Tried With Fire

This is another quote from The Whole Christ on another negative side effect of separating the benefits of the gospel from the Benefactor. The separation of the benefits of the gospel from Christ, who is the gospel, is also the mother of the many varieties of "multiple stage" Christianity in which a person can enjoy some, but not necessarily all, of the discrete blessings. Thus one may experience an abstractable "second blessing"; or alternatively enjoy the blessings of salvation without obedience, having Christ as Savior but not (at least not yet) as Lord. But this, as Calvin noted, is to "rend asunder" the Savior. What Marrow theology grasped was the New Testament's stress on the fact that when we are "in him," we possess Christ himself; all spiritual blessings are ours immediately and simultaneously "in him." Yes, this is true eschatologically - in the sense that their full realization awaits glorification. But, nevertheless...

For the past 10 years, my church has been hosting a theology conference. We've had some great speakers over the years, and this year's topic and speaker were announced yesterday. The topic is The Marrow of Salvation: Assurance, Legalism, & Antinomianism with Dr. William VanDoodewaard from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Our pastor just preached a series on assurance, and I read The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson last year, which goes into the practical application of the Marrow Controversy. Thus I am looking forward to the conference. What was the Marrow Controversy? Dr. VanDoodewaard will be giving the historical background in one of his talks, but in a nutshell, the dispute centered on whether a group of Scottish Presbyterians (labeled the Marrow Men) were advocating antinomianism. Spoiler alert - They weren't. They were defending the gospel. The dispute also centered around a book, The Marrow of Modern Divinity by Edward Fisher. I refrained from orde...

"And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye hate committed" (Ezekiel 20:43). When we are accepted of the LORD and are standing in the place of favor, and peace, and safety, then we are led to repent of all our failures and miscarriages toward our gracious God. So precious is repentance that we may call it a diamond of the first water, and this is sweetly promised to the people of God as one most sanctifying result of salvation. He who accepts repentance also gives repentance; and He gives it not out of "the bitter box" but from among those "wafers made with honey" on which He feeds His people. A sense of blood-bought pardon and of undeserved mercy is the best means of dissolving a heart of stone. Are we feeling hard? Let us think of covenant love, and then we shall leave sin, lament sin, and loathe sin; yea, we shall loathe ...

In the light of the latest round of accusations and all around ugliness on social media, here are some random ruminations and questions for myself: Do I pray before I respond? Do I pray that my response would be Christ-like? Do I pray for the people who I am responding to? Would I say what I tweet or post to another brother or sister, particularly a brother or sister in my local church? Social media seems to give vent to words that we would never say face to face or so it seems. Incidentally, studies show that venting only increases anger rather than dissipating it. [ Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) Tavris & Aronson.] Do I take "Love your neighbor as yourself" seriously? Do I believe I am called to love according to 1 Corinthians 13 and demonstrate kindness, patience, and forbearance? Am I willing to admit that I am wrong about a situation or people? Am I willing to learn about others who are different than myself? I still may disagree but I have a better u...

"When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed" (Isaiah 53:10). Our LORD Jesus has not died in vain. His death was sacrificial: He died as our substitute, because death was the penalty of our sins. Because His substitution was accepted of God, He has saved those for whom He made His soul a sacrifice. By death He became like the corn of wheat which bringeth forth much fruit. There must be a succession of children unto Jesus; He is "the Father of the everlasting age." He shall say, "Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given me." A man is honored in his sons, and Jesus hath His quiver full of these arrows of the mighty. A man is represented in his children, and so is the Christ in Christians. In his seed a man's life seems to be prolonged and extended; and so is the life of Jesus continued in believers. Jesus lives, for He sees His seed. He fixes His eye on us, He delights in us, He recognizes us as the fruit of His ...

I am posting at Out of the Ordinary today: I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. These are the last two lines from the poem,  Invictus , by William Ernest Henley. It's been quoted by many people throughout history as an expression of the tenacity and triumph of the human spirit. It also invokes the idea that no matter the odds, we have the ability to control our own destinies. While some may find this inspiring, this is terrifying to me. During a past trial, I was faced with the grim possibility that the outcome of my future was solely up to me. There was no one nearby who could give me the help I needed. The loneliness and being at a complete loss felt worse than the situation itself. What if I made a wrong decision? Not only could I ruin my life but also the lives of others. I was a believer, and my concept of God was better than the absent deity in  Invictus , but not by much. He was just one of many players in the drama with slightly ...

One of the elder's preached Sunday morning since the pastor is out of town. The text was John 13, and the theme was - love one another. This was a timely sermon because our church is beginning to get larger. It's easier to get lost in the crowd and not know everyone's names. It's also easier to fall into set patterns of gravitating to some versus others. I'm thankful for this challenge to love and, as an integral part, to know one another in greater depth. As Ron said during the sermon, "How can we love people we don't know?", and this is something I've been thinking about for some time. In my opinion, one mistake is to assume that we are more alike than we really are. Thus it would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I don't need to learn anything more about you. I already know you because we must be similar especially if we are part of the same church. I don't need to stop and listen to a different perspective because I'v...

