Monthly Archives: April 2011

The Cross Was No Defeat

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“Jesus gained a supreme and ultimate victory over satan and his demons at both the cross and the resurrection – not just the resurrection. Of course, a dead Savior can’t save anyone. Jesus did need to rise from death and His resurrection vindicated all His claims (Rom 1:4). As Jesus bore the wrath of God for sin, neither satan nor his demons were laughing for even a moment. In fact though in the eyes of the world it was Jesus who looked like a public spectacle – a source of ridicule and scorn – yet, in the spiritual arena, Jesus was not losing, but winning, winning, winning and if we could see with spiritual eyes, it was the devil who was put to open shame. Jesus was able to say “It is finished” while still hanging on the cross (to say “paid in full”) and made the devil a public spectacle, as He cancelled all the sins of the people of God, He bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), and the Scripture reveals that the veil of the temple was torn in two on Good Friday (Matt 27:51), not resurrection Sunday, indicating that the wall of separation between God and man had been forever broken down. The cross of Jesus Christ was the consummate victory, and not a defeat in any way at all, and all the demonic host knew it! Though the serpent bruised His heel, Jesus crushed the serpent’s head (fulfilling Gen 3:15)! Hallelujah!”

Miscellaneous Quotes (14)

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“We are not aware of our impotence, we are not aware of our weakness, and of our need for power. As long as we think we can organise [revival], there is no hope for us. The beginning of revival is to realise that without this manifestation of God’s power we can do nothing. We have got to get back to that position, in which the apostle Paul so constantly found himself. I am never tired of quoting it. It is the text, more than any other, that needs to be held before every section of the Church today. ‘And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.’ (1 Cor. 2:3-5)” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival (Crossway, 1987), 182

“Is everything sad going to come untrue?” – Sam Gangee to Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings (chapter 4, Book Six)

“[Some mortals] say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” – C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, chapter 9.

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” – Revelation 22:20

“The Christian faith is not true because it works; it works because it is true.” – Os Guinness

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Philippians 1:21. Jonathan Edwards, preaching on this text – “If it be so that your death is your gain, be exhorted to wean your hearts more and more from the world. If your gain consists not in staying in the world but in going out of it, how important is it to set your hearts upon it as if it consisted in it.

Will you set your hearts upon the things of this life when your gain consists not in this life but in the next? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Is death gain to you?

Be entirely resigned to God’s will while living or dying: you are always safe in either of these conditions, for you to live is Christ and to die is gain. . . . And seeing it is so that you are got into such a happy estate and condition that either by life or death you obtain your great end, cast yourself upon God’s hands: let his will be your will, knowing that whether you are to die in youth or in old age, this year or next, today or tomorrow, whether a natural or violent death, by sickness or by accident, whether at home or abroad, whether an easy or a painful death; yet let it come when, how, and where it will, it will be your unspeakable gain.” – Jonathan Edwards, ‘Dying to Gain,’ in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 10, Sermons and Discourses 1720-1723 (ed. Wilson Kimnach; Yale University Press, 1992), 590

Lloyd-Jones, preaching on Acts 1:11 – “You can be sure of this – all who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, who have seen the all-importance of the soul, who have seen their dread condition under the condemnation of the Law, who have committed themselves to him, taking upon themselves the scorn and sarcasm of the world, those who have counted all things loss for his sake, who have denied themselves and taken up their cross daily and followed him, those who have said, ‘I care not what happens to me as long as all is well between me and him’–these are they who will be with him in the new heaven and the new earth and will share and enjoy his glory forever and ever.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled (Crossway, 2009), 100-101

“Every time the gospel is preached it is as if God himself came in person solemnly to summon us.” – John Calvin

“…there is a difference between my identification of Romanism as a false religion and Mormonism’s definitional distinction from Christianity. Rome teaches heresy, not on the nature of God, or the deity of Christ, but on the gospel. This is the result of a long period of evolution. So Rome represents a departure from, apostasy from, the truth. Mormonism has never possessed the truth. It began, in its foundational documents and from the words of its founding leaders, as a direct attack upon the Christian faith. Rome’s heresy differs in nature, for while it maintains the truth in major areas (specifically, the doctrine of God), it has lost the life-giving element of the faith, that being the Gospel. Mormonism has never possessed the truth about God, Christ, the Spirit, creation, the Scriptures, or the gospel. These are important distinctions to be drawn and understood.” – Dr. James White

The Parable of the Farmer (Refuted)

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Around a decade ago I read Dr. Norman Geisler’s book “Chosen but Free” and followed it up with Dr. James’ White’s response in a book called “The Potter’s Freedom.” It became clear to me that one side wanted to exegete the texts of Scripture in detail, giving them the necessary respect; and quite honestly, in the course of time, Dr. White became a very good friend of mine, and I am very grateful to God for the very positive impact he’s had, and continues to have, in my life and ministry.

