He who has deserved a hanging by Thomas Brooks

"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and
 punishes every son whom He receives."
     Hebrews 12:6

"Why should any living man complain--when
 punished for his sins?" Lamentations 3:39
 
He who has deserved a hanging--has no
reason to charge the judge with cruelty--if
he escapes with a whipping!
 
And we who have deserved a damning--have
no reason to charge God for being too severe
--if we escape with a fatherly lashing!
 
"God disciplines us for our good---that we
 may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

Book Review: In Christ Alone by Sinclair B. Ferguson

A couple months back, Ligonier Ministries gave me the privilege of reviewing one of their Reformation Trust titles. In Christ Alone is a study of Christ and how to live a Gospel centered life.



About the Author: Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson is senior minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C., and a visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Ferguson is a native of Scotland and has earned three degrees, including a P.h.D., from the University of Aberdeen. He has authored many books such as: The Holy Spirit and Grow in Grace.


When I read in the preface that this book is made up of fifty articles that Dr. Ferguson wrote many years ago for Tabletalk and Eternity Magazine, I was disappointed. I thought this book was going to be an assortment of articles with no relevance to one another. But after reading through the book I realized that I was wrong. In Christ Alone isn't disjointed or haphazardly thrown together at all. The articles are tied together by a very touching story about a friend of Dr. Ferguson who passed away. That story is what inspired him to compile these articles together. The way in which the articles are arranged seems to flow very well.

The fifty chapters are divided into six major parts.

1. The Word Became Flesh (Chapters 1-6)
2. The Heart of the Matter (Chapters 7-14)
3. The Spirit of Christ (Chapters 15-22)
4. The Privileges of Grace (Chapters 23-32)
5. A Life of Wisdom (Chapters 33-41)
6. Faithful to the End (Chapters 42-50)
   

I had high expectations for this book since it came from Dr. Ferguson, and they were surpassed. Each chapter is filled with deep theological truths that are brought out and shared in an excited and passionate way. He starts out by giving a thorough background and then delving into the truths he is going to explain. In chapter five Dr. Ferguson's knowledge of the truth shines through as he explains how Christ is the Archegos or Author of our faith. He gave this example in the book to explain what the Greek word Archegos means:

"Think of a troop of commandos operating in a jungle war. They find their way blocked by a deep ravine. The situation is too urgent to find a way around. Their commanding officer manages to throw a rope across and anchor it. He then risks his life by crossing first, hand over hand. He permanently secures the rope. He creates a bridge. The way is now open for his men to cross over to the other side.

This is a pale and inadequate reflection of what the author of Hebrews means by calling Jesus the Archegos or 'author of our salvation."

Christ is similar to the commanding officer. In that He conquered death. Death could not hold Him for He lived the perfect sinless life that we could not.
Christ paved the way so that we could have everlasting life through Him and share of His inheritance.

Dr. Ferguson explains Christ's immutability as His unchanging love and holiness, His eternal grace towards us. Whether we go through a season of battling unbelief or enjoy a time of love and obedience to Christ, He will still love us and show His grace towards us no matter what we may do. For no sin is greater than Christ's sacrifice.

Dr. Ferguson also explains that Christ is our Great High Priest because He met all the requirements. He had to share in our weakness. He had to be consecrated to God's service. As well as carry the names and needs of God's people. Christ fulfilled all these requirements and offered the perfect sacrifice for His people.

Chapter thirty-seven "Eating Black Pudding" caught my attention. It sounded like a very odd title, but after reading the chapter it makes sense. In this chapter Dr. Ferguson cleverly incorporates his title into the truths he is conveying by using a story. During his ministry in Scotland, a man approached Dr. Ferguson asking him if it is okay for Christians to eat black pudding. The reason for the man's question is because black pudding contains blood. Old Testament law commands that no one should eat blood. But Paul says that we can eat whatever is sold in the meat market.(1 Cor. 10:25) Dr. Ferguson explains that this is an issue of Christian liberty and then gives the following guidelines for how to exercise our liberties as a Christian:

1. Christian liberty must never be flaunted.
2. Christian liberty does not mean that you welcome fellow Christians only after you have sorted out their views on X and Y.
3. Christian liberty ought never be used in such a way that you become a stumbling block to other Christians.
4. We ought not please ourselves, for even Christ did not please Himself.
   

