I Will Exalt You

“I Will Exalt You” Worship and Praise Song featuring Brooke Fraser Ligertwood

I will exalt You
I will exalt You
I will exalt You
You are my God

Chorus:
My hiding place My safe refuge
My treasure Lord You are
My friend and King Anointed One
Most Holy

Because You’re with me
Because You’re with me
Because You’re with me
I will not fear

Lead Me To The Cross

Chosen Before Time

God, before time began, chose a group of people out from the vastness of humanity who would be recipients of His mercy – a group whom “no man can number, out of every tribe tongue, people and nation,” (Rev. 7:9) who are called “the elect,” or simply those “chosen by God.” Many scriptures spell this out for us. Here’s just a few of them:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:3, 4)

“but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.” Mark 13:20

“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds…” Matt. 24:31

“Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” Rom. 8:33

“But God has chosen the foolish things of this world…” 1 Cor. 1:27

“as the elect of God, holy and beloved” Col. 3:12

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness….” 1 Peter 2:9

“God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” (2 Tim 1:8)

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess. 2:13, 14)

God of course, not only ordains who will be saved but also the means whereby they are saved, which is through the preaching of the Gospel. “How shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:14). We, unlike God, don’t know who the elect are, so we are to preach the Gospel to everybody. However, only those He chose (the elect) will respond in genuine faith to the Gospel.

We see this in Acts 13:48, when after hearing the Gospel preached, Luke records, “And as many as had been ordained to eternal life believed.” All who had the appointment, made the appointment. Continue reading

New Evidence that the Gospels Were Based on Eyewitness Testimony

Joe Carter writes: Last night I stumbled across an example that shows how, when used creatively, such techniques can expand our knowledge and appreciation of a text. a Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen, has conducted what I’d call an “algorithm-enhanced close reading” of the canonical gospels and compared them to the apocryphal testimonies about Jesus.

Normally, my attention span for videos on the web is limited to about 2 minutes. But when I started watching this video last night I got sucked in by Dr. Williams engaging style and watched the entire lecture. As Evangel blogger Tom Gilson says, it’s a “talk on apologetics like you’ve never heard before.”

Friday Round Up

(1) With the technical help of a gentleman named JJ, the two recent one hour radio programs I hosted on the theme of Divine election are now posted. You can access them by clicking I’ve been putting some thoughts together and posted an updated article here earlier this morning.

(3) Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale here. I especially recommend the Far West Area Conference 2008 DVD series. It was my privilege to attend this Conference and for today only (starting at 8 AM EST), the normal price of $44 is slashed to $5. Remember, if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products (as a reader of this blog) by using the coupon code EGRACE10.

(4) Please keep our evangelistic outreach to Kerala, India in your prayers. Update here.

(5) “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” If every soccer goalkeeper would take a class in physics, they would all know that a penalty kick isn’t over until the ball has come to a complete stop or is safely cleared from the vicinity of the net. The latest goaltender to learn this lesson was Loris Angeli of Italian seventh division club Dro. During a shootout in a playoff game against Termeno to decide which club would be promoted to the sixth division, Termeno’s Michael Palma watched his shot ricochet square off the crossbar and land several meters in front of the net. But after falling to his knees in disbelief and watching the opposing goalkeeper run to his teammates in celebration, the ball took a wicked bounce backwards and slowly rolled past the goal line. The referees watched it all transpire and after having a few words with each other, they decided it was a good goal. Termeno’s goalkeeper stopped the following shot, sealing the victory and their club’s promotion to the sixth division.

1 John 2:2 (Revisited)

You say that Christ died for His people, His sheep, His friends, for His Church and yet 1 John 2:2, speaking of Jesus, states, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” How do you explain that?

I can certainly see how someone would use this verse to undermine the reformed doctrine of Particular Redemption, yet Scripture, I believe, is not contradictory to itself. There is one Divine Author of Scripture and He does not contradict Himself. So how are we to understand 1 John 2:2?

I have written elsewhere about the principles of correct interpretation of scripture. There is only one correct interpretation of scripture. Though there may be many applications of a verse, it only means what it was intended to mean when it was written.

In my article entitled “Playing Marbles with Diamonds” I refer to a number of principles of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), three of which would apply here:

1. Consider the Author – who wrote the book? (what was his background, language, culture, vocation, concerns, education, circumstance, what stage of life?)

