Unashamed

For some reason, godly lyrics set to music ministers deeply to me. This one has been ministering to Misha and I for the last two days.

In Evil Long I Took Delight by John Newton

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agonies and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure, never till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

Alas, I knew not what I did,
But now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain.

A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou mayst live.”

Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief and mournful joy,
My spirit is now filled;
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by him I killed.

*******************************

Thanks to: Trevin Wax

The Functional Centrality of the Gospel

When asked, "What is the greatest, most crying need in the church today?", Mike Bullmore, senior pastor of CrossWay Community Church in Bristol, WI, answered in the following manner.

"One of the greatest challenges, yet one of the most important tasks, of pastoral ministry is to help people actually see the connections between the gospel and the thinking and behavior that make up their everyday lives. We know well the centrality of the gospel message but in order for it to have a functional centrality it must be clearly, carefully and consistently connected to the real issues - issues of thought and conduct - of people's lives."

Therefore, to meet this need, Pastor Bullmore has proposed the following diagram.


Let me try to unpack this for you.

The diagram consists of three circles - Gospel, Gospel Truths, and Gospel Conduct. It is no accident that the gospel is at the center of the diagram. The gospel is central to everything. It is central to Scripture, history, and the very core of our Christian lives. Without the gospel as center, God's people are prone to replace it with self, experience, good works, thus leading to idolatry, mysticism, and legalism. Therefore, it is crucial that the gospel take the place of center in our thoughts, actions, and lives.

From the gospel flow gospel truths. These are the doctrinal implications of the gospel. For example, Romans 8:1 says, "There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Do you see the doctrinal implication here that Paul is proclaiming from the gospel? He stands in gospel and pronounces that because of the gospel (that is what the "therefore" is there for), we do not stand before God condemned. Other gospel truths include our peace with God (Romans 5:1), our grounds for drawing near to God (Hebrews 4:15-16), and our justification before a holy God (Romans 3:23-25). The gospel lead us to right thinking, aka Gospel Truth.

Once the gospel has created Gospel Truth, it then proceeds to flow into and create Gospel Conduct. Gospel conduct is the behavioral implication of the gospel. For example, Ephesians 4:32 says to "[forgive] one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Here is a restatement of the gospel. God, in sending in His Son to the cross as our substitute, now pronounces forgiveness over us for our sins committed against Him. Therefore, we are to forgive others in the same manner. So forgiveness flows from the gospel. And not only forgivenes... Loving your husband or wife flows from the gospel (Ephesians 5:25). Generosity flows from the gospel (2 Corinthians 8:7,9). Sexual purity flows from the gospel (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). And on and on the list continues. As Mike Bullmore so aptly put it, "Ultimately, all Christian behavior should flow out of the gospel." This, according to Bullmore, is how the gospel acts as the functional center of our lives and ministry.

The gospel goes out to the ears of those that would believe, creates gospel truths in their minds, hearts, and affections, and then rightly and powerfully transforms the actions of the hearer. "The gospel empowers everything else that is connected to it." The transforming power of the gospel is infinite. So let's find more connections between the gospel, gospel truths, and gospel conduct in order to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The audio of Bullmore's teaching can be found here.

Why Pray?

Why bother with prayer? If God is the all-powerful creator who rules sovereignly over the entire earth, what's the point of my little, insignificant prayer?

This is a common question among Christians, especially for those who are beginning to understand the sovereignty of God in all He does. When I went through a season of struggling with this issue, three things were helpful for me to keep in mind as I wrestled with the question, "Why pray?"

1. Prayer is commanded by God throughout the entirety of Scripture.
2. Prayer is our means of communication with an Almighty God whereby he edifies his people.
3. Prayer is the means by which God causes many things to happen. I'll let John Piper expound upon this point.

Soul Idolatry & the Regenerate's Response

I have recently been working through David Clarkson's excellent essay entitled, Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven. You can download the PDF version of the essay at Tony Reinke's website. I've only read the first nine pages, and God is using it to peel off the thick layers surrounding my heart.

The scope of this essay was born out of Ephesians 5:5. "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person - such a man is an idolator - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." This verse demands attention, because if you and I will truly search our hearts, we will see that we are immoral, impure and greedy. Then the questions begs to be asked, how will we inherit the kingdom of God?

