Tried With Fire

I'm post at Out of the Ordinary today: One of my favorite Christian books is  Pilgrim's Progress  by  John Bunyan . I first read an abridged version when I was young, and I was enthralled by Christian's journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. It was an exciting adventure complete with hair-raising escapes and evil villains. But it wasn't until I was an adult that I began to appreciate how much Bunyan drew from the Scriptures as he laid out the believer's journey from the moment of conversion to the final destination of heaven. I was naturally drawn to the main  characters  of Christian, Faithful who dies a martyr's death in Vanity Fair, and Hopeful who became Christian's new companion. These are heroic figures who persevere through affliction until they cross the river and are welcomed by the King of the city. But lately I've been encouraged by several of the minor pilgrims in  Part II : Mr. Ready-to-Halt, Mr. Feeble-Mind, Mr...

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1 In the office of advocate, one man is empowered to plead for another before a judicial court when he has been accused by an enemy. Christ exercises the office of advocate when his child is found guilty before God of some heinous sin in his life and conversation. This is the time for Christ to stand up and plead for David. Can David's sin stand with grace? Is it possible that a man that has done as he has, should yet be found a saint, and in a saved state? Can God forgive him and yet be holy and just? Can the merits of the Lord Jesus reach a man in this condition? Here is the case of a man whose salvation, by his foul offences, was made doubtful. But now let Christ stand up and plead. David was afraid that God would cast him away, and the devil hoped he would. Satan charged him before God's face that he might get the sentence of damnation to pass upon his soul. But this was Da...

  Do not fear those who can kill the body... fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Luke 12:4-5 The soul is immortal and it will have sensibility forever. No one can kill the soul. If all the angels in heaven, and all the men on earth, could lay all their strength together, they cannot kill or annihilate one soul. If it may be said; "God cannot do what he will not do'; then he cannot annihilate the soul. Notwithstanding, all his wrath and vengeance that he will inflict on sinful souls, they yet shall abide as conscious and sensible beings, yet to endure, yet to bear punishment. If anything could kill the soul, it would be death; but death cannot do it - neither the first nor second death. When the rich man died as to his body, his soul was found alive in hell (Luke 16: 34). The second death cannot do it, for the worm never dies, but is always torturing them with his gnawing (Mark 9:44).  This shows the greatness of the soul; it has endless life...

I've finished listening to The Pilgrim's Progress again. If you have not read this gem, please do. You'll soon find out why this is the most widely published book after the Bible. Here's an excerpt where Mr. Great-heart explains the gospel/imputation to Christiana: So then here is a righteousness that Christ, as God, has no need of; for he is God without it: Here is a righteousness that Christ, as man, has no need of to make him so; for he is perfect man without it. Again, here is a righteousness that Christ, as God-man, has no need of; for he is perfectly so without it. Here then is a righteousness that Christ, as God, and as God-man, has no need of, with reference to himself, and therefore he can spare it; a justifying righteousness, that he for himself wanteth not, and therefore giveth it away: Hence it is called the gift of righteousness. This righteousness, since Christ Jesus the Lord has made himself under the law, must be given away; for the law doth not o...

God has engaged himself, having chosen a people for himself, and secured them from all that any can do against them.  Election is as eternal as God is, without variableness or shadow of change, and thus is called 'an eternal purpose', and it must stand.  It is absolute and unconditional.  No works were foreseen in us that were the cause of God's choosing us; and no sin in us shall frustrate or make election void.  By the act of election, we are wrapped and covered in Christ; he has chosen us in him; not in ourselves, not in our virtues, no, not for or because of anything but his own will. from Works , 1: 163-164

"But I believe God gets most glory in the world when we maintain our stability of faith and our joy of faith when we have nothing to maintain that faith anymore but God alone. Then He really gets glory. My little comment about signs and wonders would be God can and does do them and gets glory but not half so much as when, according to John 21: 19, we die well. The world will be happy when it gets well. It doesn't take any spiritual reality to rejoice when you get well. And if you want to tack on God did it, the world will say, 'Fine, you can say God did it. We say science did it. But you love it, I love it, and we know where you treasure is.' But they can't say that in the dying hour when you're rejoicing. They just can't say it anymore." John Piper - To Live Upon God That is Invisible , the life of John Bunyan

For most of my Christian life, I've had this lurking fear that it was up to me to make the right choices, live the right life, or else. If I failed, then I missed God's will. If that happened, I missed Plan A so I might be in Plan B or even C or D depending on how badly I messed up. This past combination of Arminianism and deeper life teaching was a double whammy because acceptance with God was based on my sanctification not my justification. There was always a question in my mind about God's acceptance if I wasn't living the victorious Christian life which was the result of a wrong choice which was a result of not living the victorious Christian life which was the result of a wrong choice which was the result of not living the victorious Christian life... So forth and so on. It was like a hamster wheel because I was trying to get to the place where I would be received by God because of something I had done. But the place I was trying to get to does not exist . Hence t...

Pastor Ryan's sermon can be found here and here. From my notes: The old covenant had a mediator but there was no guarantee the people would keep the law. High priest after high priest would mediate for the people but they could never guarantee anything. But Christ - He is the guarantee to us the God will fulfill his promise. He is our guarantee to God that those who are in Him are perfectly acceptable. Look to Christ, seek no other. This was so clear. I had been raised with the idea that " we are accepted, but are we acceptable "? Basically, it's a confusion of justification and sanctification. Somehow our standing and our acceptability to God was dependent on us. In fact to split hairs between being accepted and being acceptable, was just another flavor of two-tiered, nonlordship salvation. But praise God, Jesus Christ is our guarantee to God that we are acceptable, not because of anything we have done, but based on Him alone. Nothing to be added, noth...

I am finding it very interesting that many of the saints from years gone by have quite a bit to write to encourage those who are going through times of trial and affliction. It seems like our brothers and sisters in times past took the Lord Jesus at His word when He said: If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. John 15: 19-21 However, I also find it interesting that the idea that the life of a believer is a life of suffering is lost today. I wonder when the thought that being a Christian meant that we would be free from suffering came into the church. It seems that a...