Gospel Perspective in Trials
More than anything else I could ever
do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby
position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the
one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every
hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His
gospel purposes in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I
realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits
into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the
gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my
life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is
that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good
unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the
image of Christ.
Preaching the gospel to myself each
day provides a lens through which I can view my trials in this way
and see the true cause for rejoicing that exists in them. I can
embrace trials as friends and allow them to do God's good work in me.
Milton Vincent
A Gospel Primer
for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God's Love
pp.
31-32
Keywords: gospel,trials
Limited Atonement & God's Love
"It is necessary for believers to understand the special nature of God's love for them. 'The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me' (Gal 2:20), is not a statement that gives security to all. To deny the special love of GOd, and to believe that Christ loves all men equally, is to suppose that Christ has done no more for those the Father has given to him than for mankind at large. But if CHristians are no more loved than those who will finally be lost, the decisive factor in salvation becomes, not God's grace and love, but somethin in them, and their perseverance becomes dependent upon themselves. To widen the atonement, and to speak of it only in terms of general love, is to take away its saving power. The believer in Christ needs to know that the love which embraces him is eternal, almighty, and immutable. It does not hang upon his faith for it went before faith."
Iain Murray
The Cross: The Pulpit of God's Love
p. 24
Similarly: From Shai Linne's The Atonement:
Keep reading... Keywords: atonement,murray,shai_linne
Disobedience: An Acceptance of Athiesm
Disobedience always involves the acceptance of atheism, whether so stated in words or merely acted on in life (there is no significant difference between denying God's existence and acting as if God does not exist)
Frame, J. M.
The doctrine of the knowledge of God
p. 59
Plan to Pray (Quote: D.A. Carson)
Much praying is not done because we do not plan to pray. We do not
drift into spiritual life; we do not drift into disciplined prayer. We
will not grow in prayer unless we plan to pray. That means we must
self-consciously set aside time to do nothing but pray.
What we actually do reflects our highest priorities...
It is better to pray often with brevity than rarely but at length. But the worst option is simply not to pray—and that will be the controlling pattern unless we plan to pray.
Carson, D. A.
A call to spiritual reformation : Priorities from Paul and his prayers
p. 20
Keywords: pray,prayer
The One Thing We Need Most Urgently (Quote: DA Carson)
The one thing we most urgently need in Western Christendom is a deeper knowledge of God. We need to know God better.
When it comes to knowing God, we are a culture of the spiritually stunted. So much of our religion is packaged to address our felt needs-and these are almost uniformly anchored in our pursuit of our own happiness and fulfillment. God simply becomes the Great Being who, potentially at least, meets our needs and fulfills our aspirations. We think rather little of what he is like, what he expects of us, what he seeks in us. We are not captured by his holiness and his love; his thoughts and words capture too little of our imagination, too little of our discourse, too few of our priorities.
In the biblical view of things, a deeper knowledge of God brings with it massive improvement in the other areas mentioned: purity, integrity, evangelistic effectiveness, better study of Scripture, improved private and corporate worship, and much more. But if we seek these things without passionately desiring a deeper knowledge of God, we are selfishly running after God's blessings without running after him. We are even worse than the man who wants his wife's services-someone to come home to, someone to cook and clean, someone to sleep with-without ever making the effort really to know and love his wife and discover what she wants and needs; we are worse than such a man, I say, because God is more than any wife, more than the best of wives: he is perfect in his love, he has made us for himself, and we are answerable to him.
Carson, D. A.
A call to spiritual reformation : Priorities from Paul and his prayers
p. 15
The Gospel and the Room of My Life
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him (Col 2:13-15)...
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files.
They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.
And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.
A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their contents. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."
The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird: "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in Anger," "Things I Have Muttered under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes there were fewer than I hoped.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my twenty years to write each of these thousands, possibly millions, of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.
When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.
When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed contents. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.
Suddenly I felt an almost animal rage. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took the file at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.
Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.
And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that the hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.
But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please, not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.
I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?
Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands, and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.
Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.
"No!" I shouted, rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.
He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and continued to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."
I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.
Joshua Harris
I kissed dating goodbye (amazon)
p. 104
Printed Word: Multiplying of God's Words
It is scarcely to be conceived how great a benefit has arisen to the Christian cause from the invention of printing. The word of God is that whereby the work of salvation is principally carried on in the souls of men: and the multiplying of copies of the Holy Scriptures, in such a form as to be conveniently portable, and at such a price as to be within the reach of the poor, has tended more than any other thing to keep alive the interests of religion, both in the hearts of individuals, and in the community at large.
Simeon, C. (1832-63).
