Article by Phil Johnson at this link.
Regarding “Sexual Orientation,” Evil Desire, and the Question of Moral Neutrality
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Monthly Archives: May 2018
Confusing Pleasure and Joy
Article by Dr. R. C. Sproul (original source here)
When I was a boy, my parents made me go to church every Sunday morning. I had no desire to go. I found the worship service boring and could not wait for it to be over so I could go play. But even worse than Sunday morning worship was the weekly catechism class, which was held on Saturday morning. That was the lowest point of my childhood experience in church. I had to go through a communicants class, then I moved on to the catechism class, where I and some other boys and girls had to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism. I endured it all just to become a member of the church and finish the course so my parents would be satisfied. I was not converted until several years later.
When I did become a Christian, I found myself wishing I had paid more attention in my catechism class. The only thing I remembered from the Shorter Catechism was the first question and answer, and the only reason I remembered that question was because I never could make sense out of it. The question was this: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer that we were required to learn and to recite was this: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” I just could not put those two things together. I understood, even as a child, that the idea of glorifying God had something to do with obeying Him, something to do with the pursuit of righteousness. But that was not what I was most singularly concerned about. It was not my chief end to be an obedient child of God by any means. And because it was not my chief end to be an obedient son to God, I could not understand how there was a relationship between glorifying God and enjoying Him. To me, the two seemed antithetical, incompatible.
My problem was that I was confused about two foundational ideas. I did not know the difference between pleasure and joy. What I wanted was pleasure, because I assumed that the only way I could have joy was by the acquisition of pleasure. But then I discovered that the more pleasure I acquired, the less joy I possessed, because I was seeking pleasure in things that required that I disobey God. That is the attraction of sin. We sin because it is pleasurable. The enticement of sin is that we think it will make us happy. We think it will give us joy and personal fulfillment. But it merely gives us guilt, which undermines and destroys authentic joy.
My conversion was fundamentally an experience of the forgiveness of God. If there had been a fire hydrant where I was when I was saved, I would have jumped over it, because I experienced the difference between pleasure and joy. I discovered in my own conversion the same thing John Guest discovered.
Psalm 51 is the greatest example of repentance that we find anywhere in Scripture. In this psalm, David, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, is brought to repentance for his sin with and against Bathsheba. He is broken and contrite in his heart, and he comes before God and begs for forgiveness. He says, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (v. 12a). Those who have experienced the forgiveness of God and the initial joy of it always need to have that joy restored, to have the guilt of their continuing sin removed so joy may return. As we seek forgiveness from God on a day-to-day basis, we return to the beginning of our joy—the day we discovered that our names are written in heaven.
Untold billions of people have never experienced the joy of salvation. If you are one of them, I say to you that there is nothing like it in the world. Just imagine having every sin that you have ever committed erased by God, having all of the guilt you have accumulated and the attendant feelings of guilt removed. That’s what Christ came to do. He wants to give us joy, not power or success. His gift is the joy that comes from knowing that our names are written in heaven.
What Is the Church?
Article by Dr. Derek Thomas (original source here)
In the language of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the church comprises the “whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be, gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof” (25.1). This is otherwise known as the invisible church. In another sense, the church is the body of the faithful (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 2:21–22; Rev. 21:2, 9), consisting of those throughout the world who outwardly profess faith, together with their children (WCF 25.2). This is otherwise known as the visible church.
The Greek word that is translated as “church” in the Bible is ekklēsia. Conscious as we should be of the etymological fallacy (the idea that a word means what its composite root means), in this case it would seem to have merit. Thus, ekklēsia translates the Hebrew word qahal, the noun form meaning “assembly” or “congregation” and the verb essentially signifying “to call.”
Often in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word qahal is translated synagōgē. Common to both Hebrew and Greek words is the idea of assembling together before the Lord. Thus, the Bible translation of Paul’s day (the Septuagint) rendered Deuteronomy 4:10 (“assemble the people before me”) using the word ekklēsia — the gathering together of the Lord’s people as a covenant community before their covenant God.
