Tried With Fire

Christ is always the same. Here at the end of his letter, the author echoes a theme from its beginning, "To the Son He says:... 'You [remain] the same'" (Heb. 1:8, 12, citing Ps. 102:27). But now he makes explicit what earlier was implicit. The immutable One of Psalm 102 is none other than the incarnate One of the gospel. The practical implication of this becomes clear when we remember that Psalm 102 is possibly the most eloquent description of depression and despair to be found in the entire Psalter. The psalmist's mental salvation lay in his rediscovery of the immutability of God. Hebrews gives that truth flesh and blood dimensions in Jesus Christ. You can trust Him; He is always the same. Do not mistake the meaning. This is not the immutability of the sphinx - a Christ captured once for all in a never-fading photograph. This is the changelessness of Jesus Christ in all His life, love, holiness, grace, justice, truth, and power. He is always the same for ...

Now all my heart's desire Is to abide In him, my Saviour dear, In him to hide, My shield and buckler he, Covering and protecting me; From Satan's darts I'll be Safe at his side. (Emmanuel T. Sibomana) "How do you know God is really for you? Where should you look for proof that God is for you? Does it lie in the fact that your Christian life has been unbroken happiness? Does it lie in the fact that your Christian life has been one of ecstatic joy? There is only one irrefutable answer to these questions. It cannot be found in our circumstances. It lies only in the provision that God has made for us in Jesus Christ. This is the whole point of Paul's question in verse 32 ( Romans 8:32 ). We can be sure that God is for us because this God, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up to the cross for us all. If this is true, Paul affirms, we can be confident He will give us...

And when I think of how, At Calvary, He bore sin's penalty Instead of me, Amazed, I wonder why He, the sinless One, should die For one so vile as I; My Saviour he! (Emmanuel T. Sibomana) "When God made His covenant with Abraham, He moved as a light between the two parallel lines of slain animals (Gen. 15). God said, symbolically, to Abraham, "If it costs Me My existence to bring this covenant promise of blessing to pass, I will pay that price." This is the heart of the gospel. That is the reason why God became man. That is the meaning of Jesus' life and ministry. That is the significance of the cross. The arrow of God's judgment against our sin penetrated the heart of God Himself on Calvary. As he brought His covenant pledge to fulfillment, God Himself took our guilt and and its judgment. The cross says: "I am bearing the penalty of your guilt Myself, and I will set you free from its bondage and its power." The e...

Not for my righteousness For I have none, But for his mercy's sake, Jesus, God's Son, Suffered on Calvary's tree -  Crucified with thieves was he -  Great was his grace to me, His wayward one. (Emmanuel T. Sibomana) "The two charges leveled against Jesus were blasphemy (that he had made Himself equal with God) and treason (that He had rejected lawfully constituted authority). Why were these two charges so significant? It was because these are the charges each of us faces before the judgment seat of God. In that court, I am guilty of blasphemy, because I have made myself rather than God the center of the universe. I am also guilty of treason, since I have sought to overturn His lawfully and graciously constituted authority over my life. Blasphemy and treason were also the crimes of Adam. These are the age-old crimes of which every one of us - old and young, rich and poor, wise and simple, famous and infamous - stands accused. We are on the same...

My God has chosen me,  Though one of nought, To sit beside my King In heaven's court. Hear what my Lord has done O, the love that made him run To meet his erring son! This has God wrought. (Emmanuel T. Sibomana) "Until you have come to the end of the journey home to faith in Jesus Christ, it is likely that all you expect deep down from Christ is punishment. But when the prodigal makes the journey, he discovers a family party. The Gospels contain a number of references to celebrations and parties. This is wonderfully expressive of Jesus' view of what it means to belong to the kingdom of God, to the fellowship of His people, and to the church that He was beginning to build. We are invited to a celebration. Yes, there is another side to the Christian life, and it is expressed here - deep sorrow for sin, repentance, and costly grace. But joy in forgiveness is always there. The Christian life may appear from the outside to be a very sober way. It is, ...

O how the grace of God Amazes me! It loosed me from my bonds And set me free! What made it happen so? His own will, this much I know, Set me, as now I show, At liberty by Emmanuel T. Sibomana "How, then, does Christ set us free? John had answered that question earlier, in the most famous verse in his Gospel. This God, this Father, so loved the world, this world in its sinfulness and bondage, that He sent His only Son into it. He had only one Son, but He sent Him to die on a cross in order to save everyone who believes in Him (John 3:16). The Son would be "lifted up" - lifted up on a cross exposed in public shame, hanging between heaven and earth, under the judgement of God against our sins - so that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 12:32, 3:16). Jesus Christ is able to set us free because He has dealt with the sin that enslaves us. We can never atone for our own sin. We can never break its power. We...

