Fear and Trembling

I have one last class to go to earn my MBA from Union University , but this last class is very difficult. Hence, I have not posted much lately. It will be a few weeks before I post again. Here are some links of interest: A prayer of repentance I have had to pray allot lately can be found here . I have had some battles with some old habits I thought I had broken. A long debate between a Muslim apologist and myself can be found here  (Warning: It is a long debate.). Justin Taylor posts some parables here that I had previously posted here . Nice to know I have good taste. A friend of mine talks about his journey from atheism to Christianity here . Norman Geisler comments on what it would be like to have loved ones in hell at this link . A good reminder that some powerful truths can be contained in part of a verse at this link  (when taken in context, of course). Follow a link here to see John H. Gerstner remind us of the necessity of justification by faith ...

Tim Challies posted the following prayer here . O God of Grace, You have imputed my sin to my substitute, and have imputed his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness. I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for you always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, “Father, forgive me,” and you are always bringing forth the best robe. Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the da...

I have never found an explanation of repentance and faith as clear as this one. What must we do, then, to be saved? To find God we must repent of the things we have done wrong, but if that is all you do, you may remain just an elder brother. To truly become a Christian we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness, too. We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness – the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord. We must admit that we’ve put our ultimate hope in both our wrongdoing and right doing we have been seeking to get around God or get control of God in order to get hold of those things. It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord—lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness—that you are on the verge of becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being b...

Was the champion of salvation by faith alone interested in good works? Yes. Would he require evidence of a holy life for assurance of salvation like the other reformers. Yes. Here is my evidence: “Those who obey the Sinful Nature and continue to gratify its desires should know that they don’t belong to Christ. Even though people may label themselves with the name “Christian,” they are only deceiving themselves.” Martin Luther, Faith Alone , August 18. “[Those who have a false freedom] are scoundrels and don’t want to leave their lives of sin and idolatry or give anything to anyone. They want to live lives of sexual immorality and self-gratification as they did before coming to Christ. Yet they still want to be considered Christians. There are false disciples who only want freedom for their physical desires. “ – Martin Luther, Faith Alone , October 11 “Your faith, of course, should be the kind of faith that produces good works.” – Martin Luther, Faith Alone , October 28 Faith ...

“The fact that conversion and salvation are of God, is an humbling truth. It is because of its humbling character that men do not like it. To be told that God must save me if I am saved, and that I am in his hand, as clay is in the hands of the potter, "I do not like it" saith one. Well, I thought you would not; whoever dreamed you would?” - C.H. Spurgeon, qu. in Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon , Banner of Truth, 2nd edn, 1973, p 60. There are times when I have a deep revulsion for Christianity. It requires of me something that I find hard to give. I must despair of my own ability to earn my way, my own self-sufficiency. That is burdensome for an American. It goes against everything my culture values. I must abandon my view of myself as virtuous. I must be honest about not just my sins and failures, but also about the deep soul-sickness that afflicts me. The Recovery Movement calls my particular maladies “ character defects .” This is a good description. Things like selfi...

Thanks to Debbie Kaufman at Ministry of Reconciliation for a great post found here . Here’s the post: ‘Be a better mom, be a better wife. Be a better dad, be a better husband. Do more try harder, keep busy’ is what is being preached today, but where is Christ and what He did at the cross? That is the message from Michael Horton. We have lots of Christian T-shirts, bumper stickers, jewelry, WWJD bracelets. We have those who say if one is a true Christian they cannot vote for (fill in the blank). But where is Christ in all of this? Michael Horton gives his view and it’s one I agree with. But you knew that or I would not be highlighting this podcast would I? One thing Michael said that I think is profound :”Christianity is being used as an adjective today. ” ending the podcast with “Christ has won the victory on the battlefield.” This should be the message the church gives, not Christ is our helper. Please listen and prayerfully consider if Michael Horton is right, and if he is right, whi...

Thanks to Between Two Worlds for printing the prayer below: O God of grace, Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute, and hast imputed his righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness. I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for thou dost always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, Father, forgive me, and thou art always bringing forth the best robe. Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out t...

