(1) Pastor Leo Godzich, Associate Pastor at Phoenix First Assembly was killed in an auto accident in Uganda yesterday, along with others. I had met him numerous times and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Please pray for his family. Details are sketchy just now but a report can be found here.

(2) I mentioned this before, but a few weeks ago, Dr. James White conducted a 2.5 hour online course in Christology for Christians: A Study of the History and Theology of the Person of Christ. It was outstanding. If you have not already listened in I would encourage you to bookmark the page and hear it at your leisure.

(3) Paul Manata has provided a very good review of Roger Olson’s new book “Against Calvinism” found here.

(4) Led by the Spirit – Someone sent me the following and I thought it was well worth passing on:

Have you ever heard somebody say that the Spirit “led” them to do something? Or something like, “I felt led to” do such and such? I’ve heard those kinds of statements. I’ve said those kinds of things, too. But what do people mean when they say that? And, more importantly, is that a Biblical way of understanding and speaking about the Spirit’s ministry among believers?

It might surprise you, as it did me, to learn that the phrase “led by the Spirit” occurs only twice in the New Testament:

Romans 8:13-14 – For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Galatians 5:16-18 – But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

You’ll notice that both occurrences of “led by the Spirit” come in the context of the mortification of sin. The Holy Spirit’s testimony about His own role in “leading” believers is specifically set alongside the putting away of the desires and deeds of the flesh. To do that is to walk by the Spirit; that is, to walk by means of Him: to be led by Him. And so if we are going to be relentlessly Biblical, this has to be the way we primarily understand and use that phrase: being led by the Spirit. “The Spirit led me to put off my anger and bitterness.” “The Spirit led me to mortify my lust for attention and recognition.” And so on.

(5) Once again, Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale. Once in a while there is something truly of note to mention and that is the case today. The CD set “Justification by Faith Alone” is especially recommended, a 15 part series that is normally $38, but for today only $5.

I would urge all Pastors to consider ordering multiple sets to put in the hands of your people. Its a truly outstanding series.
The online sale starts at 8 a.m. EST and goes on for 24 hours or until items are sold out. Check out the $5 Ligonier sale here.

By the way, remember that for any purchase at Ligonier, click on the green Ligonier Ministries image to the right and when placing an order, use the code “EGRACE10” and it will give you a 10% discount as a reader of this blog.

(6) From the Truth for Life website:

“I chose you out of the world.” – John 15:19

Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard, for some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to dwell upon this lofty doctrine of election. When your mind is heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a spiritual tonic. Those who doubt the doctrines of grace or who throw them into the shadows miss the richest clusters of grapes; they lose the best wines, the choice food.

There is no balm in Gilead comparable to it. If the honey in Jonathan’s wood when simply touched illumined the eyes, this is honey that will illumine your heart as you love and learn the mysteries of the kingdom of God. You must feed on this; live upon this choice provision, and do not be afraid that it will prove too delicate a diet. Meat from the King’s table will hurt none of His servants. Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend more and more of the eternal, everlasting, discriminating love of God.

When you have soared as high as election, linger on its twin peak, the covenant of grace. Covenant engagements are the mighty fortresses behind which we lie entrenched; covenant engagements with our Savior, Christ Jesus, are the quiet resting-places of trembling spirits.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the raging flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
This still is all my strength and stay.

(7) I encourage you to check out the Reformation apparel by clicking on the Missionalwear logo to the right. There are some very cool items that have now become available for both men and women.

(1) ‘180’ is a wake up call to all Christians in America: Its become something of a vastly overused and worn out cliche to say that something is “life changing”, but if there ever was a movie made which could lay claim to such a term, surely this is it.

Its now been seen by more than 300,000 people just on youtube since it was released this week. Lets spread the word far and wide about this powerful movie and get it into the hands of as many people as we can. May God bless and strengthen Ray Comfort and all involved in this amazing project.

For more information or to order “180” on DVD, please go to this link.

Here’s one person’s outreach. He says, “Giving away 180 is easy, all you need are some DVDs and a servant’s heart.”

(2) This coming Tuesday (October 4) from 1:00pm to 3:30pm MST (appx), Dr. James White will conduct an online course in Christology for Christians: A Study of the History and Theology of the Person of Christ. James writes:

On Tuesday beginning at 1pm MST we will have the equivalent of a seminary level class on Christology on The Dividing Line. Christology should be a fundamental area of study of any serious believer, yet it is often an area of profound ignorance amongst many who name the name of Christ. We would like to help our listeners to have a much better grasp of this vital area. So, we will do at least two full hours of lecture on this topic, with a brief break halfway through the lecture.

To prepare for this, James has suggested some online reading material. Full details here.