2. Consider the Audience (why was the book written? who was the audience? what would these words have meant to its original recipients?) Continue reading

Election and Predestination: Adrian Rogers v. James White

Dr. Adrian Rogers is now in glory. He has left a wonderful legacy in the cause of Christ. Without question, speaker and author in the Body of Christ. I have a great deal of respect for him. That does not mean I always agreed with him.

On the subject of Divine election and predestination, I and many others would have loved to see Pastor Rogers engage in a publicly moderated debate which allowed for cross examination. I believe it would have been incredibly helpful for people to see the two sides represented in a respectful and formal setting, where rhetoric can be examined and arguments evaluated in the light of Scripture. Alas, Pastor Rogers was never interested in such an exhange. However, all is not lost and the next best thing is for someone to take Dr. Rogers’ own words on the subject and then provide a point by point response or rebuttal. Some years ago (while Adrian Rogers was still with us) Dr. James White did exactly that. I remember finding the “interchange” extremely useful.

I am glad to see this exchange now available on youtube video. If you can carve out an hour and a half to view this (below), I believe you will find this to be a fruitful use of your time. I recommend this highly. It is so important we examine our traditions in the light of Scripture.

Wednesday Round Up

(1) My special thanks to all those who have sent me private messages to say that you are praying for my mother (Grace). I appreciate it more than I can say in words. My mother’s condition has stabilized since she returned home from the hospital but we still need to look for a long term solution for her. In this regard, my mother and I are due to see a specialist this afternoon to discuss the various medical options we have. We look to the Lord for His wisdom. Thanks for your prayers once again.

(2) India Outreach: Someone suggested I repost this (below) to keep people aware of both the vision and the current need. I do so here as it is a very exciting project.

Romans 10: 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Its taken three weeks for my good friend, Indian Pastor Pappy Daniel to find the best possible deal, but as promised, here’s an update on the Gospel tract printing costs.

You may remember we provided 10,000 copies of the Gospel tract I wrote “The Thief on the Cross” in the Malayalam language which were handed out to people in the state of Kerala at Easter time. The response and feedback to this very clear gospel presentation has been so encouraging that we made a tentative inquiry to find out how much it would cost for 100,000 tracts to be printed.

Whereas the cost for 10,000 tracts was approximately $400 USA Dollars, the cost for 100,000 tracts will be $2,600.00. This is the full cost, which includes paper, printing, shipping and distribution handling costs. As you can see, there is a substantial savings (per tract) when there is a larger quantity being printed.

Perhaps this Gospel outreach is something you or your church might like to get behind and support. If so, just write to me and I will give you further details. I will keep this article updated to show the amount that has come in for this specific venture (below).

Goal: $2,600.00

Amount received (as of 6/8/11): $200.00

He’s my son

According to the Roman Catholic Church, ed Mary was the only person other than Jesus who was born without original sin (immaculately conceived), she remained a virgin throughout her life, she was bodily assumed into heaven, she is to receive prayer and devotion from God’s people, she is a mediatrix between God and man, and she dispenses grace to those in need. There is no biblical basis for any of these doctrines whatsoever. Yet in an over-reaction to the idolatrous and even blasphemous excesses, many Christians have ignored Mary altogether. Mary tells us herself that she was a sinner (and Scripture records it). She is not referred to even once outside of the Gospels. The Apostle Paul never mentions her in all his Epistles (think about that). Yet there’s no doubt that Mary was a truly remarkable woman, chosen by God to have a hugely significant role in the life of her Son. I am a Protestant by conviction and not mere preference, and yet… I thank God for Mary.

This song by Mark Shultz is very moving:

Response to Richard Dawkins

For those interacting with people who have been influenced by the writings and lectures of atheist Richard Dawkins, here is what I find to be an excellent response from Paul Copan. It is well worth bookmarking these articles and going through them one by one.

Part 1: Copan’s recent interaction with Richard Dawkins Personal Responsibility, and Naturalism’s Counterintuitive Claims (read more)

Part 5: Morality and Naturalisms Counterintuitive Claims (read more)

Understanding Islam (Conference)

From June, 2011, at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, Dr. James White teaches five sessions on the topic of Islam. An outstanding and comprehensive overview.

Session (1) The Basics of Islam found here.

Session (2) Answering Islamic Objections found here.

Session (3) Background on the Qu’ran found here.

Session (4) Islamic Apologetics found here.

Session (5) The Suffering and Glory of God’s Servant found here.