Horae Homileticae Vol. 4: Chronicles to Job
p. 222 (2 Chron 34:27 Josiah's Penitence)
Shepherding My Heart From Pride & Anxiety
Piper, on 1 Peter 5:6-7 (Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you), preached the following observations on pride:
- Pride is Self-Satisfaction
- Pride is Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance
- Pride Considers Itself Above Instruction
- Pride Is Insubordinate
- Pride Takes Credit for What God Alone Does
- Pride Exults in Being Made Much Of
- Pride Aspires to the Place of God
- Pride Opposes the Very Existence of God
- Pride Refuses to Trust in God
- Pride Is Anxious Above the Future
Now we can see clearly and feel the force of 1 Peter 5:6–7,
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time …
How? In what way shall you humble yourselves? Answer (v. 7): by “casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” In other words, the humblest thing in the world is to do what 1 Peter 4:19 says, “Entrust your soul to a faithful Creator.” Casting your anxieties on God means trusting the promise that he cares for you and has the power and the wisdom to put that care to work in the most glorious way.
That trust is the opposite of pride. It’s the essence of humility. It’s the confidence that the mighty hand of God is not over you to crush you but to care for you just like the promise says. Don’t be proud, but cast your anxieties on him because he will care for you.
Whenever your heart starts to be anxious about the future, preach to your heart and say, “Heart, who do you think you are to be afraid of the future and nullify the promise of God? No, heart, I will not exalt myself with anxiety. I will humble myself in peace and joy as I trust this precious and great promise of God—he cares for me.
"I Almost Never Go To Movies"
I almost never go to movies. The reason is very
simple: there are almost no movies that don’t ask me to be entertained
by attitudes, motives, and actions which Jesus died to eradicate.
John Piper
Total Abstinence and Church Membership
Sermon from October 4, 1981
Distinct & Countercultural In Our Repentance -Dever
In a fallen world, so many things that come easy are not right; and so many things that are right, don’t come easy. So let’s pray for one another. Pray for our church, that we will be a community strong enough and loving enough that we can help each other be countercultural in these matters. No, we will not save ourselves by being distinct and countercultural. But I will tell you this: in today’s world, we will not be saved without being distinct and countercultural.
God’s people are marked out from others by our repentance; we have turned away from our sins. When you are confronted over your sin, do you hold on to your sin even more tightly and resent the person who confronts you? That is the sign of a person going to hell. The heart won by the grace of Christ has turned loose such defensiveness and pride and has said, “Yes, I’m a sinner. I need help. Step into my life.” God’s people are marked by that kind of repentance.
Mark Dever
Message of the Old Testament
p. 411
Come To God's Word Like It Was the Last Work I May Ever Hear
It may be the last time that God will ever speak to us in his Word; it may be the last sermon that we shall ever hear; we may go from the place of hearing to the place of judging. If people would think thus when they come into the house of God, “Perhaps this will be the last time that God will counsel us about our souls, the last time that ever we shall see our minister’s face,” with what devotion would they come!
Thomas Watson
Heaven Taken by Storm: Showing the Holy Violence a Christian Is to Put Forth in the Pursuit After Glory
pp. 17-18
Cited by Mark Dever
Promises Made: The Message of the Old Testament
p. 410
Keywords: watson
What Am I Most Aware Of?
When we live more aware of what we need to do than of what Christ has already done, we're drifting [from grace to self-effort].
Dave Harvey
When Sinners Say "I Do"
p. 146
Belief In a Sovereign God Shows Itself In a Commitment to Prayer
Belief in a sovereign God shows itself in a commitment to prayer
Mark Dever
Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made
"Ezra"
p. 397
Keywords: prayer
Incomprehensibility Means We Will Never Run Out of Things to Delight In
Consider heaven, an eternity with God, where our access to Him has been fully opened and where we no longer have the curse of sin tainting our ability and desire to delight in Him:
Thus, we may know something about God's love, power, wisdom, and so forth. But we can never know his love completely or exhaustively. We can never know his power exhaustively. We can never know his wisdom exhaustively, and so forth. In order to know any single thing about God exhaustively we would have to know it as he himself knows it. That is, we would have to know it in its relationship to everything else about God and in its relationship to everything else about creation throughout all eternity! We can only exclaim with David, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it" (Ps. 139:6).
This doctrine of God's incomprehensibility has much positive application for our own lives. It means that we will never be able to know "too much" about God, for we will never run out of things to learn about him, and we will thus never tire in delighting in the discovery of more and more of his excellence and of the greatness of his works.
Wayne Grudem
Systematic Theology (Libronix)
p. 149
Keywords: epistemology,grudem
Return to the Word of God: The Commonality in Judah's Revivals
There were five revival periods during the times of the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel. These were all identified by a return to the Word of God. They began with a return to the Word of God; revival followed which eventuated in a great moral reformation: (1) Asa—2 Chronicles 14–16 ; (2) Jehoshaphat—2 Chronicles 17–20 ; (3) Joash—2 Chronicles 23–24 ; (4) Hezekiah—2 Chronicles 29–32 ; (5) Josiah—2 Chronicles 34–35 . These periods were the only occasions of blessing in the dark era of the divided kingdoms.