One thing that In Christ Alone has helped me to understand is that we are closely tied to Christ. In chapter twenty-three (Titled Our Union with Christ) Dr. Ferguson discusses this subject. The following quote helped me to grasp our union with Christ.

"In a nutshell, abiding with Christ means allowing His Word to fill our minds, direct our wills, and transform our affections."

Abiding in Christ means more to me now when I understand that our union with Him is as intimate as Christ's union with The Father or as close as a vine and its branches.

In Christ Alone is an excellent resource that has helped me to understand God's love more deeply. As well as "the Holy Spirit guides, teaches, counsels, and brings orphans into the home and heart of God".


You can buy In Christ Alone HERE.

John Piper's Christian Hedonism

Hedonism is the devotion to pleasure as a way of life. For a hedonist pleasure is the highest good and your goal in life is to seek happiness. I find it strange then that John Piper encourages people to be Christian Hedonists. The two terms seem kind of opposite to me, because Christians follow Christ, and hedonists follow pleasure. But John Piper says a Christian Hedonist is one who believes that their chief end is to "glorify God by enjoying Him forever". This is not a new concept that he just came out with. But a 20 year old idea that John Piper has been using since (or before) he began his ministry Desiring God.

I want to say before I begin that I like John Piper and his preaching. I believe that he is right on alot of issues. My purpose for writing this is not to bash or speak badly about him. My intent is to bring to light things that I find strange or peculiar in Piper's theology. The article that I'll be referring to is found here.

I'll start out with this quote:

"Christian Hedonism says more, namely, that we should pursue happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God - that's what makes Christian Hedonism controversial."

What makes no sense to me is how we are called to take up our cross and follow Christ, as well as deny ourselves (Matt. 16:24) and do both only in the goal of seeking joy for ourselves. How is God glorified if we seek our own happiness through doing good deeds only for the rewards? Are we not supposed to obey God because He commanded us to do so? It seems to me that good deeds should flow out of a love and thankfulness to God because of Christ's sacrifice. (Titus 2:14) The promise of rewards should just be a bonus and not the goal.


"Sunday at 11 a.m., Hebrew 11:6 enters combat with Immanuel Kant. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." You cannot please God if you do not come to him as rewarder. Therefore, worship which pleases God is the hedonistic pursuit of God in whose presence is fullness of joy and in who hand are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11)."

I am very confused by this quote. Mainly in that John Piper says that we cannot please God unless we come to Him as a rewarder. A rewarder is to give a reward. I had to look that definition up to make sure that I understood this right. Even after looking it up I still don't understand what Piper means by it. What do we have to reward God with? I suppose we can offer Him praise or devote our lives to Him. But how is that a reward?

The main issue I have with Christian Hedonism is that it takes joy and puts it at the forefront of sanctification. Joy is not the only fruit of the Spirit. There is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, thankfulness, goodness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22) As you can see, joy is not the only fruit that the Holy Spirit grows in us. If joy is given by God, then why should we seek joy over God? It is like putting the cart before the horse! I know that Piper says that we glorify God by enjoying Him forever. But when you read what his article says about Christian Hedonism, it is as though John Piper encourages you to only seek the joy that God provides.

That is the majority of what I find strange with John Piper's Christian Hedonism. If you are interested in this subject, you can also check out this article written by Dr. Peter Masters concerning Christian Hedonism. Dr. Masters is the pastor at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.(For those of you who don't know, the Metropolitan Tabernacle is the church at which C.H. Spurgeon was the pastor.) Dr. Masters article is what got me thinking about this subject. This is an interesting quote from his article:

"When delight is everything, doctrine suffers a setback. When subjective emotions are unduly elevated, the proving and testing of all things become impossible. On charismatic matters, and on modern worship matters also, Dr. Piper is - to put it gently - an unsafe shepherd, and the fault lies not in his Bible, nor in his capacities, but in his system. As the better aspects of his ministry earn respect from his readers, so the poor guidance on potentially disastrous issues will mislead them."