Taking this etymological clue, we can expand what the word church in the New Testament means along three lines of thought:
First, the preposition ek (or ex) in ekklēsia suggests a particular dimension to the meaning of the word: the church is an assembly of people called out of the world. The church comprises those who are “called to be saints [holy ones]” or, possibly, “the holy called ones” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2), just as their Old Testament counterparts were called “a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). As the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381 AD ) affirmed, the church is “one, holy, catholic and apostolic.” We are “set apart as holy” (2 Tim. 2:21); we are chosen to be holy (Eph. 1:4); we are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (Col. 3:12), “a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5), “a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), and “a holy temple” (1 Cor. 3:17). Brutally honest as we must be about the unholiness of the church, “the church is so holy that every one of its members is a saint” (Philip Graham Ryken).
Second, the church is an assembly called together into a homogenous, integrated unity. Several perspectives reinforce this in the New Testament. The church comprises the “family of God.” Each member of the church has become an “adopted son” (huiothesia; Rom. 8:15; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). Now we are “members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19), in which Jesus Christ is our elder brother. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb. 2:11). We come to God in prayer, saying, “Our Father” (Matt. 6:9). To those whose experience of family is dysfunctional in this world, the experience of belonging to a community of brothers and sisters is redemptive and restorative, particularly when they experience the loving concern (fellowship [koinōnia]) of “those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).
Third, the church is comprised of those who are called into fellowship with the Lord. The church of God lives in God’s presence. Paul, addressing the issue of the need for orderliness and interpretation in the use of the Apostolic gifts of prophecy and tongues, adds the remark that when these gifts are correctly used, an unbeliever will be forced to declare that “God is really among you” (1 Cor. 14:29). From the very beginning, the community of the Lord’s people was called together in order to worship the Lord (Ex. 3:12). The primary relationship is vertical, not horizontal.
This brings us to the nature of the church as both here and there, on earth as well as in heaven: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb. 12:22–24).
The church, then, consists of those whom the Lord has called out of the world into union and fellowship with Christ and into communion with each other. And, as John Calvin (citing the church father Cyprian) says, “To those to whom he is a Father, the Church must also be a mother.” (Institutes 4.1.1). I wonder if you would agree with him.
The Importance of Genesis
Article by Dr. Jason Lisle (original source here)
Why defend Genesis when so many people don’t even believe in Jesus? Why not concentrate on defending the big issues, like the Gospel and the deity of Christ? Considering all the problems we have in society, should we really be focused on apologetics, rather than trying to change our culture? It takes time and effort to learn to defend biblical creation. Wouldn’t that time be better spent defending the important Christian doctrines, and fighting abortion, “gay marriage”, racism, and other social ills?
Many Christians pose these questions. The debate over origins seems like such a secondary and academic issue compared to the real-life problems we face every day. But what if our failure to defend Genesis is linked to many of these social ills? Is it possible that the problems of our culture stem from the fact that people have rejected the Bible, beginning in Genesis? If so, then defending biblical creation may be the key to resolving these cultural issues.
Genesis and Social Decay
What is the cause of social problems? Theft, murder, racism, and so on all stem from breaking God’s law. Even issues such as mass poverty can result when people fail to apply biblical principles to their finances. That doesn’t mean that one individual always suffers because of his own sins, but he may suffer from the sins of another. When our elected officials enact laws that are contrary to biblical principles, we all endure difficulty as a result. Really, every social problem can be traced back in one way or another to a broken law of God. Therefore, the problems in our society stem from the fact that people refuse to do what the Bible says. Continue reading
2 Completed Projects
I was involved with two projects this week. First of all, something that I believe, over time, will prove to be one of the most important resources I have made, explaining the order of worship in our service (or liturgy). It answers the vital question “why do we do what we do when we gather as the people of God?” It took a lot of work to put together but it is a recording that I hope will be a blessing to many. You will find it at this link.
Then just yesterday, I joined with BRIDGE Radio to answer common objections to the Reformed doctrine of election. Does John 3:16 teach everyone has the ability to come to saving faith within themselves? Is 2 Peter 3:9 the death blow to God’s Sovereignty? You can tune in here to find out.
