yesterday</a>
I shared some thoughts from the first chapter of<a href="http://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/personal-declension-and-revival-of-religion-in-the-soul/"> Octavius Winslow’s Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul.</a> In the second chapter Winslow narrows his focus to address a
declension in the grace of love. It is possible for our love to grow cold
(Matthew 24:12), and since love is “the spring-head of all the kindred graces,”
it only makes sense to explain how we tend to abandon our first love
(Revelation 2:4).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Winslow
begins this chapter by explaining the importance of love in the Christian life.
Love to God is “the primary and grand requirement of the Divine Law.” Jesus
teaches that loving God with the whole being is the greatest commandment in the
Law (Matthew 22:37-38). God is wise and good to require us to love him: “His <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wisdom</i> saw the necessity of having one
center of supreme and adoring affection, and one object of supreme and spiritual
worship to angels and to men. His <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">goodness</i>
suggested that that center and that that object should be himself, the
perfection of infinite excellence, the fountain of infinite good.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In addition to being the essence of God’s Law, love is “the
great influential principle of the Gospel.” God’s love is the first cause of
the plan of salvation (John 3:16), and the motive of our religion is love: “the
love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Winslow explains why this is
the case: “Apart from the constraining influence of Christ’s love in the heart,
there cannot possibly be a willing, prompt, and holy obedience to his
commandments.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God’s love assures us of our adoption as his children. “The
relation in which the believer stands to God, under the new covenant
dispensation, is not that of a slave to his master, but of a child to its
father.” He continues: “A holy, self-denying, cross-bearing life, is not the
drudgery of a slave, but the filial, loving obedience of a child: it springs
from love to the person, and gratitude for the work of Jesus; and is the
blessed effort of the spirit of adoption in the heart.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Love is an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">active</i>
grace in the believer’s life. Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). Love labors
(Hebrews 6:10). “There is nothing indolent in the nature of true love; it is
not an inert, sluggish principle: where it dwells in the heart in a healthy and
vigorous state, it constrains the believer to live not to himself, but unto Him
who loved and gave Himself for him; it awakes the soul to watchfulness, sets it
upon the work of frequent self-examination, influences it to prayer, daily
walking in his precepts, acts of kindness, benevolence, and charity, all
springing from love to God, and flowing in a channel of love to man."</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Love is an essential part of the Christian’s armor. We are
to put on the breastplate of faith and love (1 Thessalonians 5:8). “Who can
overcome a child of God whose heart is overflowing with Divine love? What enemy
can prevail against him thus armed?” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Winslow reminds us that love exceeds all the other
Christian virtues because “love is immortal; it is the grace of the Spirit that
will never die.” Drawing on 1 Corinthians 13:13, he observes, “The day is not
far distant, when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">faith</i> will be
turned to sight, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope</i> will be
lost in full fruition, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i> will
never die; it will live on, and expand the heart, and tune the lip, and inspire
the song, through the unceasing ages of eternity.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Before moving to the main theme of this second chapter, which
is the declension of love in the soul of the Christian, Winslow invites us to
consider our first encounter with the love of Christ. “For one moment let the
Christian reader call to mind the period and circumstances of his first
espousals to Jesus.” Let us remember that “blissful moment” when we were able
to say, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine!” Recalling our first love
awakens a desire to recapture the sweetness of the love of Christ in our
hearts. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since it is true that “the grace of love in a child of God may
greatly and sadly decline,” Winslow gives us <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">characteristics</b> of love’s decline in the soul.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when we think of God and desire him
less than before</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. “If there is
coldness in the affections, if the mind grows earthly, carnal and selfish, dark
and gloomy shadows will gather round the character and glory of God. He will
become less an object of supreme attachment, unmingled delight, adoring
contemplation, and filial trust.” If we sense that we think of God and desire
God less than before, we must remember that God hasn’t changed. We have
changed. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when we do not approach God as our loving
Father as we did before</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. “The sweet
confidence and simple trust of the child is lost.” “The tender, loving,
childlike spirit, that marked the walk of the believer in the days of his
espousals, when no object was so glorious to him as God, no being so loved as
his heavenly Father, no spot so sacred as the throne of communion, no theme so
sweet as his free grace of adoption, has in a great degree departed; and
distrust, and legal fears, and bondage of spirit, have succeeded it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when we misinterpret God’s acts of
providence as if he is against us. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“The
mark of a vigorous love to God is when the soul justifies God in all his wise
and gracious dealings with it; rebels not, murmurs not, repines not, but meekly
and silently acquiesces in the dispensation, but it never so trying.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when there is little desire to spend
time with God and when we do spend time, we do so more out of a sense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">duty</i> than delight</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. If we truly love the Lord, we want to commune with
him in secret prayer. We desire to talk to him and experience the blessing of
his presence. A Christian “cannot live in the neglect of constant, secret, and
close fellowship with his God, his best and most faithful Friend.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when there is less tenderness and
sensitivity in our walk with God</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. The
lover of God fears offending his Father and dreads to slight his Friend.
Nothing is sweeter to him than the nearness of God.</span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when Christ is perceived as less glorious
to the eye and less precious to the heart. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“When there is but little dealing with his atoning blood, leaning upon
his righteousness, drawing from his fullness, and bearing daily the cross of
Christ, the love of a believer waxeth cold.”</span><br />
<br /><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when we love less the people of God</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. If we love God, we love all who bear his image. 1
John makes it clear that if we say that we love God and hate our brother, we are
liars (5:20-21). “If we love not the visible resemblance, how can we love the
invisible Archetype?”</span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love has declined when we desire less and less to
advance his kingdom and glorify his name</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.
“A true, spiritual, and lively interest in the increase of Christ’s kingdom, in
the diffusion of his truth, the deepening of holiness in the church, the
conversion of sinners, will invariably decline with the declension of the love
to God.”</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">After sharing the characteristics of a loss of love for God, Winslow then moves to
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">causes</b> of love’s declension. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Love for the World</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Love
to God will expel love to the world; love to the world will deaden the soul’s
love to God.” See James 4:4 and 1 John 2:15-17 for the biblical teaching on the
danger of loving the world. Winslow warns, “No Christian man can maintain his spirituality
unimpaired, his love uninjured, his robe unspotted, his walk irreproachable,
who secretly admits the world to his heart.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Making Idols of God’s Creation </span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When
we worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, we will always lose
our love for God. He doesn’t want to be second place to anything or anyone.
Winslow warns about the grave danger of transferring our love to objects
inferior to the Lord. Our idols never satisfy and always disappoint. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Misunderstanding God’s Dealings</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When
bad things happen in our lives, and we assume that God is out to get us or that
he is against us, we will lose our love for God. Acknowledging God’s smiling
face behind all his bitter providences is the key to maintaining a holy love
for God. In the life of God’s children, bad things are the fruits of his love,
not the result of his judgment. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Finally, in a manner
similar to the counsel of chapter one, Winslow tells us <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">what to do </b>in order to return to our first love.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You need to find out the cause of your loss of love
for God and do something about it</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. “Love
to God is a tender flower; it is a sensitive plant, soon and easily crushed;
perpetual vigilance is needed to preserve it in a healthy, growing state.”