J. Vernon McGee
Making the Midweek Service Significant
Dallas Theological Seminary. (1954; 2002).
Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 111 (111:247).
From the Theological Journals Library
Text Selection: Freedom or Verse-by-Verse
From John Piper, commenting on how a pastor (or teaching church leader) must think about text selection. This was written in the first months of his pastorate at Bethlehem Baptist. It's a very good balance that gives some insight into how Piper has sought to "teach the whole counsel of God":
Two principles have to be balanced out. One is that we
preserve the freedom of the Holy Spirit to interrupt and alter our
plans. We must not be so locked into a verse-by-verse exposition of
this book that he cannot hit us with another text from time to time
that we may need to hear even more. That is the principle of freedom.
The other principle to keep in balance with it is the principle of
discipline. Preachers are sinners who, like all sinners, tend to preach
what they like and avoid what they don’t like. So we must find a way
not to be so selective. Luke tells us in Acts 20:26f. what Paul said to
the Ephesians when he left and what I want to be able to say to you
when my work here is done: “I testify to you this day that I am
innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from
declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” A preacher cannot say that,
if he rides one or two hobbyhorses while avoiding other teachings of
Scripture. One of the best ways to fulfill the principle of discipline
is to preach through a book of the Bible.
These two principles, freedom and discipline, are in tension because
it is not always easy to tell whether a desire to interrupt a series
comes from the Spirit or from a fear of the next text. But there is no
escape from this tension and so all I can promise is that I will do my
best under God to listen to the prompting of the Spirit and to declare
the whole counsel of God.
John Piper
The Aim of Dr. Luke
Sermon from November 9, 1980
HT: Unashamed Workman
Keywords: preaching
Quote: Have Communion With God in the Doctrine You Contend For
Wise advise from John Owen on how we are to approach the controversy that may be necessarily involved in contending for the truth of the gospel, having communion with the God of whom the doctrine refers
[More important than all is] a diligent endeavor to have the power of the truths professed and contended for abiding upon our hearts, that we may not contend for notions, but that we have a practical acquaintance within our own souls. When the heart is cast indeed into the mould of the doctrine that the mind embraceth—when the evidence and necessity of the truth abides in us—when not the sense of the words only is in our heads, but the sense of the thing abides in our hearts—when we have communion with God in the doctrine we contend for—then shall we be garrisoned by the grace of God against all the assaults of men.
John Owen
Cited by John Piper
The Future of Justification (from Desiring God or free pdf copy)
p. 28
Keywords: controversy
Quote: Zeal AND Informed Obedience
Commenting on 1 Chronicles 14-15, when after God had struck down Uzzah for touching the ark, David realized that they had not been transporting it and worshipping God rightly, D.A. Carson writes
Here is a profound lesson. At one level, doubtless God approves childlike praise and enthusiastic zeal. But he expects those with authority among his people to know what his Word says and obey it. No amount of enthusiasm and zeal can ever hope to make up for this lack. Zeal that is heading in the wrong direction never reaches the goal. It must either be redirected in the direction staked out in God's Word, or however enthusiastic, it is still wrong-headed and misdirected. There is no substitute for faith working itself out in informed obedience.
D.A. Carson
For the Love of God, Vol 1 (
digital from Logos)
November 20
Quote: Admiring Self For That Which Has Been Given
"What a monster of pride is man! How full of that
cursed venom, is human nature! We cannot receive any
grace or blessing from the Lord--but corrupt nature is
prone to be proud of it--and to boast in it! No one is
exempt from this. I appeal to your hearts. I refer to
your experience. When your heart has been enlarged
in prayer; when your soul has been carried out in
humblings, meltings, longings, aspirings, etc.; when
you have heard the Word with warm affections and
heavenly joy; when your tongue has with sweetness
and liberty, talked of Christ to others; when your hand
has been stretched forth to do any good work; now in
all these--have you not found pride very busy? Have
not you been ready to stroke yourself with pleasure,
and to reflect with delight: "Well, now the Lord loves
me indeed! Surely He loves me better--now that I
find myself so holy--and feel myself so heavenly!"
But where is our precious Jesus all this while? We have
looked at ourselves--until we have lost sight of Him!
We have been admiring our vile selves for our
graces--instead of being in raptures with Christ, who
is altogether lovely, in whom all fullness of grace
dwells, and out of whose fullness we receive grace
upon grace!"
William Mason
The One Thing Needed to Make Poor Sinners Rich and Miserable Sinners Happy (amazon)
History Has a Purpose
On 1 Chronicles:
History is not accidental and without purpose...Of course, we can speak of history having purpose only if it has a purposer - a creator, director, and sovereign...That purposing ruler is not you or me; it is the Lord God Almighty, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not simply one among many gods; he is the one true God. His plans and purposes will be carried out, and he will use the mighty kings of Assyria or Babylon for his ends.
