Paul Washer – Does Your Life Glorify God?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
End of post.
How to Know if One is Abiding in Christ
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
For the first 20 or so years of this walk I was in a very immature spiritual state. I was utterly convinced during that time that my worth as a disciple depended upon my performance, my learning, my obedience. With that mind-set it was a very horrible experience at times since I was on a roller coaster ride of obedience and backsliding. What amazed me during that period was that I was looked at as one of the more mature believers at our church. I knew better. That all changed in 2004 and 2005 as God drew me into the light and drastically changed that ‘mind-set.’ It was as I learned and held to the truth that our salvation is all according to God’s will not ours that I began to have peace and freedom. He chose us according to the good pleasure of His will, not according to our abilities or any other inherent attribute we may have. With this remaking of my mind-set came the ending of that cycle of obedience and backsliding. It was as if it had been put to death.
(click here to read this post)
Shall Forests Hide Their Beauty
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
This song is so beautiful I just had to share it. Every time I hear it, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God and His “grace beyond degree.” I hope it can be a blessing to you as well. Have a blessed Lord’s day.
Shall Forests Hide Their Beauty?
Lyrics by D.A. Carson, music by Geoff Baker
Singer: Bobby Michaels
Shall forests hide their beauty?
Shall rainbows fade to gray?
Shall mountain streams stop dancing?
Shall lambs forget to play?
And shall I keep silence at grace beyond degree?
Before the Cross
I count as loss
What once was dear to me.
Shall birds forget their singing?
Shall constellations stray?
Shall thunderstorms be muzzled?
Shall sunlight fade away?
And shall I keep silent, ashamed of Christ my Lord?
His holiness
And faithfulness
Angel hosts adore.
Shall flowers mask their colors?
Shall waves die in the sea?
Shall full moon turn to darkness?
Shall laughter cease to be?
And shall I keep silent by basking in his love?
I’ll tell his praise
Through all my days
And then in heaven above.
He Shall Feed His Flock
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
This Lord’s Day evening, I am reposting some thoughts from July, 2007. I hope you’ve been fed today from God’s Word. Even in these times of famine, the Good Shepherd sees to it that his sheep are fed. We should be thankful and grateful for faithful pastors and for so many websites, podcasts and printed resources available to receive nourishment from the Word. He shall feed His Flock. The post includes a recording of the great Marian Anderson of the past singing Handel’s unforgettable setting of this biblical promise. God bless all of you.
THE GOSPEL IS INTENDED TO WOUND
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Now do you see what the laborer brings with him? It is a sickle. His communications with the corn is are sharp and cutting. He cuts right through, cuts the corn down, and casts it on the ground. The man whom God means to be a laborer in his harvest must not come with soft and delicate words and flattering doctrines concerning the dignity of human nature and the excellence of self help and of earnest endeavors to rectify our lapsed condition and the like.
Such mealymouthedness may God curse, for it is the curse of this age. The honest preacher calls a sin a sin and a spade a spade and says to men, “You are ruining yourselves; while you reject Christ you are living on the borders of Hell, and ere long you will be lost to all eternity. There shall be no mincing the matter; you must escape from the wrath to come by faith in Jesus or be driven forever from God’s presence and from all hope of joy.”
The preacher must make his sermons cut. Our sickle is made on purpose to cut. The Gospel is intended to wound the conscience and to go right through the heart, with the design of separating the soul from sin and self, as the corn is divided from the soul.
Charles Spurgeon
Is Unbelief Sin, Non-Calvinist?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
The following argument has not been sufficiently answered since it was first posed by John Owen over 300 years ago.
“The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:
1) All the sins of all men.
2) All the sins of some men, or
3) Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said: That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins? You answer, “Because of unbelief.” I ask, “Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it is, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!”
- John Owen
(The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, Book 3, Ch. 3)
This is part of the DVD Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism. You can purchase this DVD here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B46K8?ie=UTF8&seller=A2131JY2A9OYGH&sn=the-apologetics-group
Author: LaneCh
Keywords: grasshopperjax sanderson1611 calciumboy kingjamesvideoman calvinism arminianism calvinist arminian john calvin
Added: September 28, 2008
To Judge or Not to Judge: The Rights and Wrongs of Biblical Discernment
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Here’s a helpful article from the fine discernment ministry Personal Freedom Outreach who were involved in this thankless field long before the Internet Front of the Truth War became a focal point in the Church. G. Richard Fisher begins:
It seems clear, since Jesus Himself said, “Judge not,” (Matthew 7:1), that we cannot “judge.” At first glance it appears that Jesus not only forbids judging others, but that He catches Himself in a glaring contradiction.
Verse 1 seems obvious, “Judge not,” yet in verses 6, 15-16, we are to judge “swine,” “dogs,” and the “fruit” of false apostles. How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction? Do we judge or not?
Churches have split along lines of those who wish to make judgments and those who say we cannot. One side accuses the other of being legalistic and loveless while the other side is called liberal and spineless.
Rooting out the truth on this subject is essential and a thorough search will reveal that there are different kinds of judgment taught in Scripture. One form we are commanded to do; the other we are forbidden to do. Both sides could be right and wrong depending on what they are talking about…
HT: Bud Press, Christian Research Service
20 Resolutions
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Justin Taylor writes: In his talk at the Desiring God conference Sinclair Ferguson suggested 20 resolutions from the book of James–given Jonathan-Edwards style–that we need to make if we are to live a God-centered, biblical life:
James 1:5 To ask God for wisdom to speak and with a single mind
James 1:9-10 To boast only in exaltation in [...]
Is Unbelief Sin, Non-Calvinist?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Answer the question, non-Calvinist.
“The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:
1) All the sins of all men.
2) All the sins of some men, or
3) Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said: That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins? You answer, “Because of unbelief.” I ask, “Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it is, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!”
- John Owen
(The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, Book 3, Ch. 3)
This is part of the DVD Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism. You can purchase this DVD here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B46K8?ie=UTF8&seller=A2131JY2A9OYGH&sn=the-apologetics-group
Author: LaneCh
Keywords: grasshopperjax sanderson1611 calciumboy kingjamesvideoman calvinism arminianism calvinist arminian john calvin
Added: September 27, 2008
Is Unbelief Sin, Non-Calvinist?
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Answer the question, non-Calvinist.
“The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:
1) All the sins of all men.
2) All the sins of some men, or
3) Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said: That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins? You answer, “Because of unbelief.” I ask, “Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it is, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!”
- John Owen
(The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, Book 3, Ch. 3)
This is part of the DVD Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism. You can purchase this DVD here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B46K8?ie=UTF8&seller=A2131JY2A9OYGH&sn=the-apologetics-group
Author: LaneCh
Keywords: grasshopperjax sanderson1611 calciumboy kingjamesvideoman calvinism arminianism calvinist arminian john calvin
Added: September 27, 2008