To begin, Clarkson notes that there are two kinds of idolatry - open idolatry and soul idolatry. Open idolatry occurs "when men... [physically] bow to or prostrate themselves before anything besides God." Open idolatry is probably what we most often think of when we think of idolatry. However, it is my opinion (as well as Clarkson's) that, though we might more often think of open idolatry, we most often commit soul idolatry. Soul idolatry occurs "when the mind and heart are set upon anything more than God; when anything is more valued, more intended; anything more trusted , more loved, or our endeavours more for any other thing than God." Clarkson concludes that "soul idolatry will exclude men out of heaven as well as open idolatry."

After defining soul idolatry, Clarkson observes thirteen acts of soul worship, which, when any one of them is given "to anything besides the God of heaven is [soul] idolatry." Just reading this list would be well worth your time. The list includes esteem, mindfulness, intention, resolution, love, trust, fear, hope, desire, delight, zeal, gratitude, and care and industry. Let's take fear for example.

"That which we most fear we worship as our god... If you fear others more than [God], you give that worship to them which is due only to God... Those, therefore, who fear other things more than God; who are more afraid to offend men than to displease God; who fear more to lose any outward enjoyment, than to lose the favor of God; who fear outward sufferings more than God's displeasure; who had rather sin than suffer; [who are] more afraid of troubles in the world, than of losing peace with God... they stand guilty of idolatry."

Fearing God is worship unto God, and any time we fear the creation rather than the creator, we commit soul idolatry. The same goes for loving money or comfort more than God, or delighting in or desiring wisdom or relationships rather than zealous treasuring Christ, or trusting in yourself instead of God. This is soul idolatry, and it excludes men out of heaven.

So, then, the question begs to be answered: Do regenerate, born again men and women commit soul idolatry, and, if they do, how do they inherit the kingdom of God? Clarkson masterfully answers this question with three conclusions.

1. "There is an aptness... in those that are sanctified, to this idolatry as to other sins." Due to the fall, the original sin, all of mankind has a bent towards sin. Read Romans 3. "There is no one righteous, not even one; ther is no one who understands, no one who seeks for God... There is no one who does good, not even one." Therefore, even though a Christian may be born again, a sinful nature remains until he is glorified in heaven.

2. "[Born again men] may be guily of idolatrous acts and motions." Because of our remaining bent toward sin, we may still commit idolatry.

3. However, "they are not guilty of habitual idolatry, as unregenerate men are." Though we may commit soul idolatry, it is not habitual. The idolatrous motions do not go unresisted and unlamented. We put up a fight. And we may not win everytime, but God has placed a stake on our soul that gives us the power to the temptations of idolatry. God will complete the good work that he began in you, namely becoming conformed to the likeness of Christ.

So then, what should the response of born again men be when he discovers motions towards soul idolatry?

"When they discover these motions, they are astonished at them. They loathe and abhor, they judge and condemn themselves for them; they bewail and lament them, they are their grief and soul affliction; they fly to the blood of Christ for pardon, to the power of Christ for strength against them, and are diligent in the use of mortifying duties to get them subdued; they cry to the Lord with strong cries, as the ravished virgin was to cry out, to show it is not by consent, but violence, that these prevail. There is a resistance, not only from conscience, but the will, even when it too far consents."

This paragraph is the scalpel that the Surgeon is using to peel away the thick layers of my heart. This is how born again men respond when they see the seeds of idolatry creeping in to consume them. If there this doesn't occur in my heart when idolatry knocks, if there is no resistance, no loathing or crying or lamenting, if there is no flying to the blood of Christ for pardon, then how far off from Ephesians 5:5 am I?

Oh God, please cut out the idolatry in me and replace it with worship unto you alone.

Big Hoop Dreams Come True

Not gonna lie. I cried.

What is RSS and How to Use It?

For those who are new to the whole blogging atmosphere and are trying to follow just one blog of your choice, RSS is for you. And for those of you who are trying to follow 20 blogs, RSS is for you as well. Abraham Piper has a helpful post on how to do set up and use Google Reader. He shows you how to set up an account, how to add blogs to your Reader account, and how to read and manage them. He also explains what RSS is and why it is worthwhile.

"RSS is a technology that allows you to subscribe to any website that has one of these in the address bar. You can then track every site you're subscribed to without having to go to each individual site.