Consider the possibility that one of the three causes mentioned above is the
root of the problem. Clear all obstacles to loving God supremely.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Draw continually from the fountain of God’s love</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. God’s love comes first. “We love him because he
first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “O heart-melting truth! The love of God to us
when yet we were sinners, who can unfold it? What mortal tongue can describe
it?” As the sun is always shining, so God is always loving; yet we must stay in
the sunshine of God’s love. We must bask in the glory of his unending love to
us in Christ. “Seek to be filled with it, that you may know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge, and that your heart in return may ascend in a flame of
love to God.”</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Deal much and closely with a crucified Savior. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Here is the grand secret of a constant ascending of
the affections to God. If thou dost find it difficult to comprehend the love of
God towards thee, read it in the cross of his dear Son.” “Deal upon this
amazing fact; drink into this precious truth; muse upon it, ponder it, search
into it, pray over it, until your heart is melted down, and broken, and
overwhelmed with God’s wondrous love to you, in the gift of Jesus.” “Whenever
thou detectest a waning of love, a reluctance to take up the daily cross, a
shrinking from the precept, go immediately to Calvary; go simply and directly
to Jesus; get thy heart warmed with ardent love by contemplating him upon the
cross, and soon will the frosts that gather round it melt away, the congealed
current shall begin to flow, and the ‘chariots of Amminadib’ shall bear thy
soul away to communion and fellowship with God.” </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Do not fail to honor the Holy Spirit in the great work
of personal revival. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“It is he that
will fan to a flame thy waning love, by unfolding the cross, and directing your
heart into the love of God.” </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Remember that though your love has grown cold, the
love of your God and Father towards you has undergone no change. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Retrace thy steps and return again to God.” </span><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-30141604508036138092014-12-30T06:59:00.001-08:002014-12-30T07:06:30.346-08:00Personal Renewal <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> In addition to reading the Scriptures, I find the reading of
solid devotional literature to be a tremendous benefit to my soul. Since most
of the best works of Reformed devotion were written in previous generations,
this usually means that I turn to the old books. I’m currently reading<a href="http://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/personal-declension-and-revival-of-religion-in-the-soul/"> OctaviusWinslow’s Personal Declension and theRevival of Religion in the Soul</a>. Winslow was a 19<sup>th</sup> century
minister who preached at the opening of Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. His
writing is profoundly theological, deeply heart-searching, and immensely
practical.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I have just completed the first chapter of the book entitled,
“Incipient Declension,” which is a general treatment of the problem of
backsliding in the Christian life. Winslow calls this “soul declension.” Sadly,
this spiritual regression usually happens “by a process of slow and gradual
steps,” and may be undetected even by the person who is experiencing it. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Winslow doesn’t want to be misunderstood about the nature of
this backsliding. He doesn’t believe that true grace may be lost. He affirms “the
indestructible nature of true grace.” However, he does teach that we may lose “the
health, vigor, and exercise of that grace in the soul.” True Christians may
lose an enjoyment of all their privileges in Jesus Christ.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">What is especially alarming about this first chapter is that
we may be backsliding in our spiritual lives when all appears to be well. The
Christian may be spiritually declining while still affirming the same
theological truths. “The Word of God shall be assented to; but as the
instrument of sanctification, of abasement, of nourishment, the believer may be
an utter stranger to it; yea, he must necessarily be so, while this process of
secret declension is going forward in his soul.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Since we must know the problem before we look for a solution
and probe the depth of the wound before we find the cure, Winslow spends time
identifying the characteristics of the person who is backsliding.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Winslow places his finger on the central danger: “when there
is more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">knowledge</i> of the truth than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experience</i> of its power—more light in
the understanding than grace in the affections.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In point of fact, we may make a diligent use of the means of
grace (the Word, Sacraments, and Prayer) without a true spiritual vitality.
This formalism can serve as “the lullaby of the soul” which puts us to sleep,
making us unaware of the true nature of our spiritual state. “Rocked to sleep
by a mere formal religion, the believer is beguiled into the delusion that his
heart is right, and his soul prosperous in the sight of God.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“When a professing man can proceed with his accustomed
religious duties, strictly, regularly, formally, and yet experience no
enjoyment of God in them, no filial nearness, no brokenness and tenderness, and
no consciousness of sweet return, he may suspect that his soul is in a state of
secret and incipient backsliding from God.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We may discover this coldness in our reading of the
Scriptures. When we can read the Scriptures in a purely literary manner without
relishing the spiritual truth contained in them, we may be sure that we have
fallen into this unfortunate condition. “Nothing perhaps more strongly
indicates the tone of a believer’s spirituality, than the light in which the
Scriptures are regarded by him.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prayer becomes formal and dead when there is incipient
declension of the soul. We lack an experience of the nearness of God and a
taste of the sweetness of his presence. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Even more telling is the way that we relate to Christ. When
we have “few dealings with Christ” we have regressed in our spiritual life. “We
would be willing to test a man’s religion, both as to its nature and its
growth, by his reply to the question, ‘What think ye of Christ?’ </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is where Winslow really shines. He explains how the
essence of the Christian life is having Christ in the heart. He is the
substance of our life, the source of our sanctification, the spring of our
joys, the theme of our song, and “the one glorious object on which thine eye is
ever resting.” We must “raise and fix the eye of faith simply and solely upon
Jesus” if we are to return to spiritual health. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Before moving on to solutions, Winslow identifies another
sign of spiritual declension. It is “an uncharitable walk towards other
Christians.” He makes this moving statement: “The more entirely the heart is
occupied with the love of Christ, the less room there will be for
uncharitableness towards his saints.” We ought to love all those who love the
Lord Jesus because we all are members of the same family. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Winslow closes the first chapter with six practical
exhortations for spiritual renewal. These are really helpful. </span></div>
<br />
<ol style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: decimal;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Be honest about the real state of your
soul before God</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. If
we ever want to return to the Lord, we must acknowledge our sin and guilt. Above
all else, we must be honest with ourselves because the danger of self-deception
is great. Seek to know where you stand with God, and ask the Holy Spirit to lay
bare the secret sins of your soul.</span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Discover the root cause of your
backsliding</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. What is
feeding and at the root of your Christianity? What is the problem at the core
of your declension? It may be “some spiritual duty secretly neglected, or some
known sin secretly indulged.” “Your soul has lost ground; the Divine life has
declined; the fruit of the Spirit has withered; the heart has lost its
softness, the conscience its tenderness, the mind its seclusion, the throne of
grace its sweetness, the cross of Jesus its attraction.” </span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Take the cause of your backsliding
and lay it before the Lord in prayer</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. “This is just what God loves—an open, ingenuous confession
of sin.” Admit your problem; ask for the Lord’s help. He alone can grant you
repentance and revival. </span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Take action to put to death the cause
of your backsliding</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">.
Drive the Sword of God’s Spirit into the root of your sin. Persevere in
attacking the lust of your flesh and the deadness of your soul. Consider the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">principle</i> upon which you were acting in
sin and strike at that. Is it love of self? Kill it. Is it love of the world?
