Yearly Archives: 2011

My Journey Into Grace (2)

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As I shared on the blog yesterday, I have not always been reformed in my thinking as a Christian. In coming to embrace the doctrines of grace, certain things impressed me. I was very much impressed that most of the great theologians of the church taught these doctrines of God’s Sovereignty. While they certainly had their differences on some things, when it came to the doctrine of Divine election, they all seemed to be in complete agreement.

None of these men individually, or even all of them collectively, could be in any way classed as infallible, yet because they all saw these issues in the same way, I remember thinking that this fact alone should cause me to pause and reflect a little.

I realized that it would be the height of pride on my part to dismiss everything they have to say without giving them a fair hearing. God had used these men greatly as his champions in church history; entire nations were affected by their ministries, both in their day and on into our own, and humility would teach me to at least become somewhat familiar with their words and works, and not just read what others might say about them with all the bias that usually goes with that.

However, it was not the greats of church history that carried the most weight with me. It was not their writings and commentaries, as good as they were. What convinced me was seeing the doctrines clearly taught in Scripture. Understanding what Paul taught in Romans 8 and 9 as well as Ephesians 1 and 2 (after dispensing with much of my human traditions in the process) had a huge effect on me. Yet what brought me all of the way over into seeing it, and much more than that, embracing it, and delighting in it, was seeing the doctrines taught through the words of the Lord Jesus Himself. Continue reading →

My Journey Into Grace

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I was born and raised in Chester in England. My father was a Baptist Evangelist and yet I never really grew up in Church. That really is a strange scenario and one I now view as in no way biblical. But that was the reality.

My Dad used to travel extensively to preach, and that meant that my mother and I seldom went with him to Church. That was until my Dad became the pastor of a local Church.

I remember being extremely bored with Church as a child and was far more interested in soccer (called football over in England). I wanted to be a pro-soccer player. My favorite part of the Church service was the benediction – I was so glad when it all was over!

I remember seeing my Dad reading and studying his old black leather King James Bible (I was probably around age 9 at the time) and thought to myself, “that looks so boring to me – spending hours with a book that’s hard to read, in language I cannot understand – you’ll never catch me doing that.”

One Sunday night, when I was 14, my father did ask me to go with him to hear an Evangelist preach. His sermon was on the second coming of Christ. I remember him looking at the crowd, but yet it seemed that his gaze was focused on me, as he said “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” My first thought was “how does the preacher know of my sin? How does he know I am a sinner?” Like a bolt from the blue I realized my lost condition and that I would be embarrassed with shame if I had to stand before God in that condition.

An appeal was made for salvation and I responded by raising my hand, walking the aisle, signing the card provided… but more than anything I just knew of my need for Christ to be my Savior to hide me from the fierce judgment of God. When I later returned to my seat (after around 15 minutes in a counseling area) my father still had tears streaming down his face. I think it was the first and only time I saw my father cry. Some time later he told me that my parents had been praying earnestly for my salvation for many years.

I then started attending the church on a regular basis, but as I look back, one of the biggest changes in my life was evident in my love for Bible study. I would spend all my allowance money on Bible teaching tapes… I just couldn’t get enough. I would spend 3 – 4 hours every night learning the Scriptures and hearing Bible teaching. That same passionate desire for the Word of God is still present in my life today.

My first 20 years as a Christian were spent as an Arminian. I would never have used such a term to describe myself, but looking back I can see that I held to the doctrines taught by Arminianism. For the most part, I was never really exposed to the doctrines of Grace that I now consider so precious. Oh, certainly, I met many a Reformed man in my time; in fact, many of them were my instructors and professors at the Bible College I attended in England, but no one ever sat down with me to try to explain the Reformed faith. Continue reading →

C. H. Spurgeon Quotes

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I once preached where the great C. H. Spurgeon preached. Well almost, anyway.

Some years ago on a visit back to England, the land of my birth, I was given the privilege of preaching in a small Baptist Church in a quaint, picturesque, backwater village in the county of Devon.

I noticed on the east side of the sanctuary a golden plaque mounted on the wall. It recalled the time, well over a 100 years before, when Spurgeon came to the Church to preach. (It would have been a huge honor for this Church to have such a highly acclaimed guest speaker. In his day, he was more popular and recognizable than even the Prime Minister of England. It would also be true to say that he pastored the first mega church in the city of London. Even today, Spurgeon is known as “the Prince of Preachers”).

Well though the village itself had a population of around 300, more than 1,200 people (many from surrounding villages) came to listen to Spurgeon that day. The plaque on the wall recounted how, for that one evening, the little Church building was totally inadequate, and so the service took place in the open air, on the village green.

My first reaction in seeing the plaque was the feeling of empathy for all the pastors who have served God in that place down through the years. How intimidating it must have been to preach within eye sight of that plaque. Perhaps many pastors had thought (wrongly of course) that they were abject failures because they had never had to use the village green since then, as Spurgeon had done.