The Reformed Worship Service
Our Love to God is a Sign of His Love to us
I guess it is a lot like our own day. Go into a Christian bookstore today and the resources found there can be excellent, very good, very bad, extremely bad or sometimes even downright heretical. Voddie Baucham was right when he commented, “There ought to be a sign posted in every Christian bookstore that reads, ‘The views expressed in these books do not necessarily express the views of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’”
Yet, we sift and sort through the material on the Christian bookstore shelves and often find something immensely helpful to us, as well as materials we would wish to put into the hands of others.
While no author today is writing Scripture, when we find an author who can be trusted we tend to return to them again and again because they are faithful guides in helping us to understand God’s word. Each of these are gifts of the Ascended Lord Jesus to His body (Eph. 4:7-16). Of course, everything they say or write should ALWAYS be tested by the God-breathed Scripture. Scripture alone is the word of God. Indeed, the best teachers remind us of that. They will say, “where what I say or write disagrees with Scripture, go with the Scripture. That is the infallible guide. I am not.” We know this. We understand this.
And… I write all this to ask you this question, “have you heard of the Puritans?”
I am sure you have. The Puritans were professing Christians who lived after the Protestant Reformation was well under way. Much could be said about their times. It is fair to say that America was founded by the Puritans. While the Puritans were a mixed bag, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude, especially for their stand for the Lord Jesus and His gospel truth.
Like the writings of today, none of these men and women were infallible. The Puritans had their blind spots, and some of them are fairly easy to detect. We have our blind spots too, and these are often harder to see…. but the good thing is this: the blind spots the Puritans had were different blind spots to ours. Understanding this allows us to draw from their writings and when we do, we find that some very gifted brothers and sisters in Christ have left a massive legacy for us.
Here are three helpful quotes in this regard:
“It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others.” – C. H. Spurgeon, Commenting and Commentaries (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1876), 1.
“The best way to guard a true interpretation of Scripture, the Reformers insisted, was neither to naively embrace the infallibility of tradition, or the infallibility of the individual, but to recognize the communal interpretation of Scripture. The best way to ensure faithfulness to the text is to read it together, not only with the churches of our own time and place, but with the wider ‘communion of saints’ down through the age.” – Michael Horton, “What Still Keeps Us Apart?
“Tradition is the fruit of the Spirit’s teaching activity from the ages as God’s people have sought understanding of Scripture. It is not infallible, but neither is it negligible, and we impoverish ourselves if we disregard it.” – J.I. Packer, “Upholding the Unity of Scripture Today,” JETS 25 (1982): 414
I agree – and I write all this because I would like to introduce you to a Puritan – a man named Thomas Watson.
Was he infallible? No. Certainly not.
Could he be helpful to us? Yes, for sure. He got a lot of things right and had great insight on many matters. And here is where this becomes helpful to us. When we see what he saw, it allows us to stand on his shoulders, so to speak, so that we can see further than we would have without him… did you catch that? …“further than we would have without him.”
What do we wish to see?
Oh that is easy. We wish to see the glory of our great God; the wonders of the Lord Jesus Christ and the splendor of the gospel.
Oh Lord, by the power and work of God, the Holy Spirit, help us see – truly see!
Let me give you a taste of what I mean by means of the following, an excerpt from Thomas Watson’s book on the Ten Commandments (available for free in ebook, mobi and pdf formats here)
It is an article entitled “7 Visible Signs of our Love for God.” Perhaps you can print this out and either today or over the next few days, read through it. I think you will find it a rich resource in helping you draw near to the Lord this week. Each point made in the article is a meditation on His word. I would say – a deep meditation – on His word.
One warning: There is old English to work through and there may even by times when we need to check with a dictionary in order to understand certain words being used that are very unfamiliar to us… but that’s ok. I believe doing this is worth any effort involved.
My hope is that it will be a blessing to each of you and that you will draw nearer to the Lord through the words that follow. That is my prayer for each of us.
Enjoy!
7 Visible Signs of our Love to God by Thomas Watson
(original source here)
Before all else let us remember, our love to God is a sign of his love to us. ‘We love him because he first loved us.’ I John 4: 19. Continue reading
Obsessed with the Gospel
Article by Jordan Standridge (original source at this link)
How can you stop someone who is obsessed with the Gospel?