Kill it. Is it a sin secretly indulged? Kill it. God will bless and work
through the self-efforts of the believer to put sin away. We can kill our sin
because our sin was killed in Jesus on the cross. </span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Enlarge your mind and heart with a
greater love and enjoyment of Christ. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Our minds must be “pre-occupied by Christ.” Love for Christ
expels love for the world. When we enjoy the sweet fellowship and unparalleled
glory of Jesus, we are able to resist the cancers of the soul.</span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Seek the filling of the Holy Spirit</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. Winslow calls this “the great
secret of all personal revival.” He speaks of the need for “a fresh baptism of
the Holy Ghost.” Winslow is not denying that the Holy Spirit permanently indwells
all believers, but he is acknowledging a spiritual reality that is known in
Christian experience. There are degrees of the influence and power of the Spirit
in our lives. We must seek the Spirit earnestly, perseveringly, and
believingly. </span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally,
Winslow points out that God often uses a “deep trial, in order to recover you
from your soul declension.” In order to get our attention, God graciously brings
into our lives a bitter stroke of his providence so that he might win back our
hearts. Although we do not want to suffer, we will rejoice if the trial is used
by God to restore us to our former joy. </span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“O Lord, revive thy
work! Quicken me, O Lord! Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation!” </span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-60766097407492097382014-12-18T18:50:00.000-08:002014-12-18T18:50:01.944-08:00First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Waynesboro, Georgia <span style="font-size: large;">I am now the Pastor of First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Waynesboro, Georgia.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">First Presbyterian Church has a new church website available <a href="http://www.fpcwaynesboro.org/">here</a>. Our YouTube channel is available <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCivFwMOXXh0Ygk32TWsgwNw">here</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I should return to my devotional blog before too long. </span>Logan Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498723927867023238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-14095766198072471942014-05-02T13:16:00.001-07:002014-05-02T13:16:31.887-07:00Church Membership and Communion
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When I
invite Christians to partake of the Lord’s Supper at <a href="http://www.gracepresduluth.org/">Grace Presbyterian Church</a>,
why do I invite baptized believers in Jesus Christ who are members in good
standing of an evangelical church? Why is church membership required for
Communion? Why is it not enough to be a Christian? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Church membership is required because
the Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal for God’s covenant people. Jesus
instituted the Lord’s Supper in place of the Passover (Luke 22:7-8, 11, 13, 15),
which was the covenant meal of the old covenant (Exodus 12:43-51). Jesus
referred to the cup as “the new covenant in his blood” (Luke 22:20). And when Jesus
instituted the Supper, he gave it to his disciples in particular, not the world
in general. It was a fellowship meal for his faithful followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we read the book of Acts, which
chronicles the growth and spread of the early Christian Church, we can see that
the Lord’s Supper is celebrated by members of the church. For example, in Acts
2:41 we read that God saved 3,000 people on the Day of Pentecost. It was only
after they received the word and were baptized that they participated in the
breaking of the bread, which refers to the Lord’s Supper (2:42). Later in Luke’s
history, we see that the early Church celebrated Communion on the first day of
the week when they were gathered together as a church (20:7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians,
he makes it clear that the Lord’s Supper is observed in the context of the
local church gathering together as a church (1 Corinthians 1:2; 11:17, 18, 20,
23, 33). The Lord’s Supper is celebrated as a communal meal in the context of
the gathered church. It is not only a time for the individual Christian to
remember Christ’s death (1 Corinthians 11:24-25), but it is also a time for
Christians to come together and realize that we are one body (1 Corinthians
10:16-17). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The other important consideration is
the warning of 1 Corinthians 11:27-29: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the
body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of
the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without
discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” The Lord’s Supper is
a means of grace for believers, but it can be a means of judgment for
unbelievers. We are told that we are not to eat with one who calls himself a
brother and lives a life of unrepentant sin (1 Corinthians 5:11). Instead, we
are supposed to enjoy fellowship with those who are members in good standing of
the community established by Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The church membership requirement is
unpopular in our culture. We live in a time of expressive individualism. We
live in a day where the importance of the church is minimalized and
marginalized. Sometimes people are confused by this requirement on account of
the way many churches handle membership. But we must remain faithful to Christ’s
instructions that his covenant meal is for his covenant people. We are, after
all, communing with Christ and with each other. Let us do so in sincerity and
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-45709623354341666572014-04-11T06:36:00.000-07:002014-04-11T06:36:45.376-07:00Unrepentant Sin Undermines Prayer
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
“If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an
abomination” (Prov. 28:9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“If I had cherished iniquity in my
heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Ps. 66:18).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Many people are under the mistaken
impression that all prayers are equal in the eyes of God. Whether it’s a boy “wishing
upon a star” or a Muslim praying in a mosque or a President asking for the
prayers of the American people or a Christian praying in the name of Jesus, the
judgment of our age is the same. Although these approaches differ in form, they
are the same in substance. Nothing could be further from the truth! Our God
does not hear all prayers equally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> One preacher </span>said, “The man who
starts praying, stops sinning, and the man who stops sinning, starts praying.” There is a connection between our sin and the impact of our prayers.
It should go without saying that all people are sinners (Rom. 3:23). So prayer
does not require sinless perfection. If that were the case, nobody other than Jesus would be able to pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But prayer does require a holy posture
before the Lord. We must pray with the right spiritual attitude. Proverbs 28:9
teaches that we must be willing to listen to God’s law. If we do not listen to
God, why should God listen to us? If we cherish what God hates (sin), why
should God give us what he loves (righteousness)? God will not allow prayer to
be a one-way conversation. We ought to pray under the authority of the Word. If we are not
attentive to God’s Word, God will clip the wings from our prayers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Psalm 66:18 elaborates on the
relationship between sin and prayer. If we want to be heard, we must be willing
to forsake all known sin. We cannot cherish iniquity in our hearts and expect
God to regard our prayer with favor. Cherishing iniquity in the
heart is not merely being a sinner. It is loving sin and the unwillingness to part with it. This speaks of unrepentant sin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Unrepentant sin undermines effective prayer. The man who
prays to God with unrepentant sin is like the adulterous man who enters marriage counseling
without any intentions of ending his affair. What is the point? Praying to God with unrepentant sin in our hearts is like going to a conversation with a hidden dagger. We are not coming to God with a good will. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thus the prayers of the godly are
always marked by attention to God’s Word and confession of sin. If we expect God to
listen to us, we must be on praying ground. We must open our Bibles and listen to his truth. We must confess our sin and turn away from it by God's grace. We must come to God on his terms, not our own. Where do you stand? Are you on praying ground with the Lord? Or have you turned away from his law and cherish sin in your heart? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-6006844653035198642014-03-11T15:07:00.001-07:002014-03-11T15:07:18.245-07:00The Covenant of Works<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"But like Adam they transgressed the covenant. . ." Hosea 6:7</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Reformed
theology divides the history of humanity into two covenants: a covenant of
works with Adam before the Fall and a covenant of grace with Christ after the
Fall. B.B. Warfield called these two covenants “the architectonic principle” of
Reformed theology. It is the biblical scaffolding of the Reformed doctrine of
God’s plan of salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What is the covenant of works? The
covenant of works is God’s promise of life to Adam and his descendants on the
condition of perfect obedience. This covenant has been called the
covenant of <em>life</em> because it promised life, the covenant of <em>works</em> because its condition
was works, the covenant of <em>nature</em> because it was made in the state of original
nature, the <em>Adamic</em> covenant because Adam was the representative head, and even
the <em>pre-lapsarian</em> covenant because it was the covenant made before the Fall of
mankind into sin. Regardless of what we call it, we must affirm that this
concept is part of God’s revelation of the unfolding story of human fall and
redemption. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The covenant of works helps us not
only to understand God’s relationship with Adam before the Fall but God’s
chosen way of revealing his plan of salvation. Our God is a covenant God who
has chosen to relate to man by way of a voluntary condescension we call
covenant. According to Paul’s line of reasoning in Romans 5:12-21, we cannot
understand the covenant of grace in Christ unless we understand the covenant of
works in Adam. Adam’s disobedience resulting in death is parallel to Christ’s
obedience resulting in life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Admittedly, the term “covenant” is not
used in Genesis 1-3, and the phrase “covenant of works” is not found in the
Bible. Although the phrases are absent, however, the concept is present. We
might point out that the terms “Trinity” and “original sin” are not found in
the Bible, but these terms refer to biblical concepts. And the concept of a
covenant of works is certainly present in God’s pre-Fall relationship with
Adam.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can see the concept in the
following ways. First, we see God laying out the terms of the relationship in Genesis
2. It becomes clear that Adam is not merely in a Creator-creature relationship,
but he is also in a Lord-servant relationship. God creates Adam and then places
him in the Garden to exercise dominion by working and keeping it. God then
places Adam under a period of probation or testing in which he gives to him a
command. He may eat of any tree in the Garden, but he shall not eat of the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, God uses the language of blessing and cursing in
his covenant with Adam. If Adam obeys, he will be blessed with life. If he
disobeys, he will be cursed with death. The language of blessing and cursing is
covenantal language and parallels the language that is used of Israel’s
covenant with God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thirdly, the presence of covenant signs indicates that there
is a covenant in place. There are two trees: the tree of life and the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil. These trees function sacramentally. The tree of
life signifies God’s promise to confirm Adam in eternal life if he obeys God.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil signifies the test God has placed
Adam under. Will Adam obey God or will he declare independence from God and
seek to know good and evil in autonomy from him? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fourthly, Adam appears here not as a private person but as a
public person. Adam is not acting merely for the sake of his personal
relationship with God. Adam is functioning as the federal head of the entire
human race. His actions will have consequences for everyone. So goes Adam, so
goes the human race. When God commanded Adam to abstain from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, he gave the command to Adam as the representative
head of the human race. This only makes sense in terms of a covenant arrangement
where Adam is the head of the covenant of works and Christ is the head of the covenant
of grace. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can pick up on concepts where the
word is absent. For example, if I say, “It was the bottom of the ninth. The bases