I agree with him that Piper's emotion driven concept is dangerous. I believe that Dr. Masters' has a lot of good points in his article. But I would not go as far as saying that John Piper is an unsafe shepherd. I suggest that when we use any of John Piper's resources that we eat the meat and leave the bones.

All The Links of The Golden Chain of Salvaton by Thomas Brooks

"It is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:5

All the links of the golden chain of salvation are
made up of free grace! The people of God are . . .
  freely loved, Deuteronomy 7:6-8;
  freely chosen, John 15:16-19, Ephesians 1:4;
  freely accepted, Ephesians 1:6;
  freely adopted, Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5-6;
  freely reconciled, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20;
  freely justified, Romans 3:24;
  freely saved, Ephesians 2:5, 8.

Free grace is the foundation of all spiritual and eternal
mercies. Free grace is the solid bottom and foundation
of all a Christian's comfort in this world. Were we to
measure the love of God to us by . . .
  our fruitfulness,
  our holiness,
  our humbleness,
  our spiritualness,
  our heavenly-mindedness, or
  our gracious behavior towards Him
--how would our hope and our confidence be
every moment staggered--if not vanquished!

But all is of grace--of free grace! O sirs! it is free grace . . .
  which will strengthen you in all your duties,
  which will sweeten all your mercies,
  which will support you under all your changes,
  which will arm you against all temptations!

"For it is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:8

Merry Christmas!

While visiting with family and opening presents tomorrow, do not lose sight of what we are celebrating. Christmas is not just about presents or getting together with family.If it were, then we might as well just call it xmas. But Christmas is not about those two things. Christmas is all about the birth of our Savior!

Christ didn't come just to be an example for how to live rightly. Even though Christ did lead a life that we should strive to follow. He came for a far more important reason. That reason is found in this passage in Isaiah.

Isaiah 53

"1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors."

That is why Christ came to earth. He came to be a substitute for us. He died so that we might have everlasting life.

1 Corinthians 5:21

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"

Tomorrow do not forget what we are celebrating and why.


Have a Merry Christmas!

"We shall see Him but in heaven"

Merry Christmas!

Once in Royal David's City



Hark the Herald Angels Sing



O Holy Night



O Little Town of Bethlehem

Genuine heart-driven Evangelism

The Great Commission commands believers to spread the gospel to all the nations. Believers have a duty to tell others the good news of the gospel. God has saved you and given you the responsibility to represent Him by participating in the Great Commission. The Word tells us the gospel is offensive yet we are commanded not to be offensive.

Over the years I have seen and pondered many approaches to evangelism especially how to tell someone the gospel without being offensive, or coming across as a "bible thumper". Approaches that are done by appealing to someone's conscious or intellect come across as shallow and most people see through them. People know when you are being real, people know when you are genuine and are concerned with them as a person. They can see through techniques and processes and find anything less than a straight forward approach to be insulting.

Listen to Penn Jillette of the famous Penn and Teller team tell you in his own words.





What can we learn from this:

People are smart and can tell when your are genuine.

Be believable, this Gideon was believable enough that Penn believed the man was credible in faith and practice.

Find a way to connect with the person you are talking to and be sincere about it. The Gideon complimented Penn on his show, use of language, honesty and stuff.

Tell them your purpose straight up. Don't spend time trying to develop a friendship or hey have you ever taken a test to see what kind of person you are.

Tell them who you are and that you are saved.

Look them in the eye.

Be yourself.

Be real.

Be honest.

Be kind.

Be sane.

Don't be defensive.

Treat them with respect by being straight forward and upfront.

Give them a sound gospel tract to read.

Provide them a next step to get together and discuss, you know, a phone number, an email, or a cell phone number.

By the way, say a prayer for Penn Jillette.

Go tell someone how much you love them by telling them the gospel.