The reason I say all this is because some time back it was fascinating for me to watch a 28 minute video by Dr. White on youtube, responding once again to Dr. Geisler’s “Parable of the Farmer.”

On this video you will hear Dr. Geisler outline the parable in his own words, as well as Dr. White’s response.

Though this is an issue that can often cause emotions to cloud judgment, I feel that anyone with an open mind will see the clarity of the biblical position:

You have an “A”

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Steve Brown tells a story about a time his daughter Robin found herself in a very difficult English Literature course that she desperately wanted to get out of.

She sat there on her first day and thought, “If I don’t transfer out of this class, “Of course.”

So the next day he took her down to the school and went to the head of the English department, who was a Jewish woman and a great teacher. Steve remembers the event in these words:

She (the head of the English department) looked up and saw me standing there by my daughter and could tell that Robin was about to cry. There were some students standing around and, because the teacher didn’t want Robin to be embarrassed, she dismissed the students saying, “I want to talk to these people alone.” As soon as the students left and the door was closed, Robin began to cry. I said, “I’m here to get my daughter out of that English class. It’s too difficult for her. The problem with my daughter is that she’s too conscientious. So, can you put her into a regular English class?” The teacher said, “Mr. Brown, I understand.” Then she looked at Robin and said, “Can I talk to Robin for a minute?” I said, “Sure.” She said, “Robin, I know how you feel. What if I promised you and A no matter what you did in the class? If I gave you an A before you even started, would you be willing to take the class?” My daughter is not dumb! She started sniffling and said, “Well, I think I could do that.” The teacher said, “I’m going to give you and A in the class. You already have an A, so you can go to class.”

Later the teacher explained to Steve what she had done. She explained how she took away the threat of a bad grade so that Robin could learn English. Robin ended up making straight A‘s on her own in that class.

That’s how God deals with us. Because we are, right now, under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ, Christians already have an A. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. We’re in–forever! Nothing we do will make our grade better and nothing we do will make our grade worse. We’ve been set free.

Knowing that God’s love for you and approval of you will never be determined by your performance for Jesus but Jesus’ performance for you will actually make you perform more and better, not less and worse. In other words, grace mobilizes performance; performance does not mobilize grace.

If you don’t believe me, ask Robin!

HT: Tullian Tchividjian

It may be a day late but…

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A lady walked into the Church sanctuary, for all who were within earshot to hear, “the Lord is risen! Happy Easter everyone!” As a new Christian, the joy of the Lord was simply radiant in her face.

All were blessed to hear this greeting. All except one, that is.

A man seated in the congregation, not far from her, got up, turned around and said, “Easter is named after a pagan god Ishtar, and I for one will not bow the knee to satan in worshipping Ishtar today!”

As you might imagine, all the excitement and positive energy in the room quickly evaporated. Brother Scrooge (not his real name) had brought us all down to earth with a heavy thud with his “bah humbug” response.

This brother is not alone. Many believe as he does. Yet does scholarship support his theory. Did the Church borrow the name “Easter” from pagans?

No, not by a long shot! I would point you to this article here by Roger Patterson for the details as to why.

I hope you all had a great Easter!

He Entered Into Heaven Itself

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Hebrews 9:23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world ; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. (NASB)

Here in this video, taken from yesterday’s Resurrection Sunday morning service, my friend Dr. James White preaches through this majestic passage of Scripture, outlining the perfect and finished work of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh Amazing, Effectual Grace

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I was 15 years old and a fairly new Christian in Chester, England. My father had just started a Church that was meeting in our home, and though growing, did not have any young people my age.

I loved the Sunday services taking place in the home, and yet, I had to admit, also craved fellowship with Christians my own age. I was seemingly the lone Christian in my class at High School and though I often shared the gospel with people, I sometimes felt the barrage as my school friends raised their objections. I felt the need to hang out with young people who shared my new faith in Christ. I managed to find a group of like minded people about 14 miles away in a little village called Little Neston.