were loaded. And the batter stepped up to the plate,” you would know that I was
talking about baseball even though I never used the word “baseball.” How did
you know? You knew because there were clues that I was talking about baseball,
and you picked up on it. In the same way, these realities mentioned above are
clues that we are to understand Adam’s pre-Fall relationship with God as a
covenant arrangement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In addition to the clues indicating a covenant
arrangement, we also realize that later biblical passages treat God’s
arrangement with Adam in a covenantal way. In Hosea 6:7 God explicitly says
that Adam was in covenant with God: “But like Adam they transgressed the
covenant. . .” Although some commentators understand “Adam” to refer to mankind
in general or as a place designation, it makes the most sense to take it as a
reference to Adam the father of the human race. Understood in this way, Hosea
6:7 is making a comparison between disobedient Adam and disobedient Israel. As
Adam was in covenant with God and broke the covenant, so Israel was in covenant
with God and broke covenant. So Hosea 6:7 assumes that the Jews would have
known that Adam was in covenant with God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Romans 5:12-21 is the real clincher
for the covenant of works. There Paul makes a comparison between Adam and
Christ as the representative heads of the human race. Adam represents the old
humanity, and Christ represents the new humanity. Adam disobeyed and all die in
him as a consequence of his disobedience. Christ obeyed and all live in him as
a consequence of his obedience. This means that Christ is a Second Adam who
obeys where the first Adam disobeyed; he brings life where the first Adam
brought death. This only makes sense on covenant grounds. The covenant of works
in Adam explains why Adam’s sin and death has been transmitted to all his
descendants. The covenant of grace in Christ explains why his righteousness and
life is transmitted to all his spiritual descendants (believers). So the
covenant of works anticipates for us what Christ had to do in order to secure
salvation for the human race lost in Adam.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Many Christians have objected to the representative
role of Adam in the Garden. How can this one man and his one action have
impacted so many? One answer is that this highlights the holiness of God. God
placed a sentence of death on the entire human race on account of the one sin
of one man. Of course, many other actual sins have proceeded from this, but in
principle we see it all goes back to the first sin. God is so holy, and sin is
that serious. Secondly, we could point out that we understand in our lives how
one man’s actions have consequences for others. One football player jumps
offside, and his entire team is penalized. Thirdly, although many believers
complain about Adam being their representative, few complain about Christ. But
we must understand that the principle upon which we are reckoned disobedient in
Adam is the same principle upon which we are reckoned righteous in Christ. It
is the federal headship principle. God willed the actions of Adam to impact his
entire race. God willed the actions of Christ to impact his entire race. So the
real question is this: who is your representative?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-51292014119541373642014-02-13T11:56:00.000-08:002014-02-13T11:56:14.441-08:00Jesus Loves Me<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I
who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">who
loved me and gave himself for me</b>.” Galatians 2:20<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The love of Christ is the believer’s greatest treasure. We
read in our Bibles that God loved the world (John 3:16), but the Christian
knows not only God’s love for the world in general but for him in particular. “Jesus
loved <em>me</em>,” Paul says. Every Christian should be persuaded of Christ’s love for
him in particular. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Christ's love is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">personal</i>
love. Paul says, “who loved <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me</i>.” Paul
knew in his heart that Christ had a personal and individual love for him. This
does not refer to God’s general compassion for all his creatures, but this
speaks of God’s redemptive love for his own. It refers to Christ's love for his Bride and all the individual members of it. Christians believe in God’s
love for sinners in general, but this is a deeper assurance of God’s love in
the heart. It comes with the full persuasion that Jesus loved me, even me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> Christ's </span>love is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sacrificial</i>
love. Paul goes on: “and gave himself for me.” Christ gave himself for sinners
on the cross--do we know that he gave himself for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> sinner? Am I able to say with confidence that Jesus Christ
loved and gave himself up for Logan Patrick Almy? We may know this, and if we
are Christians, it is our business to know this. The Spirit will testify with
our spirit that we belong to Christ and that he has purchased us with his
precious blood. We sing, “And can it be that I should gain an interest in my Savior’s
blood?” And when we are sure that we have an interest in his blood, we will go on
to sing, “Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Knowing Christ’s personal and sacrificial love for us is
often misunderstood to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the warrant of
faith</i>, but we need to understand that it is rather <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the fruit of faith</i>. For example, evangelists sometimes tell sinners, “God
loves you. Christ died for you. Receive him into your life.” Such invitations
make Christ’s love the warrant or <em>grounds</em> for faith. But the biblical
presentation of the gospel differs from this. In the Bible we see God’s preachers telling
sinners something like this: “God loves the world. God sent his Son to die for
sinners and make full atonement. Whoever believes in Jesus shall be saved.” The
warrant of faith in this presentation is God’s love for sinners in general and
his promise to save those sinners who believe in Jesus. And it is only <em>after</em>
the sinner believes in Jesus that he is persuaded that Christ died for him
personally and sacrificially. This may seem like splitting theological hairs,
but it makes a great difference in our experience of Christ’s
love. In one approach, Christ’s personal love is a <em>given</em>, but in the other
approach Christ’s love is the <em>reward</em> of having believed the gospel promise.
There is a world of difference between these two and we ought to meditate on
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So what about you? Are you able to proclaim that Christ
died for you? Are you able to say that he loved you with an everlasting love?
Do you know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge? Are you able to say
that he shed the blood of the everlasting covenant for your weak, ungodly, and
sinful soul? Are you able to sing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“O the deep,
deep love of Jesus! Vast, unmeasured,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>boundless, free; rolling as a mighty ocean <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">in its
fullness over me” </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-32290821966213257962013-10-04T06:40:00.000-07:002013-10-04T12:51:22.166-07:00What Shall I Do With You? <div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What shall I do with you, O Judah?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Your love is like a morning cloud, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">like the dew that goes early away." Hosea 6:4</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God the Father agonizes over the fleeting love of the
children of Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They love him for a
moment but their love is soon gone with the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their devotion to the Lord appears in the
morning but vanishes in the evening. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
expresses his perplexity with the brevity of their love with an outburst of
emotion:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What shall I do with you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fathers who have longed for the return of
their wayward children and husbands who have grieved over the betrayals of
their faithless wives will empathize with the agony of God’s unrequited
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Although God seems to be at his wit’s end, he is sure of
his unending love for his people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
later exclaims, “How can I give you up, O Ephraim?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can I hand you over, O Israel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can I make you like Admah?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can I treat you like Zeboiim?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows
warm and tender” (Hosea 11:8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has
set his electing love on his people and shall never hand them over to utter
ruin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His warm and tender compassion are
the result of his unconditional love for his children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The contrast between God’s love for Israel and Israel’s
love for God couldn’t be clearer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel’s
love is like a mist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s love is like
a great mountain that shall never be moved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Israel’s love is fleeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s
love is eternal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The passions of Israel
rise and fall and change from one moment to the next yet God’s compassions
never fail as they are new every morning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Husband’s steadfast love is unconditional,
immutable, and faithful in spite of the Bride’s faithless whoredom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Unregenerate members of the visible church may have a love
for God that is present in the morning but gone in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may appear to have spiritual graces for
a season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time proves them wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait until the evening to see the
authenticity of their fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>True love
for God is enduring love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even true believers must confess that our love for God is often
fleeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What should we do when we
discover that our love for God is like the morning mist?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must look to God’s unconditional and
enduring love for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We love because God
first loved us (1 John 4:19).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love for
God grows as it basks in the sunlight of God’s love for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must keep ourselves in the love of God
where we hear his agonizing compassion for his rebellious children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What shall I do with you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can I give you up?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throughout Hosea’s prophecy we see the
sparkling diamond of God’s faithfulness against the black velvet of Israel’s
whoredom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sin abounds; grace abounds all
the more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let this also be a lesson for us who have people in our
lives (spouses, children, friends, fellow Christians) who have gone
astray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must continue to love them and
never give up on them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Eternal God
has not given up on us even when we have hurt him most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And like the loving father in the Parable of
the Prodigal Son we must always race to welcome home the wayward son who has
come to his senses by the grace of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reminds us again and again of the full
extent of God’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“God shows his
love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we are disappointed with ourselves on account
of our fickle love for God, let us look to Calvary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God did not spare his own Son but gave him up
for us all (Romans 8:32).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God could not
and would not give up on his electing love for his chosen people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So he gave his Son to make atonement for our
sins and reconcile us to the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
deeper love can we find but the love of God revealed in his crucified Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is only the ever-blowing wind of the
Spirit of Christ that causes the glowing embers of our hearts to burst into
flames that will never die even though they may flicker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-57733615906221289302013-09-20T07:12:00.000-07:002013-09-20T07:12:01.388-07:00He Seemed To Be Joking
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: HE;">“So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his
