Matthew Holst, in an article entitled “The Anatomy of Sexual Sin” whether it be narrative, Psalms, wisdom or the Gospels and Epistles, warnings against sexual sin are prominent. From Genesis to Revelation, every book of Scripture teaches that believers are to vigorously pursue sexual purity and forewarns against transgressing God’s law in this area. Perhaps the most serious warning is in Revelation 21: 8 “But as for the cowardly, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fie and sulfur, which is the second death” (ESV). Yet how attitudes in the church have changed to sexual sin! No longer the scandal it once was, it is not so much a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’ this sin will happen in the church. We cannot deny that the world’s lax and liberal attitude to sexual sin has permeated the church–to the point that it is now bordering on being accepted as one of the so-called “acceptable sins.”

Perhaps this is because we have lost sight of what a terrible offense sexual sin is in the eyes of God. Following the pattern of the world, the church rarely sees the terrible nature of this sin both in its inherent sinfulness and its destructive nature to those who engage in it. What then can we in the church, do to help warn against the epidemic-like spread of sexual sin, especially, though not exclusively in our young people. First we need to diagnose what sexual sin is, before we can seek to counsel and protect those who are tempted or have fallen. Paul, in Colossians 3:5 does precisely that.

Paul wrote “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry”. Paul is very clear – sexual sin, which is manifested in both thought and deed is actually covetousness, which itself is idolatry. More of that in a moment, but consider the common response of those caught or confession their sexual sin. “We just fell into it”, or “I just wanted someone to comfort me during my trial”, or “it just happened”. Not so, according to Paul. Sexual sin NEVER “just happens”, rather it is the end of a long process which starts with idolatry. Continue reading →

Phil Johnson speaks on the subject, “Is Seventh-Day Adventism a Cult?” at this link.

me and my four children.

have wrestled to reconcile God’s holy justice with the seeming brutality of God’s judgments, especially in the Old Testament.

Before facing the difficulties head on and “staring the Old Testament God in the face,” Sproul rapidly dispatches some of the common yet unacceptable solutions to this problem. Then, instead of choosing some of the easier passages to explain and defend, Sproul takes head-on the most difficult and offensive passages in the Bible:

* The judgment of Nadab and Abihu for offering an unauthorized sacrifice (Lev. 10:1-3).
* The judgment on Uzzah for touching the ark (1 Chron. 13:7-11).
* Capital punishment for multiple crimes.
* The command given to Israel to slaughter thousands of Canaanites.
* The killing of Christ on the cross.

This chapter on God’s holy justice is the most outstanding chapter in an outstanding book, and, I believe, one of the greatest chapters Sproul has ever written. Although he deals with each of the above passages in turn, here’s my attempt to gather together and summarize the common threads in each section:

God’s judgments were pre-announced
In the cases of Nadab, Abihu, and Uzzah, God cannot be accused of unexpected, whimsical, or arbitrary judgment. Rather, God gave clear instructions and unmistakeable prohibitions and, in the case of Uzzah at least, clear and unmistakeable sanctions for disobedience (Ex. 30:9-10; Num. 4:15-20). These were not innocent men and these were not sins of ignorance.

God’s judgments are holy
As God’s justice is according to His holy character, His justice is never divorced from His righteousness. He never condemns the innocent, clears the guilty, or punishes with undue severity.

God’s judgments are delayed
Although the New Testament seems to reduce the number of capital offenses, even the Old Testament represents a massive reduction in capital crimes from original list – instant death for each and every sin.

The OT, therefore, is a record of the grace of God, because every sin is a capital offense and deserving of death. The issue is not why does God punish sin but why does He permit ongoing human rebellion and ongoing human existence. The OT is a record of a God who is patient in the extreme with a rebellious people, delaying the full measure of justice so that grace would have time to work.

God’s judgments are against sin
We don’t understand God’s judgments because we don’t understand sin. Sin is cosmic treason – treason against a perfectly pure sovereign. It misrepresents God whose image we are called to bear, and it violates others – injuring, despoiling, and robbing them. In commanding the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites, God was not giving injustice to Canaan and justice to Israel; He gave justice to Canaan and mercy to Israel. The Canaanites were not innocent, but a treasonous people who daily insulted God’s holiness (Deut. 9:4-6).

God’s judgments were approved by Jesus
Christ called the Old Testament God, “Father.” It was the Old Testament God who sent His son to save the world, and the Old Testament God’s will that Jesus came to do. It was zeal for the Old Testament God who slew Nadab and Abihu that consumed Christ (John 2:17).

God’s greatest judgment was experienced by Jesus
The most powerful act of divine vengeance in the Bible, and the most violent expression of God’s wrath and justice, is seen at the cross. If we have cause for moral outrage, let it be focused on the cross. Yet, the cross was the most beautiful and the most horrible example of God’s wrath. It was the most just and the most gracious act in history.

