Theology, the World, Life & God-centeredness

Words that wound. The Word that heals.

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:58:00 +0000

As someone who knows all too well the destructive power of words, I was greatly encouraged by this short Paul Tripp video:

(HT: Abraham Piper)

Break....

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:05:00 +0000

I am going to be taking a break from blogging for an indefinite amount of time.

Thank you,

HS

Grudem Piracy Confirmed

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:56:00 +0000

I can now confirm that Grudem's Systematic Theology has been put on line illegally. I apologize for the initial link as I should have confirmed its internet release with Grudem before posting it online. Below is an update from the publisher:

"Stolen Property"

It has recently come to the attention of Wayne Grudem and myself that an illegal copy of his "Systematic Theology" has been posted on the Internet and that word of this, along with links to the site where the illegal copy is posted, has found its way to many Christian blog sites. I am working with Dr. Grudem to contact all sites that have links to this illegal copy of his book to ask them to remove the links immediately.

Dr. Grudem and I jointly hold the copyright to all electronic versions of his "Systematic Theology." My company, Bits & Bytes, Inc., is the publisher of the Libronix, PC Study Bible, Pradis, and Olive Tree versions of this book. Posting a complete copy of "Systematic Theology" online is intellectual property theft -- a federal crime. Posting a link to the illegal copy or a link to a link is at the very least directing people to stolen goods.

On behalf of Dr. Grudem and myself, we respectfully request that all links to, and all links to links to, the illegal copy of "Systematic Theology" that is on the Internet be removed from all Christian blog sites.

Thank you for honoring this request.

Sincerely,
John Hughes, President

www.bitsbytescomputer.com
johnhughes@centurytel.net

(HT: Adrian Warnock)

Thursday with Calvin

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

"All the things that make for the enriching of this present life are sacred gifts of God, but we spoil them by our misuse of them. If we want to know the reason why, it is because we are always entertaining the delusion that we will go on forever in this world. The result is that the very things which ought to be of assistance to us in our pilgrimage through life, become the chains which bind us." -John Calvin

Disappointing Update on Grudem's Systematic Theology

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:55:00 +0000

It appears that the online version of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology may have been posted without the permission of the publisher. If you want more details on the story click here. Until it can be verified whether or not it has been put online legally I have disabled the link in my previous post and would ask you to consider not visiting the site. Thank you and sorry for the confusion.

Some Audio for Your Commute and the Gym

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:58:00 +0000

Some audio messages for your commute and the gym:

1) C.J. Mahaney--The Troubled Soul: God's Word and Our Feelings

2) Tim Keller--Changed Lives, Inside Out Living, and How to Change

3) Sam Storms--The Supremacy of Christ

Monday with Augustine

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:59:00 +0000

"How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! ... You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure."

--Augustine

(HT: Monergism)

Misunderstanding Justification by Faith

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:10:00 +0000

There is an understanding of faith in our day that is so lifeless and devoid of any spiritual affection that it ceases to be real faith. It disheartens me that there are those who advocate a "gospel" that requires no level of delight in the person of Christ. A.W. Tozer saw this tragedy taking place in the church several decades ago and says it much better than I can:

"The doctrine of justification by faith--a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort--has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be `received' without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is `saved,' but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little."

Reflections on the Cross

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:12:00 +0000

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is here, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

- John Stott, The Message of Galatians (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1968), 179.

(HT: Of First Importance)

The Early Church Father's Online for Free!

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:09:00 +0000

If you want to read some of the earliest post-biblical documents written by the early church leaders you can do so by clicking here. Last summer I did an independent study where I translated through several of the writings of the early church fathers and it was extremely rewarding. I walked away from the study thinking that many Christians would benefit a lot more from reading these documents than the latest Christian author. In other words, these documents should not just be viewed as the scholar's treasure chest that cannot be unlocked and explored with profitability by normal believers. Below are a couple of quotes from The Martyrdom of Polycarp (a document from the second century) to give you a bit of a flavor for some of the things you will find:

The first quote is taken from when Polycarp was about to be killed and all he had to do to save his life was to swear by Caeser and deny the Christ. Rather than swearing by Caeser he is quoted as saying:

"Eighty and six yeas have I served him, and he has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my king who saved me?"

The second quote is from when Polycarp refused to deny Christ they wanted to burn him alive by nailing him to a stake. However, rather than allowing himself to be nailed to the stake he told his captors:

"Let me be as I am. He that granted me to endure the fire will grant me also to remain at the fire unmoved, without beings secured with nails."

Sinclair Ferguson on the Christian's Focus

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:04:00 +0000

"This first thing to remember, of course, is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual ... but from the New Testament's point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirtuality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about ourself and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ."--Sinclair Ferguson

(HT: Monergism)

Tim Keller on the Centrality of the Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:03:00 +0000

Tim Keller has a great article called Advancing the Gospel into the 21st Century. The following paragraphs are particularly insightful:

The gospel produces a unique blend of humility and boldness/joy in the convert. If you preach just a demanding God, the listener will have "low self-esteem"; if you preach just an all-loving God, the listener will have higher self-esteem. But the gospel produces something beyond both of those. The gospel says: I am so lost Jesus had to die to save me. But I am so loved that Jesus was glad to die to save me. That changes the very basis of my identity- -it transforms me from the root.