daughters, ‘Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the
city.’<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> But he seemed to his sons-in-law
to be jesting.</b>”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Genesis 19:14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Lot warned his sons-in-law about
the coming destruction of wicked Sodom, they laughed because they did not think
he was serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since Lot seemed to be
jesting, they did not act upon his exhortation to flee the city of destruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We might speculate about why they
thought Lot’s warning was a joke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
text, of course, doesn’t tell us, but several possibilities emerge with a
moment’s consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lot’s sons-in-law may not have been
serious men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some men are incapable of
having a discussion unless sarcasm and ridicule are invited. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No topics—election or reprobation, heaven or
hell, the reality of eternity, the certainty of a coming judgment day—make humor
inappropriate in their eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Let the
conversation be light,” they say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I
like his preaching,” says another, “because he has such a good sense of humor.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“No hellfire and brimstone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep the people laughing.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did Lot’s sons-in-law laugh when the city
went up in flames? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another possibility is that Lot’s
sons-in-law may have been incredulous about the place of such fanciful subjects
in friendly conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Levity is a
likely response to (perceived) fantasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lot can’t be serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could
anyone be so foolish to believe that there is a righteous God in heaven who is
angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11) and will bring sure and certain
judgment in his own time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may have
doubted that God would judge Sodom seeing as there were other cities that were
guilty of immorality that did not meet the same fate and considering that Sodom
had enjoyed its sin for so long making it seem improbable that it would come to
such ruin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We cannot but think that Lot himself
may not have been convincing in the way that he addressed his sons-in-law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was Lot persuaded in his heart that the
report of the angels was true?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he
does leave the city, he lingers, which may indicate his indecision in the
matter (Genesis 19:16).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps there
was something about Lot’s tone that betrayed his lack of assurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lot himself may have been known for telling
jokes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His sons-in-law simply may have
thought that he was up to his usual antics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Although we may speculate to no avail
concerning why Lot’s sons-in-laws thought he was jesting, we can say with
certainty that the reason that they did not flee the wicked city but perished
in it along with the other sinners is because they did not think the coming
judgment was to be taken seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
sinners do not think that we are serious in our warnings about the coming judgment,
then they will not respond in repentance and faith</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is no doubt that some sinners are
foolish people who seem incapable of talking about eternity for even a single
moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if we shall spend eternity
in either heaven or hell, the subject deserves more than a moment’s reflection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others are unwilling to take such solemn
subjects as anything more than the punch line of a bad joke. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything is trivial to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laughter is commonplace among the sons of men;
trembling is a rare virtue even among the sons of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many are the occasions when preachers
do not warn with the earnestness becoming the man of God who is convinced that
God will do as he has said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sodom is
wicked, and its destruction is not asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet the preacher does not seem to believe what he preaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David Hume was once asked why he listened to
the preaching of George Whitefield even though Hume did not believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hume responded, “He does.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we believe in the reality of the
coming judgment (for the destruction of Sodom is an example of what shall happen
to all the ungodly, 2 Peter 2:6), sinners will know that our warnings are not
jokes but passionate pleas for them to flee the city of destruction and come to
Christ in whom there is deliverance and life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But do we seem to them to be joking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-13390264191793736362013-05-10T06:30:00.000-07:002013-05-10T06:30:16.315-07:00A Prayer for our Covenant Children<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Our great covenant-keeping God who
shows steadfast love to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep
His commandments (Ex. 20:6) and whose righteousness is upon our children’s
children who love Him and remember to keep His commandments (Ps. 103:17-18), we
come before You to pray for the children whom You have graciously given Your
servants (Gen. 33:5).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May You find the
godly offspring You seek from our marriages (Mal. 2:15)!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We plead Your promise to circumcise our
hearts and the hearts of our offspring that we might love You with whole hearts
(Deut. 30:6).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grant our children to
remember their Creator in the days of their youth (Eccl. 12:1), trust in You at
their mothers’ breasts, be cast on You from birth (Ps. 22:9), be children of promise,
not merely of flesh (Rom. 9:8), as we faithfully teach them the Scriptures from
their infancy in order to make them wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus
(2 Tim. 3:15).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Your
covenant mercies, may Your Spirit and Your Word never depart from the mouth of
our offspring or our children’s offspring (Is. 59:21).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give us one heart and one way that we may
fear You forever, for our good and for the good of our children after us (Jer.
32:39).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grant us that we might train up
our children in the way that they should go so that they might never depart
from the right way (Prov. 22:6).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May we
love our children enough to discipline them rather than hating them by sparing
the rod (Prov. 13:24).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strengthen our
fathers to command their children and households after them to keep the way of
the LORD by doing righteousness and justice (Gen. 18:19).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help our fathers to teach diligently Your
commandments to their children and talk of them when they sit at home, walk by
the way, and when they lie down and rise (Deut. 6:7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May they not provoke their children to anger
but raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep us from hiding Your truth from our
children but grant us to tell to the coming generation of Your glorious deeds
and the wonders You have done (Ps. 78:4) so that they should set their hope in
You and not forget Your works but keep Your commandments (Ps. 78:7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn the hearts of our fathers to our
children and our children to our fathers (Mal. 4:6).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grant our mothers to look well to the ways of
their households and not eat the bread of idleness (Prov. 31:27); Grant that
their children call them blessed and husbands praise them (Prov. 31:28). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although they are federally holy (1 Cor. 7:14), may our covenant children not presume that though they walk
in the stubbornness of their hearts that they will not perish (Deut. 29:19) and
may they never say, “We have Abraham as our father” (Lu. 3:8) in the presumption
of unbelief and sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bestow upon them
Your grace so that they might become the sons of Abraham through faith (Gal.
3:7), as You produce a spiritual seed from our physical seed (Gen. 17:7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make them members of the covenant of grace in
inward reality as well as outward form (Rom. 2:28-29)!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pray for these things believing that Your
promise is to us and to our children forever (Acts 2:39). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hear us as we pray in the name of Jesus Christ
Your Son, Amen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-71915216655485764072013-05-07T11:22:00.000-07:002013-05-07T12:05:44.257-07:00The Covenant Family as a Means of Blessing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: large;">“For I have chosen him, that he may command his
children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing
righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has
promised him.”</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Genesis 18:19</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> When God called Abraham into his covenant of grace, he
promised to bless all the families of the earth through him (Genesis
12:1-3). God planned to accomplish this
universal blessing by making his covenant with Abraham and his offspring: “And I will
establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you
throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and
to your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7). Keeping in
mind that God’s promises come to fruition in the lives of God’s people through
the use of divinely-appointed means, Genesis
18:19 tells us that the means for making Abraham’s family a blessing to all the
families of the earth (Genesis 18:18) is his
leading his family in the ways of
righteousness as a faithful head of his house. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To
put the matter succinctly, God’s choice of Abraham was both for the sake of his family<i> </i>(“that he may command his children and
household after him to keep the way of the LORD”—Genesis 18:19) and for the sake of all families (“all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed in him”—Genesis 18:18). </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thus we learn that the God-ordained means of blessing both our families and other families is for elect
heads of houses to command their families to keep the ways of the Lord. God chose Abraham and his family to be set
apart from cities like Sodom and Gomorrah which were known in those days for
their wickedness (Genesis 18:20-21).
Abraham and his family were to be known for righteousness and justice. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">God
loves making his covenant of grace not merely with isolated individuals but
with whole families in successive generations. And it is worth<span style="font-size: large;"> pointing out that this <span style="font-size: large;">continues in<span style="font-size: large;"> the New T<span style="font-size: large;">estament.</span></span></span></span> </span><span style="font-size: large;">One ex<span style="font-size: large;">ample is <span style="font-size: large;">the <span style="font-size: large;">godly heritage of Timothy</span></span></span>.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Paul write<span style="font-size: large;">s,</span></span> “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your
grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as
well” (2 Timothy 1:5). In this case, Timothy’s faith was
the result of successive generations of faithful mothers (Timothy’s father was
a Greek, but his mother was a Jewish believer—Acts 16:1). Timothy ha<span style="font-size: large;">d been trained in the Scrip<span style="font-size: large;">tures even from his infancy </span></span>(2 Timothy 3:15). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It is <span style="font-size: large;">without question that</span> God has saved many individuals apart from any
connection to a covenant family, but God’s ordinary way of working is through
the covenant family where heads of houses <span style="font-size: large;">deliver the faith</span> from one
generation to another. Many Christian
men bewail the sin in society today, especially among our rebellious youth. But if Christian husbands and fathers abandon
their role to lead their families in righteousness, then what right do they have
to deplore the wickedness of the surrounding society? God’s plan for reaching our youth for Christ
is not a youth group but a holy father.