Perhaps, over the years, even a demon or two had camped out next to the plaque each Sunday, goading each preacher who stood behind the pulpit, spewing out their venomous and hostile words. I have a vivid imagination and could certainly feel the shrill of such hellish words as “Spurgeon got 1,200 to hear him here. What is the point of your ministry Mr. Preacher, with this small handful in front of you.”

Yes, all those thoughts raced through my mind as I stood beneath the plaque. My preaching and service there would be over within the hour, but the Church books recalled the names of faithful men of God who served their generation in that tiny place, heroes in my eyes.

As much as I appreciate the plaque’s history lesson, I think if I was pastor there, I would want the plaque removed. Then the thought came to me that perhaps many a pastor had actually attempted to do just that, and was unsuccessful (the congregation flexing its muscles, so to speak, and voting each pastor down who sought its removal at the annual members’ meeting). All I knew was that, quite clearly, the plaque remained. Certainly, there was still an air of triumph about the place that a man such as Spurgeon had graced this village Church so long ago.

Of course, none of this was Spurgeon’s fault. It was not his problem that he was so well liked. Actually, the more I discover about the man, the more I admire both him and his God centered ministry.

I have put together some Spurgeon quotes on the theme of TULIP (the Doctrines of Grace) and because of our present study taking place here on the blog, post them here. I find that his insights and pithy comments are often the last word on any given topic as it is hard to improve on how he puts things. As I read his words, I often find myself chuckling. Spurgeon was quite the wit. I hope you enjoy the following quotes as much as I have: Continue reading →

The Message of the Cross

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“Is it true that everyone on earth is drawn to the cross?” Many assume so. They base this on John 12:32 which says, “And I, will draw all men to Myself.” But as I explained in a recent article here, I believe the phrase “all men” in that context refers to all kinds of people – all without distinction rather than all without exception.

So what do the Scriptures specifically tell us concerning the message of the cross?

1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:22-24 gives us further insight when it says, “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

The cross is actually foolishness to Gentiles and a stumbling block to Jews. That’s pretty clear isn’t it?

When Gentiles hear the message that the answer to the problems of this world is a man dieing on a Roman cross thousands of years ago, thousands of miles away – they have a category for that – “nuts”, “crazy” or “foolishness.”

Jews on the other hand, have a different problem. They see the cross as a stumbling block because their own Scriptures (in Deut. 21:23) tell them that anyone hanging on a tree is under the curse of God (and they would understand a cross to be simply a cut down tree). Continue reading →

Plaese wtach yuor Spellnig on tihs blog

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As I raed thsi I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Miscellaneous Quotes (5)

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Conversion is not the smooth, easy-going process some men seem to think it; otherwise man’s heart would never have been compared to fallow ground and God’s Word to a plough. – John Bunyan

The uniform report of sacred Scripture is that every human being who ever is exposed to the holiness of God trembles in His presence. – R.C. Sproul

When Christ as the Mediator pays the price for our sins & God declares us just in Christ, the war is over. – R.C. Sproul

Believe not half you hear; repeat not half you believe; when you hear an evil report, halve it, then quarter it, and say nothing about the rest. – C.H. Spurgeon

One common formulation of the cosmological argument begins, “everything that exists requires a cause.” Smart people sometimes formulate the argument this way, but it is actually not correct. A better (let’s call it “the correct”) formulation is, “Everything that comes into existence has a cause.” Under the incorrect formulation you either have contradiction or infinite regress. Under the correct formulation you have a singularity. A first cause who is uncaused. As a result, that uncaused cause must never have come into being: he must always have been. This is because if that cause had come into existence, there would have to be a still earlier cause. On the other hand, if that cause did not exist at all, and consequently never came into existence in that sense, nothing could exist. This causeless first Cause, without whom nothing would exist, is God. – TurretinFan

Nothing gives such offence, and stirs up such bitter feeling among the wicked, as the idea of God making any distinction between man and man, and loving one person more than another. – J.C. Ryle

Christ regenerates to a blessed life those whom he justifies, and after rescuing them from the dominion of sin, hands them over to the dominion of righteousness, transforms them into the image of God, and so trains them by his Spirit into obedience to his will, there is no ground to complain that, by our doctrine, lust is left with loosened reins. – John Calvin, Reply To Cardinal Sadolet

When the well-known twentieth-century conservative scholar A. Schlatter was considered for a professorial appointment to the university in Berlin, he was asked by a churchman on the committee whether, in his academic work, he ‘stood on the Bible.’

Schlatter’s reply: ‘No, I stand under the Bible!’