God’s judgments destroy entitlement
Since we tend to take grace for granted, God reminded Israel through His judgments that grace must never be assumed. God’s judgments challenge our secret sense of entitlement, and changes the question from “Why doesn’t God save everybody?” to “Why did God save me?” But if we insist on insisting on what we deserve, we will get justice, not mercy.

“Many atheistic books and blogs seethe with anger. Remarkably, the authors do not limit their anger to Christians. They seem most livid with God. I don’t believe in leprechauns, but I haven’t dedicated my life to battling them. I suppose if I believed that people’s faith in leprechauns poisoned civilization, I might get angry with members of leprechaun churches. But there’s one thing I’m quite sure I wouldn’t do: I would not get angry with leprechauns. Why not? Because I can’t get angry with someone I know doesn’t exist.” – Randy Alcorn, If God Is Good

“Know this! They (false prophets) are the judgment of God upon a wicked defiled people who although they have a knowledge of God they do not want him. And so God sends them the teachers that they themselves desire.” – Paul Washer

“Among these tenets [of the Pelagians]…is the evil and tenuous seed of the others, namely, that God’s grace is given in answer to men’s merits…In this manner, grace is no longer grace, because, if it is rendered for merit and does not itself cause what is good in man, then its name is meaningless.” Prosper of Aquitaine, 5th Century

“When we see that others are saved, we should not make so bold to say that they were worthy of salvation, since of course God could have condemned them in justice had He so chosen. But the reason why He does not save all or saves some in preference to others, there is no need for us to inquire, nor is it possible for us to find out. Without considering the reason for that discrimination, it should be enough for us to know that mercy does not do away with justice, nor justice with mercy, in Him who condemns no one except in justice and saves no one except through mercy.” – Prosper of Aquitaine, 5th Century

“The Holy Spirit has brought us into an inseparable union with Christ — one that is as secure as the Father’s love for the Son, as sure as God’s love is for himself.” – John Piper

“Some make man God’s co-worker, to ratify election by his consent. Thus, according to them, man’s will is superior to God’s plan. As if Scripture taught that we are merely given the ability to believe, and not, rather, faith itself!” – John Calvin

“Bold-hearted men are always called mean-spirited by cowards.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“If you want to follow Jesus because He’ll fix your marriage, if you want to follow Jesus because He’ll give you a better life, that’s idolatry. Follow Christ for the sake of Christ; He is worthy!” – Paul Washer

“Faith is the means by which the righteousness of Christ is given to us.” – R.C. Sproul

“The Scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in them. Whoever turns aside from this object, even though he wears himself out all his life in learning, he will never reach the knowledge of the truth.” – John Calvin

“The most effective sermons are those which make opposers of the Gospel bite their lips and gnash their teeth.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“Christians have a new identity. We are no longer ‘in Adam’ but ‘in Christ’; no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit…” – Sinclair Ferguson

“The true gospel…stands before the throne of God declaring, ‘Jesus did it all.'” – R.C. Sproul Jr

“The gospel is the good news that God bought for us the everlasting enjoyment of God.” – John Piper

“When God calls, it has the intensity of a shout and the authority of a summons. When He calls, He secures His own desired results.” – Steven Lawson

“If we refuse mercy here, we shall have justice in eternity.” – Jeremy Taylor

“We are not called to make a crowd of worldly folk happy–even worldly evangelistic folk happy–but so to labour amongst them that, through many tribulations, discouragements and misunderstandings, we form a faithful people of God, however small a remnant of the total congregation that may be.” – William Still in The Work of a Pastor

“You see no beauty in any action that you do. All seems imperfect, blemished, and defiled. You are often sick at heart of your own shortcomings. But now know, that Jesus can see some beauty in everything that you do from a conscientious desire to please him. His eye can discern excellence in the least thing which is a fruit of his own Spirit. He can pick out the grains of gold from amid the dross of your performances, and sift the wheat from amid the chaff in all your doings. Your endeavors to do good to others, however feeble, are written in his book of remembrance. He does not forget your work and labor of love, however little the world may regard it.” (J.C. Ryle, Holiness, pg.228)

“In truth, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, lost mankind is completely infected by sin.” – Steven Lawson

“The only righteousness that meets the requirements of the Law is the righteousness of Christ.” – R.C. Sproul