</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Although God’s
dealings with Abraham were unique in many w<span style="font-size: large;">ays</span>, <span style="font-size: large;">as </span>the father of the faith, his leadership in the home is instructive for Christian
husbands and fathers today. God has
chosen men to lead their families in the ways of righteousness and
justice. Christian husbands must love
and lead their wives in order to sanctify them as Christ loves and leads the
Church in order to sanctify her (Ephesians 5:25ff). Christian fathers must assume responsibility
for the covenant nurture of their children.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in
the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">God
has told us plainly how he plans to<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>bless our families and all the families of the earth. He does
it through faithful covenant families whose homes are ruled in the ways of God. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">God’s plan to bless all the
families of the earth is ultimately realized in Jesus Christ who is the offspring of
Abraham (Galatians 3:16). <span style="font-size: large;">T<span style="font-size: large;">hankfully, </span></span>even if God
did not plant you in a covenant family from your earliest days, he is able to
plant you in Jesus Christ who is the source of all the blessings of
Abraham. And if God places us into the
family of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ (for you are all sons of
Abraham through faith in Christ—Galatians 3:7), then let u<span style="font-size: large;">s</span> continue to walk in
the footsteps of our forefather and command our households to walk in the ways
of righteousness, holiness, and love.
The world and the next generation of believers will be the better for
it.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-73289521770460156002013-04-16T09:46:00.000-07:002013-04-16T09:58:00.542-07:00When the Sermon is 'Over Your Head'<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you
understanding in everything.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">2 Timothy 2:7</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Sometimes
pastors are told not to preach sermons that are ‘over the heads’ of the
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This advice is only partially
true. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly pastors should seek to
preach plainly to their people (Colossians 4:4) and speak to them according to
their varying spiritual conditions (1 Thessalonians 5:14).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is certainly the case that pastors
should not make their sermons so academic and intellectual that the average
Christian in the congregation cannot understand (1 Corinthians 2:1, 4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is without question that pastors must
give milk to those who are babes in Christ and give solid food to the mature (1
Corinthians 3:1-2).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that
congregations are mixed assemblies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both
believers and unbelievers are present, as well as both spiritual infants and
adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if pastors always address the
lowest common denominator, they will spiritually starve those who are growing in
their faith and moving on to maturity (Hebrews 5:11-14; 6:1).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In point of fact, if pastors seek to ensure
that they never preach a sermon ‘over the head’ of anyone, then their sermons
will become very shallow indeed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
unbelievers are present in the congregation, should we preach only evangelistic
sermons?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely not!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should also expose the problem that acting
on this principle would pose for preaching expositionally through books of the
Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has diversified his
revelation so that we encounter both milk and meat in his Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What shall preachers do when they come to texts
that contain subjects and themes that are ‘above the heads’ of the spiritual
infants in the congregation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should they
ignore those themes and not preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course not!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we can see how foolish this advice can be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if</i> it is taken to mean that preachers
should never preach a sermon that might be over the heads of some of those
present in the congregation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I am
concerned about in this post, however, is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">how
Christians should respond to sermons when they conclude that the sermon is ‘over
their head.’</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For I am convinced that
many Christians will inevitably come to that conclusion in the context of a
healthy preaching ministry, and I am equally convinced that Christians often
respond to this reality in unhealthy ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So here are some pointers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">First
of all, if you are listening to a sermon and come to the conclusion that it is
‘over your head,’ please <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do not get
discouraged</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pastor must preach
to all levels of spiritual maturity, and if you are a new Christian or have
only been a Christian for a short period of time, then it only stands to reason
that some of the subjects he addresses will be new to your understanding and
may seem ‘over your head.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This does not
necessarily mean that you are sinning in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spiritual infancy is a natural stage of a
Christian’s development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A baby is doing
nothing wrong when it does not understand a mother’s instructions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, encountering a sermon that is over
your head <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i> mean that you are sinning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would mean that you are sinning if you do
not understand it because you have been forsaking the assembly or not reading
your Bible on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should
come as no surprise to you that you do not understand the preaching of the
Bible if you only read the Bible on Sundays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Bible is God’s Word and our food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We need to read it prayerfully and carefully every day in order to
profit from the preaching of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it
comes to the preaching God’s Word, the pastor has a responsibility to make it
as clear as he possibly can, and God will hold him accountable for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we must not forget that the listener has
a responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The listener must be
preparing for the message by reading the Word, praying for understanding, and
keeping free from all distraction during the delivery of the sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding what we are to believe about
God and what duty he requires of us does not happen automatically and
effortlessly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must keep our minds and
hearts engaged in order to benefit from the sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Secondly,
if you conclude that the sermon is ‘over your head,’ <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do not give up</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
Christians have never been rebuked for their intellectual laziness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason it is easy for us to
recognize <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">physical</i> laziness, but we
easily overlook <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">intellectual and
spiritual</i> laziness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we
simply need to confess that we lack the mental discipline to attend to the
Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I am not detracting from
the fact that God made every person different and that he made some people
smarter than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But God calls every
Christian to use the mind that he has given him to understand his truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God blesses us when we think through what he
has revealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Think over what I say,
for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may not understand everything all at once,
but we ought not to get discouraged by that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And in our feelings of defeat, we ought not to give up pursuing the
truth to the best of our ability with the help of the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Christians do not understand a sermon,
they can get frustrated or anxious or apathetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is not the response that we should
have as disciples of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should
write down our questions and confusions and seek clarity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might ask the pastor for other passages of
Scripture that might help us or other Christian books that we might read or
other sermons we might hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key is
not to give up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in a sermon that is
tremendously deep, most pastors will include something in the sermon for every
level of listener.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So listen diligently
for something that you do understand and cling to that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not worry that you may not understand <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>; give thanks that you
understand <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over time your spiritual wisdom and
understanding will grow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Thirdly,
if the sermon is over your head, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">assume</i> that the pastor is doing
something wrong</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">may</i> in fact be doing something
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a responsibility before
God to preach plainly and clearly and according to the different levels of the
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may be trying to be too
academic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may be speaking in terms
that only seminarians would understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He may be making intellectual assumptions of the people that are not
true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this requires prayer and
care on the part of the preacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
all, he wants to be understood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the
same time, it only stands to reason that at least some of his sermons, or some
parts of his sermons, will be ‘over the heads’ of unbelievers and even
spiritually immature believers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Fourthly,
when you come to the conclusion that the sermon is over your head, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">seek out mature believers to help you
understand the things of God more accurately</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preachers are more than willing to answer
questions about what they have preached or taught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other more mature Christians may be able to
explain what was confusing to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
value of living in community is that we can assist each other in deepening our
understanding of God’s truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Iron
sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Spiritual
growth begins when we recognize our poverty of spirit (Matthew 5:3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that we must begin by
acknowledging how much we do not know about God and his will for our
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we come to God’s Word humbly
confessing that we are ignorant of his truth, he will bless us with a deeper
understanding throughout time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should
not delude ourselves that it will happen overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor should we give up and consign ourselves
to failure, falsely thinking that we shall never move from milk to meat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should be patient as we develop and allow
the Holy Spirit to continue his work in us by and with his Word in our hearts. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-66479882162061424772013-04-11T12:28:00.003-07:002013-04-12T08:44:21.834-07:00More Resources on Revelation <span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: large;">As we near the end of our study <span style="font-size: large;">of the book of the </span>Revelation at<b> <a href="http://www.gracepresduluth.org/">Grace PCA</a></b>, I want<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>to provide <span style="font-size: large;">a few more helpful resources on the subject of the Millennium from <span style="font-size: large;">Revelation 20.<span style="font-size: large;"> Previously, I have provided Revelation resources <b><a href="http://pastorloganalmy.blogspot.com/2013/03/resources-on-revelation-for-further.html">here</a></b>. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Here <span style="font-size: large;">are some links to a seri<span style="font-size: large;">es of excellent articles on <b>Amillennialism </b>by<b> Dr. Cornelis P. </b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Venema</b><span style="font-size: large;">: </span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span><b><a href="http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/eschatology/revelation-20/revelation-20-part-ii-the-millennium-is-now-by-cornelis-p-venema/"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Millennium is Now</span></span></span></span></a></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/eschatology/revelation-20/revelation-20-part-iii-the-binding-of-satan-by-cornelis-p-venema/">The Binding of Satan </a></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/eschatology/revelation-20/revelation-20-part-iv-the-believers-reign-with-christ-by-cornelis-p-venema/">The Believer's Reign with Christ </a></b></span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-14441914029745267182013-04-09T10:08:00.000-07:002013-04-09T10:17:25.150-07:00Show Us the Father<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.’”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John 14:8-11<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Philip’s request represents the desire of every true believer in God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, at the same time, when this request is addressed to God incarnate, it is a case in missing the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus responds, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me</i>, Philip?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Philip should have known that the fullness of deity dwells in Christ bodily (Colossians 2:9) and that although no one has ever seen God, he is the only God, who is at the Father’s side, who has made him known (John 1:18).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus continues: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theologians call this reality the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The oneness of the Father and Son does not obscure the distinction of their persons but highlights the union of their essence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Father and Son are one God; so they mutually indwell one another with regard to the union of nature between them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To see the Son is to see the Father in the sense that they share the same divine essence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is the invisible God made visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the Word made flesh (John 1:14).