– Andreas Kostenberger, Scott Kellum, and Charles Quarles, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (B&H, 2009), 52

I should add that Schlatter did receive this appointment and one deciding factor was the university’s desire to have someone on the faculty opposite Adolf von Harnack. While Schlatter wound up having a very positive relationship with him, Harnack was the poster-boy of the day for Ritschlian liberalism that read the Bible as inspiring spiritually but fictitious historically. That was the culture into which Schlatter was heading when he stood before that august committee and proclaimed his submission to the Bible. – Dane Ortlund

God is at the Center

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“Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Rev. 4:11

The 16th Century was famous for at least two monumental events: The Protestant Reformation and the Copernican Revolution. No doubt, you have heard of the Reformation when men such as Martin Luther, were raised up by God to bring the one true biblical Gospel back to the Church. With the Reformers of old and with Scripture alone as our sure foundation, we affirm that justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

In 1543, Nicolas Copernicus published his treatise De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (The Revolution of Celestial Spheres) where a new view of the world was presented: the heliocentric (sun central) model. Before Copernicus, people believed that the earth was the very center of the Universe. But Copernicus was able to prove otherwise – that it is the sun (not the earth) that is central in the solar system. This discovery shook both the religious and the scientific world. The ramifications were extremely dramatic. Our view of the world was forever changed!

Copernicus’ theory was not at all popular initially. Even though the new treatise was dedicated to the Pope, it was considered heretical both by the standards of religion and science. Such was the outrage at such a thought (that the world was not the center of the Universe) that many scientists, and sadly, even many a theologian, would not even look through Copernicus’ telescope! The traditions of men, both in the realms of science and religion, were that strong.

Yet Copernicus was right and his revolutionary idea was needed if forward progress was to be made. In the Church today, I believe a similar revolution is needed. Continue reading →

The Self Exaltation of God

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John Piper writes: I have spent 40 years seeking to understand and explain why God’s relentless self-exaltation in all that he does (for example, Isaiah 48:9–11) is the most loving way for him to be, and is not megalomania.

Some have tried to argue that the problem of God’s self-exaltation is solved by his intra-Trinitarian other-orientedness. That is, God the Father and God the Son do not seek their own individual glory, but the glory of the other, and in that sense God seeks his own glory.

It is true that the Father and the Son do seek the glory of the other (John 14:13; 17:1). But this is not a solution to the problem of divine self-exaltation. The reason it’s not is that in the Bible the Father does exalt his own glory. For example, Paul prays to the Father in Philippians 1:9–11, “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more . . . so that you might be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Consider: Paul is praying to the Father. He is asking the Father to do something, namely, to fill the Philippians with the fruit of righteousness “that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” So it is clear that Paul expects God the Father to be motivated to bring about his own praise. The Son makes it possible by working righteousness in the saints. But the one Paul is asking to work for his own glory is the Father.

This is no surprise, if we remember the first petition of the Lord’s prayer: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). Jesus tells us to ask the Father to make much of his own name.

There are other examples that could be given (like Philippians 2:9–11), but let this suffice. It is true that the persons of the Trinity love to make much of each other. But this is not the solution to the problem of God’s self-exaltation.

That solution, as far as I have been able to see through my dark glass, is this: God must uphold his own glory as the supreme value of the universe because 1) he is true, and it would be false to hold up any other glory as supreme; and 2) he is loving, and it would be unloving to offer us as supremely satisfying anything less than what is infinitely and eternally satisfying—namely, himself.

The Whole Point

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In Romans 8, in the context of Paul revealing God’s eternal plan of foreknowing, predestinating, calling, justifying and glorifying a people for Himself (Rom. 8:28-30), he then continues to write about the exact same group of people – the “those,” the “many brothers,” the “we”, the “us”, “God’s elect”. From verse 28 onwards until the end of the chapter, it is this group that is in view.

I have emphasized (in bold) certain words so you can see this clearly in the text:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The whole point of talking, sharing, blogging, preaching and getting our understanding precise as to the intention of God in sending His Son to the cross is not so that our heads would be enlarged by theological speculation, but that our hearts would be broken, crushed; forever amazed and astounded at the love of God for us. God wants us to know the security of His abiding love for us, so that during even the toughest times in life we know that all things work together for the good of His people. The truths of the electing love of God, the finished cross-work of Christ and His continued intercession on our behalf are the firm and solid foundation for this great Romans 8:28 promise, so cherished by His people in the midst of life’s storms. Continue reading →

Spiritual Warfare

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There are two mistakes we often make when it comes to the devil. One is the make too much of our foe and attribute almost deity status to him. The devil is not omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all wise, all knowing) or omnipresent (everywhere present); so if he is bothering you, he cannot possibly be bothering me at the same time (though he does have many agents under his rule who work on his behalf). The other mistake though is to make too little of him, and not take his schemes against us seriously.

In the famous passage in Ephesians 6 which portrays the saints’ spiritual warfare, notice two things. Firstly, the Apostle Paul likens the conflict to wrestling, which is the closest form of fighting. The original words could be translated “our wrestling match is not against people with bodies…”

Secondly, although Paul could have used the word “against” just once to have easily made his point, he uses it over and over again – five times in all – illustrating the immensity and intensity of the battle each of us are engaged in. Like it or not, we are in a war.

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.