I can't tell you how important this is in all mission and ministry. Unless you distinguish the gospel from both religion and irreligion–from both traditional moralism and liberal relativism–then newcomers in your services will automatically think you are simply calling them to be good and nice people. They will be bored. But when, as here in Acts 15, the gospel is communicated in its unique, counter-intuitive balance of truth and love, then listeners will be surprised. Most people today try to place the church somewhere along a spectrum from "liberal" to "conservative"–from the relativistic to the moralistic. But when they see a church filled with people who insist on the truth, but without a shred of superiority or self-righteousness–this simply explodes their categories. To them, people who have the truth are not gracious, people who are gracious and accepting say "who knows what is the truth?" Christians are enormously bold to tell the truth, but without a shred of superiority, because you are sinner saved by grace. This balance of boldness and utter humility, truth and love–is not somewhere in the middle between legalistic fundamentalism and relativistic liberalism. It is actually off the charts.

Paul knew that 'getting the gospel straight'–not falling off into either legalism on the one hand or license on the other–is absolutely critical to the mission of the church. The secret of ministry power is getting the gospel clear. To be even slightly off to one side or another, loses tons of spiritual power. And people don't get really converted. Legalistic churches reform people's behavior through social coercion, but the people stay radically insecure and hyper-critical. They don't achieve the new inner peace that the grace of God brings. The more relativistic churches give members some self-esteem and the veneer of peace but in the end that is superficial too. The result, Archibald Alexander said, is like trying to put a signet ring on the wax to seal a letter, but without any heat! Either the ring will affect the surface of the wax only or break it into pieces. You need heat to permanently change the wax into the likeness of the ring. So without the Holy Spirit working through the gospel, radically humbling and radically exalting us and changing them from the inside out, the religion either of the hard or soft variety will not avail.

John Stott and Horatius Bonar on the Cross

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:00:00 +0000

For those readers who have commented and are waiting on my response to Elihu in the book of Job, I hope to address that question this weekend. Before I answer that question though I wanted to share the following quote that I came across. In John Stott's book The Cross of Christ he makes the following observation:

"Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading us to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance). Indeed, 'only the man who is prepared to own his share in the guilt of the cross...may claim his share in its grace.' Horatius Bonar (1808-89), who has been called the 'prince of Scottish hymn-writers', expressed it well:

'Twas I that shed the sacred blood;
I nailed him to the tree;
I crucified the Christ of God;
I joined the mockery.

Of all that shouting multitude
I feel that I am one;
And in that din of voices rude
I recognize my own.

Around the cross the throng I see,
Mocking the Sufferer's groan;
Yet still my voice it seems to be,
As if I mocked alone

John R. W. Stott The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 59-60.

Elihu in the Book of Job

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of teaching a seminary class on the book of Job. One of the more interesting interpretative decisions that the reader has to make is what to do with Elihu. Do you remember Elihu? He is the young guy who offers Job advice near the end of the book. I have my own opinion regarding what function Elihu's character serves in the overall narrative, but before I reveal my point of view on Elihu, I would like to hear from you. So the question on the table is:

What Role Does Elihu Play in the Book of Job? Is he just regurgitating the previous arguments or is he a wise counselor who speaks an appropriate rebuke?

Leave your opinion in the comments section.

Interesting New Website

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Thinking about taking a seminary class, but find yourself intimidated by all the theological jargon? Or perhaps your looking for a way to build your understanding of theological terminology, so you can better understand what certain books are saying? Damian M. Ramano has an interesting new site that might be helpful in this regards. He is high-lighting a different theological word each day and providing a brief definition. Click Here to visit the site.

The Church Fathers on Justification

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:00:00 +0000

"In his (God's) mercy he took upon himself our sins; he himself gave up his own Son as a ransom for us, the holy one for the lawless, the guiltless for the guilty, 'the just for the unjust,' the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. For what else but his righteousness could have covered our sins? In whom was it possible for us, the lawless and ungodly, to be justified except in the Son of God alone? O the sweet exchange, O the incomprehensible work of God, O the unexpected blessings, that the sinfulness of many should be hidden in one righteous man, while the righteousness of one should justify many sinners!" The Epistle to Diognetus 9:2-5

Taken from a recent translation by Michael W. Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek texts and English translations (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 1999), 547.

J.I. Packer on Christians and Doctrine

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:31:00 +0000

"Pelagianism is the natural heresy of zealous Christians who are not interested in theology." --J.I. Packer

How About Some Calvin To Start the Work Week?

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:00:00 +0000

"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty." --John Calvin

(HT: Monergism)

A Great Tool for Reviewing All the Greek You Learned in Seminary

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:20:00 +0000

Wondering how to keep your Greek sharp after seminary? Check out this link for a helpful resource.