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus teaches his disciples that both his words and his works testify to his oneness with God the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Verse 10b is key:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">words</i> that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">works</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God the Father speaks through God the Son and confirms his own words with his supernatural works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His miraculous works authenticated the divine origin of his message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it is best to take the words of Jesus at face value, Jesus says, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (v. 11).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The works should strengthen our faith that the words of Jesus are the words of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why the miracles of Jesus are called “signs” in the Gospel of John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They signify that Jesus is God’s Son and the source of eternal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John 20:30-31 says, “Now Jesus did many signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus shows us the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we want to know God the Father, then we must only look at Jesus Christ who makes him known to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, who he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This message of salvation “was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (Hebrews 2:3-4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The only way to a deeper knowledge and communion with God the Father is through God the Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sing, “O come to the Father through Jesus the Son!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If our hearts say, “Show us the Father,” let us look to Jesus who is revealed to us in the Scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have sure and certain knowledge of God the Father in him for the Father is in him and he is in the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To see him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> to see the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no more of the Father to be found outside of the Lord Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May God open the eyes of our hearts to see the true revelation of God the Father in the Lord Jesus who remains a distinct person from the Father yet shares in his same single and undivided divine essence!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-22000769040674500462013-04-03T08:49:00.002-07:002013-04-12T08:50:15.077-07:00When Jesus Opens Our Eyes <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here is my sermon manuscript from this past Sunday. The sermon text was Luke 24:13-35 where the risen Jesus appears to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Sometimes we cannot see what is directly in front of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This often happens when we misplace our car keys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look on the kitchen table and do not see them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So then we go searching on night stands, coffee tables, and perhaps even underneath the couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later we realize that the keys were on the kitchen table all along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had overlooked them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you had that experience?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Sometimes the same thing happens with Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is right in front of us, but our eyes are closed to his living presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what happened to these two disciples on the road to Emmaus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was there with them, but they did not recognize that it was Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We read that their eyes were closed in verse 16, and it is not until verse 31 that their eyes are opened to see him for who he truly is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The great cause of sadness and hopelessness in the world today is that the eyes of our hearts are closed to the resurrection of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not talking about seeing Jesus physically, but I am talking about the fact that there are many who do not recognize the he is alive and able to give joy and hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news of this passage is that </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 150%;">Jesus opens our eyes to his resurrection </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 150%;">and gives us joy and hope.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This morning I want us to look at this passage in two major sections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, I want us to look at verses 13-24 and see what we can learn about what life is like when our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, I want us to look at verses 25-35 and see what we can learn about how Jesus opens our eyes and gives us joy and hope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;">1. When our eyes are closed (vv. 13-24).</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Sometimes our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This passage is a window into what life is like when we do not recognize that Jesus is alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The first lesson we learn in this passage is that when our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">we are sad</b> (vv. 13-17).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The narrative begins with two disciples who are on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they walk side by side they discuss all that has happened from Good Friday until Easter morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Luke doesn’t tell us exactly what they discussed, but we might imagine them talking about the darkness of human depravity that casts its shadow over the end of Passion Week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps they spoke about the depravity of Judas’s betrayal of Christ for only thirty pieces of silver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe they spoke about Peter’s three denials of Christ and how the rest of the disciples deserted him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may have discussed how the Sanhedrin had lied about him, how Pilate had refused to release an innocent man, and how the drunken Roman soldiers had mocked him and nailed his hands and feet to the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They had heard that the women discovered the empty tomb and claimed to have seen angels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps they asked themselves, “Is it true?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could Jesus really have risen from the dead, as he said?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">What we do know is that when Jesus approaches, they do not recognize him (v. 16).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some commentators suggest that they didn’t recognize him because he looked different in his resurrection body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others suggest that Jesus didn’t look different but that God kept their eyes from recognizing him in order to teach them an important lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be that they simply didn’t recognize him because they didn’t expect to see him alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When Jesus asks these two disciples what they are discussing, Luke tells us that “they stood still, looking sad” (v. 17).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They looked sad because they were still living in the darkness of Good Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We learn from this that the cross of Christ is only good news in light of the resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The death of Christ will only make us sad if he didn’t in fact rise again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Paul once wrote to the Corinthians and made the same point: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people in our culture today have their eyes closed to the resurrection of Jesus, and, as a result, their hearts are full of sadness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For them, death is the end of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Death gets the last word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Death means, “Game Over.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus, we are sad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you sad today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you living with the impression that death is the end?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or you living as if there is no hope for tomorrow?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you still dwelling on the depravity of Good Friday?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even as disciples, we can live like this at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we see here in this narrative that closed eyes not only brings sadness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We see also that when our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">we have an imcomplete understanding of Jesus</b> (vv. 18-20).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Cleopas is the one who responds to Jesus’s question about what they were discussing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His response to Jesus is certainly accurate, but there is something missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus entertains Cleopas’s question: “What things?” he asks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two disciples continue: “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him” (vv. 18-20).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Now we all should agree that Cleopas’s explanation of Jesus is certainly accurate, but, at the same time, it is also inadequate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an incomplete answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus is a prophet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was condemned to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he is so much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i> than a martyred prophet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, since their eyes are closed to the resurrection, they cannot see him as anything more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The same thing happens today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are people whose eyes are closed to Jesus yet they will affirm that Jesus was a good moral teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will affirm the Golden Rule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should follow the example of Jesus and be good people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this is true yet we know that it is incomplete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is more than a good moral teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet when we remain in the darkness about the resurrection, that is all that we see of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There’s more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we continue to read their response to Jesus, we see that when our eyes are closed to the resurrection,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> we are without the hope of redemption </b>(v. 21).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Verse 21 are some of the saddest words in the whole Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look what they say: “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We can hear the disciples's deep disappointment in these words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i> hoped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book of Proverbs tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their hearts were sick with sadness because they recognized that a dead Jesus was no Savior at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They were, in point of fact, correct about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Jesus is still in the tomb, we all should say, “We <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i> hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Jesus is dead, then he is no Savior at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long ago, Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The God of Israel had promised a living Redeemer, not a dead prophet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Matthew Henry puts their disappointment in other words: “Our hopes were all nailed to his cross, and buried in his grave.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus, we have no hope of redemption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need a living Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need the One who has died, but is now alive forevermore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When our eyes are shut to the resurrection of Jesus, we see our sins and have no hope that we will ever be delivered from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are who we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no hope of new life or change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There is another aspect to having our eyes shut to Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">We are unsure what to believe</b> (vv. 22-24).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We see this in the disciples’ report of the empty tomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tell of the women’s story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had found the tomb empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had seen angels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the disciples had gone to the tomb and fount it empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet there is a hint of doubt at the end of all they say in verse 24: “…but him they did not see.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have not yet seen Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">An empty tomb does not prove that he is alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone may have stolen the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may have been moved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do not jump to the conclusion that Jesus is alive simply because of the report of some emotional women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here is where they linger: “him they did not see.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what it is like not to see Jesus for who he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are confused about what we believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may linger between two different opinions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may look out and hear the claims that the different philosophies and religions are making and have no living faith in a living Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Is that what life is like for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are your eyes closed to a living Jesus?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you confused about what to believe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you feel like you cannot trust anyone?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That can change for you, but only if Jesus opens your eyes to his resurrection life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Now here enters the good news found in the second half of this narrative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is able to open our eyes to his resurrection and give us joy and hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is able to turn our sadness to joy, our despair to hope, our death to life, our darkness to light, and our confusion to clarity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look with me at the second half of this narrative at how Jesus opens our eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;">2. When Jesus opens our eyes (vv. 25-35). </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus loves us so much that he opens our eyes to see him as he truly is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice that he begins the Scriptures.