Mark Dever
Message of the Old Testament
p. 344
Keywords: history,sovereignty
Suffering: An Answer to Prayer?
I have been reading an excellent book by the Puritan John Flavel (1630-1691), entitled Keeping the Heart. I've pasted below a little excerpt (help 6) from his list of 9 helps keep your heart amidst suffering:
It would much stay the heart under adversity to consider that God, by such humbling providences, may be accomplishing that for which you have long prayed and waited. And should you be troubled at that? Say, Christian, have you not many prayers pending before God upon such accounts as these: that He would keep you from sin; that He would reveal to you the emptiness and insufficiency of the creature; that He would kill and mortify your lusts; that your heart may never find rest in any enjoyment but Christ? Why, now by such humbling and impoverisheing strokes, God may be fulfilling your desire. Would you be kept from sin? Lo, He has hedged up your way with thorns. Would you see the creature's vanity? Your affliction is a fair glass in which to discover it; for the vanity of the creature is never so effectually and sensibly discovered as in our own experience of it. Would you have your corruptions mortified? This is the way; now God away the food and fuel that maintained them. For as prosperity begat and fed them, so adversity, when sanctified, is a means to kill them. Would you have your heart rest nowhere but in the bosom of God? What better way can you imagine providence should take to accomplish your desire than by pulling from under your head that soft pillow of creature delights on which you rested before? And yet you fret at this, peevish child! How you exercise your Father's patience! If He delays in answering your prayers, you are ready to say He regards you not. If He does taht which really answers the scope and main end fo them, but no in the way you expected, you quarrel with HIm for that - as if, instead of answering, He were crossing all your hopes and aims. Is this ingenuous? Is it not enough that God is so gracious to do what you desire, but you must be so impudent to expect He should do it in the way which you prescribe?
John Flavel
Keeping the Heart
pp 33-34
O may I live in th
Bad News First...Then the Good News
"Francis Schaeffer was once asked the question, 'What would you do if
you met a really modern man on a train and you had just an hour to talk
to him about the gospel?' He replied, 'I've said over and over, I would
spend 45-50 minutes on the negative, to really show him his
dilemma---that he is morally dead---then I'd take 10-15 minutes to
preach the Gospel. I believe that much of our evangelistic and personal
work today is not clear simply because we are too anxious to get to the
answer without having a man realize the real cause of his sickness,
which is true moral guilt (and not just psychological guilt feelings)
in the presence of God.' You will find as people begin to grasp the
significance of God as creator and man as the sinful creature, you can
explain in a direct and most powerful way who Christ is."
Will Metzger
Tell the Truth
p. 71
HT: Reformed Voices
Keywords: evangelism_gospel
The Pastor and Evangelism
With all that you can do, your desires will not be fulfilled, for soul-winning is a pursuit which grows upon a man; the more he is rewarded with conversions the more eager he becomes to see greater numbers born unto God. Hence you will soon discover that you need help if many are to be brought in. The net soon becomes too heavy for one pair of hands to drag to shore when it is filled with fishes; and you fellow-helpers must be beckoned to your assistance. Great things are done by the Holy Spirit when a whole church is aroused to sacred energy...
Contemplate at the outset the possibility of having a church of soul-winners. Do not succumb to the usual idea that we can only gather a few useful workers, and that the rest of the community must inevitably be dead weight: It may possibly so happen, but do not set out with that notion or it will be verified. The usual need not be the universal; better things are possible than anything yet attained; set your aim high and spare no effort to reach it. Labor to gather a church alive for Jesus, every member energetic to the full, and the whole in incessant activity for the salvation of men. To this end there must be the best of preaching to feed the host into strength, continual prayer to bring down the power from on high, and the most heroic example on your own part to fire their zeal.
C.H. Spurgeon
Cited by Mark Dever
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
p. 177
What is the Good News? (Mark Dever)
The good news is that the one and only God, who is holy, made us in his image to know him. But we sinned and cut ourselves off from him. In his great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law himself and taking on himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever turn and trust in him. He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted Christ's sacrifice and that God's wrath against us had been exhausted. He now calls us to repent of our sins and trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God.
Now that's good news!
Mark Dever
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
p 43
Broadus on Reading
I think that young men should be specially exhorted to read old books. If you have a friend in the ministry who is growing old, urge him to read mainly new books, that he may freshen his mind and keep in sympathy with his surroundings. "But must not young men keep abreast of the age?" Certainly, only the first thing is to get abreast of the age, and in order to this, they must go back to where the age came from, and join there the great procession of its moving thought.
John Broadus
Lectures on the History of Preaching (amazon / logos digital)
230-231
HT: Founders Ministry