(3) Once again, Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale. The online sale starts at 8 a.m. EST and goes on for 24 hours or until items are sold out. Check out the $5 Ligonier sale here.

(4) Dane Ortlund has come up with an innovative literary device, writing about an imaginary interview he would have with Jonathan Edwards, basing the answers on Edwards’ own writings and sermons:

A few questions on the Christian life. (I requested one to two word answers only).

Jon, what ignites the Christian life? How does it all get started?

JE: New birth.

Having begun, what then is the essence of the Christian life? What’s the heart and soul of Christian living? What is most definitive of it?

JE: Love.

What is the fuel for the Christian life? How do we keep loving? What’s the non-negotiable of all non-negotiables that will keep us going?

JE: Joy.

Where do I go to get this joy? How can I find it? What, concretely, sustains it, through all the ups and downs of life?

JE: The Bible.

But as I go to the Bible, what do I do with it as I read? How do I own it, make it mine, turn it into this joy-fueled love?

JE: Prayer.

What then is the overall flavor of the Christian life? How would you describe the aroma, the feel, of following Christ?

JE: Pilgrimage.

If joy, Bible, prayer, and all the rest go in, all under the flavor of pilgrimage, what comes out? What is the result of Christian life?

JE: Obedience.

Broadening out our scope, then, how do we make sense of the all this in a macro way? What is the context for the Christian life?

JE: Redemptive history.

What then, finally, does all this funnel into? What, above all else, is the hope of the Christian life?

JE: Heaven.

(5) An important quote to add to last week’s article concerning justification in the early Church Fathers (by Nathan Busenitz):

Chrysostom (349-407): What does he mean when he says: “I have declared your justice?” He did not simply say: “I have given,” but “I have declared.” What does this mean? That he has justified our race not by right actions, not by toils, not by barter and exchange, but by grace alone. Paul, too, made this clear when he said: “But now the justice of God has been made manifest independently of the Law.” But the justice of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ and not through any labor and suffering.

Greek text: ?? ???? ?????, ????????????? ???????????? ??? ????? ?????, ?????, ???’, ?????????????. ?? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ????????????, ???? ?????, ???? ???????, ???? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ?? ????????. ???? ??? ??? ? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ?????????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ???????, ?? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ?????.

Adversus Judaeos, VII, §3, PG 48:919; translation in Fathers of the Church, Vol. 68, Discourses Against Judaizing Christians, Disc. 7.3.2 (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1979), pp. 186-187.

(1) Back in 2005, Dr. Wayne Grudem taught an outstanding message at an ETS Conference on the theme “Are Only Some Words of Scripture Breathed Out By God?” I am pleased to see that it is now in a written format, both in a condensed form I was directed to a very helpful and insightful article by Carolyn McCulley called “Why pray for a husband?” Though obviously written for women, the principles outlined have application for men also.

(3) I appreciated this quote from John Piper:

“I am a lover of the Reformed faith — the legacy of the protestant Reformation expressed broadly in the writings of John Calvin and John Owen and Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards, and contemporaries like R. C. Sproul and J. I. Packer and John Frame.

I speak of love for this legacy the way I speak of loving a cherished photo of my wife. I say, “I love that picture.” You won’t surprise me if you point out, “But that’s not your wife, that’s a picture.” Yes. Yes. I know it’s only a picture. I don’t love the picture instead of her, I love the picture because of her. She is precious in herself.

The picture is precious not in itself, but because it reveals her. That’s the way theology is precious. God is valuable in himself. The theology is not valuable in itself. It is valuable as a picture. That’s what I mean when I say, “I love reformed theology.” It’s the best composite, Bible-distilled picture of God that I have.” (Bloodlines, 129-130).

(4) I am thinking of cancelling the giveaway I mentioned last week due to an apparent lack of interest.

(5) On assurance and the ongoing battle with indwelling sin:

“If you feel that you are empty, if you feel you are nothing, if you feel you are poor and wretched and blind, if you hate your inclination to sin and have any suspicion of a feeling of self-loathing and hatred, you can take it from me that you have eternal life, for no one ever experiences such things until the life of God comes into his or her soul.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

(6) Please continue to pray for a very good friend of mine, Pastor Graeme Adams, in Dundee, Scotland, who was recently rushed to hospital because of chest pains. The doctors have so far eliminated the idea of him having had a heart attack, but so far they have not determined the cause, though it could well be stress related. He is back home now but is very weak and tired. Please pray for Pastor Graeme and his wife Rhonda, their two sons, and for the precious Church he pastors.

(7) Once again, Ligonier has some excellent deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale. especially for audio and video downloads. The children’s book and the “Believing God” book are also excellent. The online sale started at 8 a.m. EST and goes on for 24 hours or until items are sold out. Check out the $5 sale items here.