“A sinner is justified as soon as he, or she, believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. God pronounces us righteous immediately the instant we place our trust in Christ as the Saviour whom God sent into the world to live and die for us. There is no place whatever in justification for the merit, so-called, of our own good works. Neither the sacraments, nor prayers, nor devotions, nor good works of any kind enter into a sinner’s justification before God. This is the clear teaching of the Bible and it is essential that we do not allow any false teaching to spoil our understanding. The great Apostle Paul states: ‘Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law’ (Rom. 3:28). We see from these words that nothing but faith justifies us. By ‘works of the law’ Paul means our observance of the Moral Law, the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments cannot save us. Our own good works cannot justify us, either in whole or in part.” – Maurice Roberts, ‘Finding Peace With God – Justification Explained’

“There is no little sin, because no little God to sin against.” – Thomas Brooks

“There is more evil in the least sin than in the greatest affliction.” – Thomas Brooks

“Take this for your motto; wear it in your heart; keep it in your eye; have it often in your mouth, till you can find something better. The cross of Christ is the tree of life and the tree of knowledge combined. Blessed be God! there is neither prohibition nor flaming sword to keep us back; but it stands like a tree by the highway side, which affords its shade to every passenger without distinction.” – John Newton

“Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“The character of God is the foundation of all holy joy, as his nature is the basis of all right theology, . . .” – William S. Plumer, (1872). Commenting on Psalm 119:137 in his book “Studies in the Book of Psalms: Being a Critical and Expository Commentary, with Doctrinal and Practical Remarks on the Entire Psalter” (p. 1079). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company.

Ask R.C. Sproul, Jr: Jesus told the rich young fool that he must sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow him. Is this true for all who would follow Jesus?

Yes. This, of course, is not what we typically hear about this text. We are told, for instance, that Jesus was tapping into the first use of the law rather than the third here, that rather than telling the young man what he must do to inherit eternal life He was demonstrating that despite the man’s claims, he had not in fact kept the ten commandments. Jesus here is saying, “Well, let’s look at commandment one. Do you have any gods before me? Money perhaps?” This is all true and good exegesis of the text.

Trouble is that we then go on to comfort ourselves by thinking, “Since I am not like this rich young fool, since I would be willing to sell all that I have and give it to the poor if Jesus asked, I pass this test.” We think that he failed an actual test because he was no good, while we pass a hypothetical test because we are good. It is, however, a very different thing to give up all your actual wealth than to merely hypothetically give it all up.

Now it may be that money is not actually an idol in your life. It may be that were Jesus to give you this command you would get right to work selling off assets. All of us, however, have idols, things we hold back from giving to the Lord. I discovered an idol in my own life several years ago when God in His providence didn’t ask me to give it away, but simply took it from me. I had at that time something of a reputation as a rather bold and prophetic fellow, someone who bravely didn’t much give a thought to his reputation. That reputation quickly morphed into a reputation as a bully and a cheat. And I learned rather quickly that I did indeed give a thought to my reputation, that I craved, longed for a reputation as one who didn’t care about his reputation. My deceitful heart had deceived me again.

When we sign on with Jesus we give up our wealth. We give up our reputations. We give up every gift that He had already given us, and every gift He will give us from that moment forward. When we become a part of the bride of Christ our pre-nuptial agreement reads, “All that I am and all that I have is yours O Lord, from this day forth and evermore.” When, therefore, He asks for anything, whether our wealth, our reputation, even our spouse or our child, we confess, “Yes, Lord.” The rich fool went away from Jesus sad for he had great wealth. We, however, walk toward Jesus, joyful, for we already had nothing. My Denise, and my Shannon, these are the golden crowns that I joyfully cast before His glassy sea. For they were always His, and because I am His always.

Do you have to give up your wealth? Of course. Even if the Master allows you to continue to steward it for Him. Do you have to give up your reputation? Of course, even if He allows you live in peace and quietness with all men. Will you have to give up your loved ones? Of course, even if they are with you until your home going. You have to give up everything, just like He did. And, like Him all you will receive in return, is everything.

Repost from Sept. 29, and were good friends of D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey for many years. Mr. Spafford’s children had come to Christ through the influence of Ira Sankey’s music and efforts with the children of Chicago. Shortly before the Great Chicago Fire of October 8th, 1871, the Spafford’s son died and the family went into deep mourning.

After the fire ravaged the city, Mr. Spafford found himself financially ruined. He had invested heavily in downtown Chicago real estate, which was now gone. He and his wife turned to the people of the city, helping to minister to those who were homeless and in desperate need.

After two years of ministering to the people of Chicago, Mr. Spafford thought his family needed a vacation. D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey were in England holding evangelical meetings and bringing countless people to Christ. Mr. Spafford decided to take his family to England, where they could vacation and also be a help to his friends Moody and Sankey.