From the parable of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11-32: "Count the sons. One left home and returned. A second stayed at home, but remained far away. Where is the third son? The third son is the Son who is telling the story. He is the Son who was at home with His Father but came to the far country. If we miss Him, we miss the meaning of the parable. For the characters in it - however real to life they may be - are imaginary. Jesus, however, is not. He is the One who, through costly grace and great humiliation, provides the way for prodigal sons to be welcomed home. This is what the story is really all about. As He told it, Jesus was talking to both prodigal sons and elder brothers, and inviting them to come to Him, to trust in Him, and to experience the joy of being His... It is natural enough - and right - to ask: Where am I in this story? Do you see yourself? Are you the prodigal or the elder brother? But it is even more important to ask: Do you see Jesus as your Sav...

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...

From The Whole Christ : "The Confession of Faith states that rather than produce antinomianism and license, assurance produces gracious fruits. In essence, it involves what the Westminster Divines describe as an enlarged heart: In peace and joy; In love and thankfulness; In strength and cheerfulness in duties. (WCF18.3) This conforms well to the joyful confidence of the New Testament church. There, assurance of salvation produced boldness in witness; eagerness and intimacy in prayer; poise in character in the face of trial, danger, and opposition; and joy in worship. The lack of these is also evidence of a lack of assurance that produces them, for rather than breed presumption or antinomianism, assurance produces humility. Christian assurance is not self-assurance and self-confidence. It is the reverse; confidence in our Father, trust in Christ as our Savior, and joy in the Spirit as the Spirit of sonship, seal of grace, and earnest of our inheritance as sons and daughte...

I've been listening to The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, & Gospel Assurance - Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters by Sinclair Ferguson. It was a freebie from Christian Audio and is read by someone with a British accent. I know this is a minor point, but given the author, a North American accent would never do. I also got a copy of the book for the church library, which will be on the book nook on Sunday. I'm halfway through the audio, and it's so good.  Unfortunately, I can't mark an audio book or the church's copy, so alas and yet again, I will need to get my own. Ferguson points out that we veer into legalism because we doubt the character of God. We are skeptical that He is a loving Father. We distrust what He says because it seems too good to be true. So it is safer to take things into our own hands and do our bit in case He doesn't come through. The same lie from the garden still deceives us today. "Has God said?..." So our u...

I got B.B. Warfield's book on the deeper life movement, Perfectionism , several years ago to try to make sense of my former theological beliefs. I never thought I would be referring to it regarding the current discussion on sola fide . This debate is more than academic hair-splitting over theological terms. It is critical to how we answer the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Consequently, I am very concerned that a prominent theologian in the loosely reformed-ish camp is answering that question in this way. John Piper  (ht:  Brad Mason ) - "Electing love is unconditional, regenerating love is unconditional, and all other loves are conditional. Everything after regeneration that you benefit from is conditional, including glorification, salvation, sanctification, and everything else. It’s conditional, one, on faith, and second, upon the evidences of faith in obedience. Anybody in my church can understand that. Electing love is unconditional. The act of sett...

Our current adult Sunday school class has been on justification. We've looked at the historical Reformed Protestant and Roman Catholic views and have now moved onto the New Perspectives on Paul (NPP). I confess I was fairly ignorant of this modern deviation from the traditional and (what I would consider) biblical doctrine of justification. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around its logic because it seems so contrary to my understanding of what it means to be saved. One might say that this is a strictly academic discussion and beyond the concern of the average believer in the pew. I probably would have thought the same 5-6 years ago, but no longer. The gospel message is too important to assume. Justification by faith alone in Christ alone is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. If we confuse this doctrine, it can lead to eternal consequences not only for ourselves but for those we're trying to reach. If you don't believe me, consider what Paul wrote in G...

Congratulations to Melissa, winner of By Grace Alone by Sinclair Ferguson!!!! Thanks to all who entered. More giveaways to come, Lord willing.