"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). Is there any instance of our LORD's casting out a coming one? If there be so, we would like to know of it; but there has been none, and there never will be. Among the lost souls in hell there is not one that can say, "I went to Jesus, and He refused me." It is not possible that you or I should be the first to whom Jesus shall break His word. Let us not entertain so dark a suspicion. Suppose we go to Jesus now about the evils of today. Oh, this we may be sure -- He will not refuse us audience or cast us out. Those of us who have often been and those who have never gone before -- let us go together, and we shall see that He will not shut the door of His grace in the face of any one of us. "This man receiveth sinners," but He repulses none. We come to Him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, and small knowledge, and slender hope; but He does not cast us out. We come by prayer...

I am currently in an anxious frame of mind. I'm probably fearing what will not come to pass, but it's still a struggle. It doesn't help that a potential change in my life is dredging up feelings from the past. I'm a very different person in a very different situation from then, but anxiety is a gut response. This visceral reaction kicks in even though my rational, cognitive brain is telling me otherwise.  I happened upon this sermon by my favorite dead theologian, Charles Spurgeon, which address the root of my fear - that I am alone in my struggles with no one to look after me. Therefore, it's all up to me. I must be my own deliverer and helper. I know objectively this isn't true, but it needs to permeate the rest of me.  So this will be today's meditation. I'm also trusting that even "getting it" isn't all up to me either.  &&&&& Walking by sight is just this—“I believe in myself.” Whereas walking by faith i...

The following is a quote from " A Message to the 21st Century " by philosopher Isaiah Berlin written in 1994. He is rather optimistic at the end and sees a move toward rationality and tolerance. If he were still alive today, would he think the same? This essay came to mind again after reading this article by Carl Trueman on the Salutary Lesson From the Evils of Nazi Ideology. The warnings from Trueman and Berlin dovetail and should be taken seriously. Rather than a rise in rationality and civility, we are moving away at a pace that discourages me especially when I see it between Christians. To borrow Berlin's language, how many people are we willing to break like eggs to achieve our ideal, and what is it in the first place? Who and what groups of people are we wiling to throw under the bus? The gospel is the only ideology, if you want to call it that, that does not, should not coerce from the outside. It is the opposite of the wisdom of man and seems foolish that the ...

"Yea, I will help thee" (Isaiah 41:10) Yesterday's promise secured us strength for what we have to do, but this guarantees us aid in cases where we cannot act alone. The LORD says, "I will help thee." Strength within is supplemented by help without. God can raise us up allies in our warfare if so it seems good in His sight; and even if He does not send us human assistance, He Himself will be at our side, and this is better still. "Our August Ally" is better than legions of mortal helpers. His help is timely: He is a very present help in time of trouble. His help is very wise: He knows how to give each man help meet and fit for him. His help is most effectual, though vain is the help of man. His help is more than help, for He bears all the burden and supplies all the need. "The LORD is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me." Because He has already been our help, we feel confidence in Him for the present and the future. Our p...

These are more quotes from Made in America by Michael Horton. The 2nd chapter is titled "The "How-To" Gospel" and discusses the problem with pragmatic Christianity, which in my opinion is a slightly less noxious version of the prosperity gospel. "If we seek to justify Christianity on pragmatic grounds, ours will continue to be just another self-help, self-improvement program. Among the array of wonder drugs and guaranteed formulas, Christianity may continue to be stocked, but only as long as it is not replaced by something that works better. Temporal salvation, however, is not the goal of the gospel. The Bible doesn't offer us simple solutions to our political, financial, or physical ills." pg. 51 "[T]he seed of civil religion (that is, a religion that worked best for society) was planted. Pragmatism is only a further more systematic exploitation of vague Christianity. The eminent British research group, Oxford Analytica, predicts, "As...

I can't remember when I purchased this used copy of Michael Horton's Made in America . I think it may have shown up in the "other customers purchased this" section on the web site after I got Christless Christianity . I probably flipped through it and then shelved it until last night when I picked it up in light of Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s recent interview at the Washington Post. This book was first published in 1991 and the paperback in 1994. It's remarkably appropriate for today but in a sad way. It would have been better if we had heeded this call 25 years ago. The Bible commands, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). While much fuel has been spent on trying to get people to act like Christians, the Bible insists that we must first think like Christians. The transforming of our minds takes place not through magic, superstitious techniques, or superficial devotions,...

I am a rabbit trail reader. If a quote or reference grabs my attention, I check out the footnote or the bibliography to find out more, which leads me on the trail of yet another book by another author. I also take note of what others are reading via social media. Thus the majority of my 2019 potential reading list is a result of those tangential excursions. Some of the books are already waiting on my shelf, and many are available through the public library/interlibrary loan. ( Worldcat.org is my friend.) I want to savor books this year and read not just because I'm supposed to or to meet a quota. I will allow myself to put a book down if I need a break or even leave it unfinished. (gasp!) I will allow myself to read just for the fun and pleasure of it. But I also hope for the stamina to read with a commitment to the truth no matter what it may uncover. And finally, I will allow myself to follow whatever new and unexpected rabbit trails await me this year. So even though the fo...