I have been obligated to confess some deeply troubling personal sins over the last few weeks. I’ve always loved the Psalms, and I quickly found Psalm 51 when God was pleased to change my heart and grant repentance. I find that David’s prayer gives expression to the pain and turmoil I find myself in as I confess my sins to God. John Piper made some comments on this Psalm in a recent sermon that are worth quoting at length. He explains some of the darker feelings I have been having. Here is part of what he says, and I encourage you to follow the link and read the whole thing. …David is forgiven for his sin and justified in the presence of God. But what Psalm 51 describes is what David felt and thought as he laid hold on God’s mercy. Some might say that Christians after the death of Jesus do not pray and confess this way. They should not think and feel this way. I don’t think that’s right… This is foundational to everything. Being a Christian means being broken and contrite. Don’t ma...

There are few things worse than living a lie, yet this is the universal human experience. Sin has corrupted man's thinking in such a way that people lack the ability to understand the truth about themselves, God, and the world. - From What's So Great About the Doctrines of Grace? by Richard Phillips, p. 23. Phillips has this one right. I am striving to become honest with others and myself but honesty is a real struggle. I am better than before, but not what God would have me be. I have no chance unless God changes my heart. Then the blinders come off, and I am able to see. Honesty is critical for the church. Personal honesty in our churches and small groups would no doubt lead to revival and renewal. If we could create places where people can be honest about their struggles and heartaches, God’s kingdom would be served. We could learn a lot from Alcoholic Anonymous . AA meetings are safe places to share. Some of the literature reads, “There is an unwritten rule about A...

Something strange happen to me this afternoon. I was faced with an opportunity to indulge in two particular forms of sin that I have felt a particular affinity for all of my life. I have truly been in bondage to those sins (see Romans 6:20 ). Maybe this is what it feels like to be set free and to give myself as a slave to Christ. But I can’t help but wonder if this is the first time I have truly been set free (see all of Romans 6 ). I am going to wait and see if my little victory this afternoon holds. I am going to find out if this is a new freedom, or if it is just a deepening of the freedom I have know in the past. Is this the first true repentance, or a state of greater repentance than I had before? I wonder if anyone else out there has had an experience like this.

John Piper posts an encouraging note here . Here’s the intro.: One of the greatest hope-killers is that you have tried for so long to change and have not succeeded. Now you look back and think: What’s the use? Even if I could experience a breakthrough, there would be so little time left to live in my new way it wouldn’t make much difference compared to so many decades of failure…

Great article by R. C. Sproul at Ligonier . Here’s the link . Here’s a quote: If we were honest about our sins, we would not only admit to committing them, but we would recognize them for what they are, each and every one of them rebellion against the maker of heaven and earth, each and every one of them an attempt to topple Him from His throne. If we were honest about our sins, we would not cover them up, but cover our eyes, because to look at them is simply too painful. If we were honest about our sins, we would admit that what we are usually doing when "admitting" our sins is copping a plea. Maybe, we rationalize in the quiet of our hearts, if I admit to this, they won't see these other sins. If we were honest about our sins, we would admit that all our games fail us, that all our sins follow us.

I have spent many hours contemplating the relationship between faith and works. I have found it difficult to establish this relationship in my mind. Christ often speaks in such a way as to warn us that works are the basis of our judgment before Him (e. g. Matthew 16:24-26 and Matthew 25 ). Jesus also speaks of the fact that we are justified by faith ( Luke 18:9-14 , John 5:24 , 6:47 ). I have found one illustration to be helpful to me, and I have come to the place where I accept the truth behind the illustration completely. I am taking this example from a series of lectures by John H. Gerstner on sale from Ligonier Ministries here . Another example of Gerstner’s writing on this subject is here . The relationship between faith and works in church history can be summarized by three equations: FAITH + WORKS = SALVATION FAITH – WORKS = SALVATION FAITH = SALVATION + WORKS I’ll take these in turn. FAITH + WORKS = SALVATION This is a summary of the traditional Roman Catholic approach. ...

I have been listening to a series of lectures / sermons by John Piper on "Understanding Future Grace" . I’d like to add my two cents. Pastor John makes a comment in the second lecture that he thinks Calvinists have not spent enough time and effort exploring why it is that the new birth leads to a change in a person’s life. I’d like to offer some thoughts on why this is the case. Faith is of it very essence a form of trust. The article on faith from the 1689 London Baptist Confession discusses faith as follows: By faith a Christian believes everything to be true that is made known in the Word, in which God speaks authoritatively. He also perceives in the Word a degree of excellence superior to all other writings, indeed to all things that the world contains. The Word shows the glory of God as seen in His various attributes, the excellence of Christ in His nature and in the offices He bears, and the power and perfection of the Holy Spirit in all the works in which He is enga...