This month's giveaway is By Grace Alone by Sinclair B. Ferguson.  From the preface: "Being amazed by God's grace is a sign of spiritual vitality. It is a litmus test of how firm and real is our grasp of the Christian gospel and how close is our walk with Jesus Christ. The growing Christian finds that the grace of God astonishes and amazes." Based on the stanzas of the hymn, "O How the Grace of God Amazes Me" by Emmanuel T. Sibomana, this book tells of the wonders of the grace of God as seen in the gospel. Here are some excerpts from each chapter: 1. My Chains Fell Off 2. Unconditional Love 3. At God's Expense 4. The Great Exchange 5. Guaranteed Security 6. Delivered From Evil 7. True Freedom To enter the giveaway, use the form below. (US addresses only please.) The providential winner will be drawn on June 20 at noon EDT. Thanks for entering! The giveaway is closed.

Session 5 - The True Scandal of the Evangelical Mind  R.C. Sproul, Jr. Text: 1 Cor 1:18-31. The gospel is what unites us: the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, 2nd coming. This is our story, but to those outside, it is a scandal and foolishness.  We often think of them (non-believers) in the light of our story, but we don't consider what they think of us in the light of this story. We are considered blind, stupid, gullible, easily led, etc. 1. We are offended that they are offended by us. We complain about how the world treats us. We are insisting that Paul is wrong, not just Paul but the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because we think we should not be a scandal.  Therefore, we reshape ourselves and our story to remove the stumbling block to establish our credibility. i.e. Emergent/Pomo - It's just our story. Everyone has their own narrative. Seeker sensitive - Remove the sharp edges such as talking about sin, wrath, judgment. 2. We aren't reall...

(Here are some snippets from my notes from Day 1.  They don't do the talks justice, but it may whet your appetite to get them and listen for yourself.) Session 1 - Have you lost your mind?   R. C. Sproul We are living in an anti-intellectual time. Not necessarily anti-academic or anti-scientific but anti-mind. This not just in the world but in evangelicalism. Mind and the body - There is a biblical relationship between our minds and what we do with our physical bodies. We are responsible for our actions and how we think will attribute to this. If I want to know what you really believe, I will look at your life. Our lives tell as what we think. If a Christian is interested in how he lives, he needs to consider how he thinks and what he thinks. Mind and the will - The will is the mind choosing (Jonathan Edwards). A voluntary, conscious choice. I will choose what my mind deems best at that particular moment, doing what you are most inclined to do at that moment...

There is, therefore, an element in the Gospel narratives that stresses that the coming of Jesus is a disturbing event of the deepest proportions. It had to be thus, for He did not come merely to add something extra to life, but to deal with our spiritual insolvency and the debt of our sin. He was not conceived in the womb of Mary for those who have done their best, but for those who know that their best is "like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6) - far from good enough - and that in their flesh there dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18). He was not sent to be the source of good experiences, but to suffer the pangs of hell in order to be our Savior. In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson, Reformation Trust, pg. 17.

Come now, the whole of me, Eyes, ears, and voice. Join me, creation all, With joyful noise; Praise him who broke the chain Holding me in sins' domain And set me free again! Sing and rejoice! God says: "Dear child, don't you understand what I have done in drawing you to faith in my Son, the Lord Jesus?  In Him you have died to the old life and been raised to the new life.  You have died to sin - it no longer has dominion over you.  Count on it!  Count yourself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." You are now in a position to refuse to let sin reign in your mortal body and make you obey its evil desires (Rom. 6:12).  You are able to resist the pressure you still feel from indwelling sin.  You can say: "I know you are there; I feel your influence and sense your presence, but I am no longer under your authority.  Therefore, I am not going to let you reign.  By God's grace, I have been delivered from your dominion, and I am determine...

Lord Jesus, hear my prayer, Your grace impart; When evil thoughts arise Through Satan's art, O, drive them all away And do you, from day to day, Keep me beneath your sway, King of my heart. You cannot rely on your experiences to prove the love of God.  They may indeed give you evidence of it.  But when you are in the dark, those things may seem to mock you. All of us at times find ourselves faced with these two great questions.  They are far from trivial.  They are the most important questions in the world: "What is God really like?" and "Where can I find help?" The answer to both questions is found in a single word: Jesus. If you are in the dark, whether inside the kingdom of Christ or outside the kingdom of Christ, this is where you need to go first: to Jesus the Savior, who died for us on the cross. Trust in Him.  He foils Satan's arts. By Grace Alone , Sinclair Ferguson, Reformation Trust, page 99.