If you're like me there are a couple websites that you love to read. Without RSS, I would be looking at these sites regularly to see if there were new material. Depending on how often I checked, I wouldn't see anything new most times I visited.

With RSS, I never again have to go to a site that has no new material. I subscribe to the sites I enjoy and am updated every time they post."

As for me, I use Google Reader to follow 20+ blogs that I subscribe to. It has saved me more time than I can even begin to count. If you read any blog, set up Google Reader immediately.

TGC Conference: Don Carson

The last talk of the Gospel Coalition Conference was given by Don (or better known as D. A.) Carson. Here is a man who is not only one of the most well-respected theologians in the world, but also one of the most pastoral scholars you will ever meet. My own experience with Dr. Carson has been nothing short of that. So please meet Dr. Don Carson.

Don Carson is a research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. He is by far one of the most influential biblical scholars of his day. Therefore, if you see anything with his name on it, read it, listen to it, and absorb it. While I would highly recommend you read anything by Dr. Carson, a few books worth reading immediately are How Long, O Lord?, Showing the Spirit, and The Gagging of God.

Dr. Carson's talk was entitled That By All Means I Might Win Some from 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. The main point of his talk was to discuss the contextualization of the gospel. His conclusion is this. As long as we are not flexing on the gospel message, we, as Christians, are free to flex in other areas (e.g. not eating meat when preaching to the Jews). Out of everything that I heard in this message, the one thing that I will not forget is this: "Do not jeopardize the exclusive sufficiency of Jesus!" Here are the audio and video of his talk.

Rob Bell Articulates the "Gospel"

There is nothing I hold more dear to my heart than the gospel of Christ crucified. The gospel is the crux of our faith, upon which all else stands or falls. It is the cornerstone, the foundation of our very lives. It is the reason we have an eternal hope. And it the only reason we can draw near to God... ever. Therefore, when a well-known preacher is asked to explain the gospel and completely misses it, it grieves my heart to the core to know that so many people may listen to his response and believe it. Don't believe it!

In an interview with Christianity Today, Rob Bell was asked, "How would you present [the] gospel?" His response, in my opinion, contains nothing of the gospel. But my opinion matters little. Here is Greg Gilbert's critique of Bell's answer. (Greg is affiliated with 9Marks. He's much smarter than me.)

What do you think of Bell's answer?

USA Abandoned by God?

Sexual immorality runs rampant through the streets of America. The sexual revolution of the 1960's is now being followed by the homosexual revolution of the 2000's. And sexual freedom is the cry of the multitudes. Because of this, John MacArthur asks the question, "Has the USA been abandoned by God? Is Romans 1:18-32 being lived out at this moment in America?" His answer is yes. His answer is powerful, thought-provoking, and sobering.



Thanks to: John Samson

TGC Conference: Ligon Duncan

The ninth talk of the Gospel Coalition Conference was given by Ligon Duncan. Once again, I knew little of this man before I heard him speak. Now, I don't have that excuse anymore. Please meet Ligon Duncan.

Dr. Duncan is the Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS. On top of pastoring a church, Ligon is also the President of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals as well as being heavily involved with Together for the Gospel, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and The Gospel Coalition (just to name a few). He has written a plethra of books, including Fear Not and Women's Ministry in the Local Church. It would be well worth your time check out these titles.

Ligon Duncan's talk was entitled Finishing Well from 2 Timothy 4:6-22. It is worth noting that this text is the end of the Paul's second letter to Timothy where he sends personal instructions (such as "Do your best to come to me soon" and "Bring the cloak... [and] the books") and final greetings to Timothy and his church. This is the section of the book that I would so quickly glance over. However, Ligon does an exceptional job of pulling everything he can from these final verses to show Paul's overarching care and concern for Timothy through the gospel. I'll never glance over the end of one of Paul's epistles again. Here are the audio and video of his talk.

TGC Conference: Ajith Fernando

The seventh session of the Gospel Coalition Conference was given by Ajith Fernando. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this session and have yet to listen to the audio. However, that does not keep me from compelling you to become acquainted with Mr. Fernando.

Since 1976, Ajith Fernando has been the national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka. Along with his duties as national director, Ajith also mentors younger Youth for Christ staff and helps counsel Christian workers. He has authored eleven books including The Supremacy of Christ and A Call to Joy and Pain.

Ajith's talk was entitled Gospel-Faithful Mission in the New Christendom. Here are the audio and video of his talk.