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus interprets the Scriptures</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> to these disciples (vv. 25-27).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He first rebukes their unbelief (v. 25), not their unbelief in the testimony of the women, but their unbelief in the testimony of the Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They should have known that the Old Testament Scriptures foretold that the Messiah would suffer and die before rising again and entering into glory (v. 26).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He teaches them in verse 27 that the entire Old Testament is about him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He explains to them that the Old Testament is a revelation of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When our eyes are closed to the resurrection of Jesus, the Bible can be a confusing book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What is it really all about?” we may ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when Jesus uses the Scriptures to open our eyes, he shows us that the whole Bible is about him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">St. Augustine</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> said, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a scarlet thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation, and the scarlet thread is salvation through Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I wish I could have been there when Jesus explained how the Old Testament was all about him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps he spoke to them of that ancient promise in the Garden of Eden where God said that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe he took them to the call of Abram and spoke about how God said that one of his descendants would spread the blessing of forgiveness to all the nations of the earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe he related to them the story of Abraham who almost offered his one and only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, but God stayed his hand and provided another lamb to be the sacrifice in Isaac’s place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may have walked them through the days of King David and the covenant God made with him that one of his own sons would sit on the throne and rule the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or perhaps he took them to the specific prophecies, like Isaiah 53 that we read in our service this morning, and spoke about how he was the One who would be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe he simply walked through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, pointing out each and every object and ritual and showing them how it was all about him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may have showed them how he was the temple where God’s presence dwells, and how he had said that if they destroyed the temple, that he would rebuild it in three days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe he pointed to the Passover Lamb and said that he was the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would die, and God’s wrath would pass over all who believe in him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">What a joy it would be to hear the Incarnate Word explain the written Word!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jesus opens our eyes, he shows us that the Bible reveals that he is our Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the One who died for our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the One who rose again to give us forgiveness, life, joy, and hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But even though Jesus explains all this to them, their eyes are still closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has not yet opened their eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t happen until they reach their destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When they finally reach their destination, they invite Jesus to stay with them, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jesus reveals himself in the breaking of bread </b>(vv. 28-35).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They were not celebrating the Lord’s Supper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a common meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet when Jesus took the bread, broke it, and blessed it, they would have been reminded of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">On that dark night, he had taken bread, blessed it, broken it, and said, “This is my body, which is broken for you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had also taken a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for the remission of sins.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They make the connection in verse 31: “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they knew their Lord!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they knew that he was alive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Verse 31 tells us that he then vanished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One might conclude from this that Jesus was a ghost or a spirit, but Luke clarifies later in verse 39 where Jesus says, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Touch me, and see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was not a ghost or a spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was physically resurrection from the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He touched the bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He blessed the bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He broke the bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was no phantom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet we do see that his resurrected body was capable of things that we cannot explain naturally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is mystery here to be sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When their eyes are opened, they say something amazing in verse 32, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew that this was Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They now had open eyes and burning hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they return to Jerusalem in time to see that Jesus has also appeared to Simon Peter (v. 34).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they relate to the rest of them that Jesus had made himself known to them in the breaking of bread (v. 35).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus uses his Word to open our eyes, but he also uses the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For disciples, when we come to the Lord’s Table, we see that Christ is yet again opening our eyes to Good Friday and to Easter Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is showing us that his body was broken for us and his blood shed for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He died in our place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he rose again to reign over us in heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are also reminded of the hope set before us because he shall return to drink the fruit of the vine anew with us in his Father’s kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus is able to open our eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is able to reveal himself to the eyes of our heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do not see him with the eyes of flesh, but we are able to see him with the eyes of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jesus opens our eyes to his resurrection, our lives change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have life, forgiveness, joy, and hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He died, but he is alive forevermore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has the keys of Death and Hades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the Lamb of God, standing as though it had been slain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the Living One who shall never die again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the Resurrection and the Life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever lives and believes in him, though he die, yet shall he live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you believe this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are your eyes opened?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Turn your eyes to Jesus!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look full in his wonderful face!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9109092239280622334.post-15908104526390094172013-03-15T10:27:00.000-07:002013-03-15T10:34:42.629-07:00Integrity<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will ponder the way that is blameless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh when will you come to me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I will walk with integrity of heart within my house</b>; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psalm 101:1-4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“It is easier for most men to walk with a perfect heart in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">church</i>, or even in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">world</i>, than in their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">families</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many are as meek as lambs among others, when at home they are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wasps</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tigers</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam Clarke<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Piety must begin at home.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charles Spurgeon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I was a kid, I had a Sunday School teacher who defined integrity as “what kind of person you are and how you act when no one else is looking.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a bad definition but could be improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Integrity is what kind of person you are and how you act once you realize that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God</i> is always looking</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews 4:13).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord is always looking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This explains why David says in this Psalm, “I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How a Christian lives when he is home alone is the test of his integrity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How does he live when God alone is present?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am often reminded of how R.C. Sproul says that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><strong><a href="http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-does-coram-deo-mean/">Coram Deo</a></strong></i> is “the big idea of the Christian life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coram Deo means “before God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christians are called to live before the eyes of our loving God who is always looking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sees our outward actions and our inward motivations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing escapes the purview of our omniscient God!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can observe the way this consideration impacted David’s attitude in Psalm 101.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is for this reason that he pondered the way that is blameless (v. 2), refused to set before his eyes worthless things (v. 3), hated the works of apostates (v. 3), desired a perverse heart to be far from him (v. 4), and did not want to know anything of evil (v. 4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this, if we were to continue reading in Psalm 101, we would see that he was opposed to slander and arrogance (v. 5) and desired to remove all deceit (v. 7) and wickedness (v. 8) from his house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David was a man of God who sought to bring his entire house under the Lordship of Almighty God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He desired his house to be a little temple in which the Spirit of God would dwell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did not want to do anything in private or in secret that would compromise the presence of God’s favor upon his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What a difference this would make in our lives if we walked before the Lord with integrity of heart in our homes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a matter of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">consistent</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">holiness</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would be able to stop pretending that we are one thing in public while we remain another thing in private.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many masquerade as saints in public but are blatant sinners in private!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pharisees on the streets may be publicans in their homes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Integrity of heart and life is a rare jewel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should pursue it with intensity, zeal, dedication, and complete devotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As one application of integrity, consider the line in verse 3 about not setting before our eyes anything that is worthless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This single line has specific application to our day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in an age of electronics and entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christians should celebrate these good gifts and enjoy them in moderation and self-control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that this electronic age does not bring with it a host of temptations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might apply this verse to what we see while watching television or surfing the web.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What should we be setting before our eyes?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Hint: Philippians 4:8)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we usually enjoy these activities in the privacy of our homes, it calls for self examination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should try to remember that when we are watching the television, God is watching us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When our eyes go to and fro from website to website, the Lord looks to and fro for those whose hearts are blameless before him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I once heard of a man who placed this verse (“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.”) on his computer and above his television.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such reminders are not a bad idea, but it would be far better to have these words sealed to our mind and heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to walk with the Lord and bear fruit in every good work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is only the grace of the gospel of our Lord Jesus that can grant us the motivation to live above reproach in all these matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord Jesus who died and rose again can make a hypocrite into a consistent Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He washes us clean from all our filth with his precious blood and gives us his Spirit to assure us that we are his beloved and to empower us to live for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Integrity of heart is rare indeed, but Christ gives us new hearts with the capacity to live for him in sincerity and truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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