If you tell him or her to stop, they only grow in their zeal. (Acts 4:19-20)
If you take away their home, it’s ok because they have a greater home in Heaven. (John 14:2)
If you take away their freedom, then they write letters, books, and share the Gospel with their fellow prisoners. (Acts 16:25-30)
If you take away their life, it is gain for them. (Phil. 1:21)
You simply cannot stop someone who is obsessed with the Gospel.
As I study Philippians, it is quite obvious that Paul is obsessed with the Gospel. Despite being in chains and with the possibility of losing his head, he is encouraged and even ecstatic by how the Gospel has gone forth.
Like a missionary sending his supporters a letter, letting his supporters know how their money is contributing to the spread of the Gospel, Paul writes the Philippians to let them know. And, of course, the Philippian church would have been worried for Paul. Their missionary was in prison. Unable to move about, freely spreading the Gospel form house to house and town to town. Instead, he was stuck in a Roman cell waiting to hear what would happen to him.
If a missionary you supported was put in jail, would you be tempted to feel like you are wasting your money? I think the Philippians would have been tempted to feel this way, and at the very least would have been tempted to question the Lord about why He would keep the great apostle Paul in chains for so long. But they should have known better. The Philippians, of all people, should have known that Paul in prison meant that the Gospel would spread. The jailor himself, who almost committed suicide on the night Paul and Silas worshipped God after being beaten, would have most likely still been a part of the Philippian church. He knew first hand that Paul in prison meant that people were going to get saved.
And that’s exactly what was happening. Paul reassures them, saying, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel” (Phil 1:12). Paul is so obsessed with the Gospel that he thinks prison has been a blessing! The Gospel is advancing!
There are two reasons for this.
The first is the praetorian guards
“…so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else…” (Phil 1:13).
These guards were Caesar’s soldiers. They would take six-hour shifts in being chained to Paul. Four men a day for weeks would take turns being chained next to the evangelist. What do you think they talked about? The weather? Paul would have certainly told them his incredible story. He would have told them about Jesus and would have begged them to repent of their sin and turn to Christ. They, in turn, would have gone home, and, typically, like with any man, the wife would ask them how their day was, and they would say, “it was fine,” and that would be the end of their conversation. But not on a day after talking with Paul. They would have told their families about this incredible man with his incredible story, and the Gospel would spread throughout Rome at an uncontrollable rate.
Who are you chained to? Some of us have spent far more than six hours with someone and have yet to share the Gospel with them. Perhaps you should set up a six-hour rule of sorts that if you spend a considerable amount of time with someone that they will hear the gospel.
Second, the Roman Believers
“…and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear” (Phil 1:14).
This, in my opinion, is one of the most shocking verses in the Bible. Christians in Rome would visit Paul, and upon seeing him and his faith, would walk away more likely to share the Gospel! Not less likely! Despite the fact that they could go to jail for sharing their faith, or even lose their life, they walk away from a man who is in jail for sharing the gospel and leave more likely to do that very thing! That is the power of being around someone who is obsessed with the Gospel.
Do you have this kind of impact on believers around you? Do people walk away from talking to you, more likely to follow Christ or less likely? Are you an encourager or a discourager? Frankly many Christians through their gossip and complaining attitude can really sour fellow believers.
Paul, despite facing terrible circumstances, is able to rejoice. It must be said that some of the believers who are encouraged to preach Christ are doing it for selfish reasons. He goes on to say, “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife…” (Phil 1:15), and yet, despite what would be so discouraging to have people speaking against him, Paul says famously in Philippians 1:18, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.”
That is a man obsessed with the Gospel. You put him in jail? He rejoices that the gospel is spreading. (Phil 1:12) You tell him that preachers are using him and maligning him? He rejoices that at least they are preaching the Gospel! (Phil 1:18) You threaten his life? Well, for him to die is gain (Phil 1:21O). You simply cannot steal this man’s joy!
Many things attempt to steal our attention away. Whether it is our jobs, our homes, our cell phones, or our families, it is so easy to become obsessed with the world. Paul was tempted like us; he was just a man, but he was a man who was obsessed with the Gospel. The reason why he loved the Gospel so much was because the Gospel is about Jesus Christ. For Paul, life was worth living because Jesus was His Lord, and for Paul death was worth dying because it meant being with His Lord. He was obsessed with Jesus, and couldn’t help but talk about Him and couldn’t wait to be with Him.