After gaining permission from my parents, once a week I got on my bicycle and cycled to Little Neston to attend the group. Led by a wonderful Christian High School teacher named Mark Thomas, the group was hungry for God. As I recall, the group did not engage in the normal outside activities youth groups do. We just pursued God, wanting to know Him and His word more deeply.

Mark would prepare and lead us in Bible studies and would play his guitar as we worshipped the Lord, while others took turns on the only organ in the room, or percussion instruments that were always near at hand. The group was made up of young people from a number of churches in the area, but we all just dropped our denominational tags at the door, so to speak. All who came just wanted God. Once a month, our gatherings became all night prayer meetings (usually on a Friday night because there was no school the next day).

In one such gathering, a second adult couple came. The husband was an itinerant Methodist minister and the wife was an accomplished pianist (if I remember correctly).

Something unusual took place that night. In one of the times of silence as we were waiting on the Lord, the wife singled me out and said, “John, I am not going to say this is a word from God or anything, but as I was praying, a picture came to my mind about you…” I was a little taken aback. I had not met the lady before and did not know what to make of it. Apparantly, this was a one off for this lady too – she was not known to share anything of this kind.

She went on, “John, in my mind I saw a picture of a honeycomb – and over it was the word “Grace.”” She said, “I believe God is going to make you a preacher, known for grace. There will be intense opposition from people at times. Some will cover their ears not wishing to hear the gracious words that flow from your lips; while others will find in your words, some of the most grace filled words in God’s vineyard. God is going to use you mightily as one of His chosen vessels.”

Mark turned to me and said, “John, that is a very powerful picture. My advice to you is to just leave it with the Lord, and if it is something from Him, He will bring it to pass. Don’t worry about it. If it does not mean much to you now, perhaps it will one day.” Looking back, I think Mark gave me some very sound advice.

This meeting took place in the early 1980’s and to be honest, I completely forgot about it… that is, until one day recently. I was looking at the blog comments here and noticed words of thanks and appreciation and also comments filled with hostility and anger; people excited to read an article I’d written or hear a sermon I had preached, as well as people who had the exact opposite reaction. Then I looked at the top of the blog and noticed the words, “Effectual Grace.”

Then it hit me! The little picture this lady had 30 years before was being fulfilled right before my eyes. I felt peace flood my soul. I also felt that God was encouraging me that I was right in the purposes of God, right on track, being a voice for Him in sharing from the honeycomb, the honey being the message of the gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I prayed, “Thank You God for lavishing me with such grace that You would choose me to be Your child, and to speak to others of Your great triumphant and effectual grace. How I love You Lord! Oh Amazing, Effectual Grace!”

Pillars of Grace

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GROUNDBREAKING OVERVIEW OF THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE IN CHURCH HISTORY

I wish every Christian would watch this video below to gain a sense of history when it comes to the doctrines of grace. It would be extremely enlightening to so many people.

The fact is, Calvinism did not begin with John Calvin. There was very little in the teachings of Calvin that was not first in Martin Luther (Calvin was merely the one who taught the doctrines in a structured and systematic way). Furthermore, it would be a huge mistake to think that the doctrines of grace started with the Magisterial Reformers. The concept of God’s Sovereignty in grace and redemption has been the constant declaration of the people of God throughout the history of the Church. Yet very few seem to be aware of this.

At a short session at the recent Ligonier 2011 National Conference, Dr. Steve Lawson was asked to talk about his new book. There’s good reason he was asked to do so. The book is the second in a series, the first being “Foundations of Grace” which articulates just about every Scripture verse in the Bible that deals with the doctrines of grace, starting with Genesis and ending in Revelation. I am not aware of another book of its kind.

Now, Dr. Lawson has produced another ground breaking work in “Pillars of Grace.” It is ground breaking because it combines four years of study, delving deeply into the writings of the great gifts of the ascended Christ to His Church through the centuries, men of God who taught the precious doctrines we hold dear.

I cannot recommend this video highly enough. I really hope you can carve out 23 minutes of your time to watch it. For every Reformed Christian who embraces the precious doctrines of grace, it will do your heart and soul much good.

Steven Lawson: “Pillars of Grace” from Ligonier on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Readers of this “EFFECTUAL GRACE” blog are now allowed an EXCLUSIVE 10% discount on ALL purchases at Ligonier. When you place your order online, simply type in the coupon code EGRACE10

For those wishing to purchase the book you can do so by typing in the words “Pillars of Grace” in the “Search Store” feature at the top right of the page at this link: Ligonier Ministries Online Store