(HT: Roy Ciampa)

Eagerly Desiring Christ's Return

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:56:00 +0000

I found this encouraging quote by J.C. Ryle this morning and thought I would pass it along:

“The true Scriptural source of consolation, in the face of all that troubles us, is to keep steadily before our eyes the second coming of Christ.

We must grasp and realize the blessed fact that the rightful King of the world is returning soon, and shall have His own again; that He shall put down that old usurper, the devil, and take away the curse from off the earth.

Let us cultivate the habit of daily looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, the gathering together of the saints, the restitution of all things, the banishment of sorrow and sin, and the re-establishment of a new kingdom, of which the rule shall be righteousness.”

(HT: Of First Importance)

Pastoral Encouragement to Keep Praying for Change

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:20:00 +0000

John Piper offers the following encouragement to keep praying for change and spiritual breakthrough. (Click Here to read the whole thing):

"If in the last 1% of our lives we can get a victory over some longstanding sinful habit or hurtful defect in our personality, it will be a beautiful testimony now to the power of grace; and it will be an added witness (not the only one) at the last judgment of our faith in Christ and our union with him."

NBA Playoffs

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:03:00 +0000

Once again I find myself failing to live up to actually posting on sports without external prompting. Nevertheless, thank you Mr. commenter for your request for a sports post. Here are my thoughts, along with the sports gal's (rip-off of Bill Simmons) on the playoffs and who will win each series:

New Orleans vs San Antonio

N.O. leads the series 3-2 after blowing the Spurs out again. Yet, I can't find it in myself to pick against the Spurs. They are one of my least favorite teams, but they always seem to find a way to win. My pick Spurs in 7. Sports Gal--San Antonio will play game six really hard at home and win, but the Hornets should come back and win game seven in New Orleans.

Los Angeles vs Utah Jazz

Lakers in 7. Kobe will probably have a steller performance in L.A. and then have to sit out game six with back spasms. In the end Bryant, Gasol, and Odom will just prove to be too much. Sports Gal--Los Angeles in 6. If Kobe is hurt then the Lakers don't stand a chance. Kobe Bryant deserved the MVP and I hope they will win the Western Conference.

Cleveland vs Boston

If I would have picked this game before the series started I would have picked the Celtics in 4, but now that the series is underway I have to go with the CAVS in 7. I think LBJ has figured out how to play against the tenacious C's defense and the supporting cast will continue to step it up. Sports Gal--For all the hype that Boston has they are not performing very well in the playoffs. No team that loses their first six playoff games on the road is really the best team in the NBA. Yet, the Cavs don't seem like the best road team either. In light of this, Celtics in 7.

Finals

Spurs vs Pistons

Pistons in 5. My oh my, how I hope this is not the NBA Finals match-up, but I think it probably will be. If the Spurs can pull off two in a row vs N.O. look for them to beat the Lakers in 6 and then lose to the Pistons in 5. The Pistons quitely cruised to being one of the premier teams this year and will finally get over the hump of winning a championship with out Larry Brown. Look for Tashaun Prince to be the surprise MVP of the finals. Sports Gal-Lakers vs Celtics--Celtics in 7. The Celtics win the Finals with only one victory on the road during the playoffs (a victory over Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals).

An Encouragement to Seek God

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:28:00 +0000

One barometer for gauging our relationship with God is how grieved we feel over our sin. The following quote that I came across today offers some helpful encouragement for what to do when we don't sense the magnitude of our sin:

"If we don't feel grieved for our sin, and deeply unworthy of God's goodness, then we need to pray earnestly that God would show us himself -- that he would cease to be a mere doctrine that we hear with our ear, and instead would become an awesome, infinitely holy, dreadful and wonderful Sovereign that we taste and see with our hearts." --John Piper, Sermon on Job: Reversal in Suffering, August 4, 1985.

J.I. Packer on Preaching

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000

"The preachers’ commission is to declare the whole counsel of God; but the cross is the centre of that counsel, and the Puritans knew that the traveller through the Bible landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called Calvary."--J.I. Packer,A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 1990), 286.

(HT: C.J. Mahaney)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Goal of Preaching

noreply@blogger.com (HS) — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:12:00 +0000

One of the most helpful and encouraging books that I have read on preaching is Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Click Here for more information). While the following quote is a bit longer than the other preaching quotes I have recently posted, it is well worth the 90 seconds it will take to read.

What is Preaching? Logic on fire! Eloquent reason! Are these contradictions? Of course they are not. Reason concerning this Truth ought to be mightily eloquent, as you see it in the case of the Apostle Paul and others. It is theology on fire. And a theology which does not take fire, I maintain, is a defective theology; or at least the man's understanding of it is defective. Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. A true understanding and experience of the Truth must lead to this. . . A man who can speak about these things dispassionately has no right whatsoever to be in a pulpit; and should never be allowed to enter one.

What is the chief end of preaching? . . . To give men and women a sense of God and His presence. . . . I can forgive a man for a bad sermon, I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him. Preaching is the most amazing, and the most thrilling activity that one can ever be engaged in, because of all that it holds out for all of us in the present, and because of the glorious endless possibilities in an eternal future.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1972) ,97-98.

(HT: Coty Pinckney)