How about you? What are you obsessed with? Be obsessed with the Gospel–it is the only thing worth living for and the only thing worth dying for.
No Degrees Of Deadness
The key to a right understanding of God’s work in salvation is to start where the Bible starts regarding our condition outside of Christ. We are not healthy; and not just sick; very sick; or even mortally sick. No, we are dead. All of us were born that way when we came into this world as the fallen sons of Adam. In Adam all die.
Start there in your thinking, recognizing there are no degrees of deadness. See the utter hopelessness and futility of our condition. Anything less than this is a misdiagnosis of the problem. Our condition is way beyond bleak. A doctor prescribed medicine or a coach’s moral pep-talk is foolishness at this point. It’s too late. The doctor has signed the papers pronouncing us dead and there was no mistake. The mortician has placed us in the casket already. We are, in human terms, beyond all hope.
Did you catch that? Do you get that?
If you did, then you would realize that for God to make a Christian, He must raise him from spiritual death. He needs more than healing; he needs resurrection. Every Christian is therefore an act of God – a miracle, a new creation – and something impossible by the power, schemes and efforts of man.
When we understand this to be the Bible’s teaching (which it is), there can be no other logical conclusion except salvation is entirely God’s work from start to finish. It is actually quite ridiculous to think otherwise. It is beyond debate. Salvation is of the Lord.
See this now in the words of the Apostle Paul. Addressing the Christians at Ephesus he writes:
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Repentance
Repentance is a gift from God. We mustn’t assume that repentance has its origin within us. God gives repentance as a gift of grace through the work of the Spirit in His people and as such ought to be treated as a gift with an awareness of an undeserved mercy. (2 Tim. 2:25)
Repentance is recognizing that our offense is primarily a transgression against God, His holy character, and His Law, and secondarily a transgression against our neighbor as His image bearer. Therefore real repentance is to be offered for real sins and real transgressions and not for illusory or made-up offenses. (Matt. 22:36-40)
Repentance, rightly understood, inevitably brings about a change of mind and posture towards those whom we’ve sinned against. First, in abhorrence of my behavior as it has been directed toward to the person and character of God, and second, as I have sinned against my neighbor. Repentance looks like renewed disposition, love, and good deeds directed toward both. (Eph. 4:28)
Repentance is casting myself upon the mercy of God for my personal transgressions against God and my neighbor, and imploring Him for forgiveness, and trusting that He will hear my cry for mercy. And this with a single view of turning away from this action that has caused a breach between Him (and my neighbor) and me, with full recognition that without God’s mercy I am lost in my sin. (Psalm 51, Luke 18:9-14)
Repentance is recognizing and embracing the reality that my sinful behavior is no small thing. My sin is a transgression against the holy character of God and as such required the death of Jesus Christ as God’s sin-bearer. (Heb. 9:22)
My repentance is not conditioned upon the repentance of someone else. My transgression is mine alone and whether someone else repents is of no consequence to me. My sinful action against God (and my neighbor) is the sole source for my repentance. (Matt. 5:23)
Lack of repentance brings judgment. (James 5:9)
Repentance must characterize the community of the forgiven as the world looks on in confounded amazement. (Rev. 2:5)
Repentance makes the heart glad as we become reconciled to God and our neighbor. (James 5:16)
Repentance is an indication that we are walking in the light and have fellowship with God through Christ. (1 John 1)
Repentance, with both contrition and joy, shows the inestimable worth of Jesus Christ as a propitiation for my sin. (1 John 1:5-10)
Repentance demonstrates the imminence of God’s Kingdom (Matt. 4:17)
There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. (Luke 15:7)
Repentance, when offered in faith, is always accompanied by the assurance of forgiveness by God. (1 John 1:9)
– Dan J. Morse, from his ‘Not a Square Inch’ blog
Note: It should go without saying that before all else repentance recognizes that we cannot save oursleves so it is a turning (repenting) from trusting in your own righteousness and trusting in Christ and His righteousness ALONE.