Mr. Spafford booked passage for his family on the ship SS Ville de Havre, but at the last minute was unable to go with his family due to business. He promised to follow them within a few weeks and they would all be reunited in England.
Continue reading →

Steve Cornell writes:

A wife once told me that she planned to leave her husband because (in her words) she “just didn’t love him anymore.” When I asked her to change the way she worded her decision to say, “I am choosing to no longer value my husband and to break my commitment to remain faithful to him,” she insisted on using terms that made her a victim of feelings she could not change. Ironically, she also thought of her decision as virtuous because of her honesty and lack of hypocrisy.

Over the years, I have had people tell me they want to be married because they love each other and I’ve had people (like this woman) tell me that they want out of their marriages because they no longer feel love for their mate.

This has led me to ask some serious questions about the nature of love. What is love? Is it something we can fall into and fall out of? Is it chemistry? Infatuation? Is it an emotional response or a choice? In my evaluation, I’ve concluded that we need to distinguish two dimensions of love.

BEING in love and BEHAVING in love.

1. Being in love

This dimension is the emotional attraction of love. It’s what people mean when they speak of “falling in love.” It’s usually based on more superficial reactions to appearance and first impressions. Clearly, it’s a natural part of human attraction and although not necessarily wrong, it’s not enough to sustain a meaningful and lasting relationship. It’s far too superficial. Deeply satisfying relationships are built on the second dimension of love:

2. Behaving in Love

This dimension does not depend on feelings and chemistry. It’s the love of volition. It’s the choice to respond to my mate in a loving manner–regardless of feelings. This dimension of love is a choice to value my mate and seek his or her best. While I can’t always make myself feel a certain way, I can always choose to act in a loving way.

In the context of marriage, the distinction between these two dimensions is very important. Most relationships start with a high dose of the BEING dimension of love and, in most relationships, this feeling diminishes with time. When this happens, the key to keeping the flame of love burning is not the pursuit of a feeling — but a decision to value the other person and be devoted to his or her best — no matter what one feels.

It’s a choice to act in love even when we don’t feel love. I realize that to many people this sounds almost like a great sin. It sounds as if I am advocating some form of dishonesty. Yet, surprisingly, when we choose to love, the feelings often follow the actions!

A cultural barrier:

We must confront a cultural barrier that threatens this understanding of love. Our culture sends a strong message telling us that above all else, we must be true to our feelings! A failure to do this, we’re told, would simply be dishonest and hypocritical. It has become a contemporary mark of good character to be true to your feelings.

This cultural ethic is often used to give people a false sense of virtue when breaking deep commitments. By “avoiding hypocrisy” and “being honest enough to admit the loss of feelings,” they feel justified (perhaps even virtuous) in breaking their wedding vows.

There is a deep and self-destructive deception in this line of reasoning. It implies that we are somehow victims of our feelings instead of capable of mastering them. A big problem with this is that feelings can come and go with changes in the weather.

Do you go to work only when you feel like going? Do athletes or great musicians only practice when they feel like it? We simply cannot live a healthy and productive life if we let our feelings master us. This is especially true in relationships.

If we hope to experience deep and lasting relationships as intended by God, love must be understood as a value word and as an action more than a feeling.

Remember that God demonstrated His love for us not because we were a warm, lovable group of people whom he could not resist. Instead, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This is the kind of love husbands are commanded to show toward their wives (Ephesians 5:25).

I invite you to share this post with others and to use it for conversation as couples, in small groups and with those preparing for marriage. Reflect often on this distinction between: Being in love and Behaving in love.

Prayerfully evaluate your love based on the best definition of love available to humanity.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (I Corinthians 13:1-8a).

(1) TRANSLATIONS: Please join with me in prayer regarding the exciting possibility of my new book “Twelve What Abouts – Answering Common Objections Concerning God’s Sovereignty in Election” being translated into two foreign languages. I have recently been approached by two Christian brothers, the other into French. Both projects are in the VERY initial stages so I would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and guidance very much.

“Sometimes a single misapprehension or sticky question stands in the way of an honest believer’s examination of the doctrines of grace. John Samson answers those questions with a pastoral heart, yet with biblical fidelity.” – Dr. James White

Just a reminder – the book is in an eBook form now. The paperback edition should be published by the end of the month yet is available for pre-ordering through Solid Ground Books at the link to the right.

(2) Once again, Ligonier has some excellent 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.

(3) Would you consider taking 5 minutes of your day to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters? You can read and pray over the World Watch List of 50 countries where the church is persecuted.

Michael Horton writes:

Newsweek‘s current cover-story is “The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World,” by Ayann Hirsi Ali, who fled her native Somalia and served in the Dutch Parliament before taking a position at the American Enterprise Institute. As the article points out, widespread anti-Christian violence is exploding even in countries with Muslim minorities. How do we respond wisely as Christians to this growing threat?

Horton goes on to give three actions we can take and work for: (1) prayer; (2) faithful witness; (3) human rights, not just Christian rights. You can read the whole thing here. (HT: JT)