Blessings from the Blog

Steve Camp provides us some good questions to evaluate our evangelism presentations.

Josh Harris has completed a three part series on moral purity. His book Sex is not the Problem (Lust is) has been very helpful to many people battling unbiblical thinking and who are putting to death the old nature. One article by Scott Croft has raised a whole lot of controversy recently in the Christians blogosphere but I think he makes some excellent points. His thesis is as follows: "I believe the Bible to teach that all sexual activity outside of marriage is sin, and all romantically oriented physical activity is sexual activity. In my view, this includes premarital kissing." Read it for yourself.

The fellows over at Pulpit Magazine produced an excellent series on the KJV only controversy that seems to always be dogging churches.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Something you probably haven't heard about Islam

Blessings from the Blog

Steve Camp provides us some good questions to evaluate our evangelism presentations.

Josh Harris has completed a three part series on moral purity. His book Sex is not the Problem (Lust is) has been very helpful to many people battling unbiblical thinking and who are putting to death the old nature. One article by Scott Croft has raised a whole lot of controversy recently in the Christians blogosphere but I think he makes some excellent points. His thesis is as follows: "I believe the Bible to teach that all sexual activity outside of marriage is sin, and all romantically oriented physical activity is sexual activity. In my view, this includes premarital kissing." Read it for yourself.

The fellows over at Pulpit Magazine produced an excellent series on the KJV only controversy that seems to always be dogging churches.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Something you probably haven't heard about Islam

Christians must read!

Reading other books should never replace reading the Bible. But reading Christian books is still very important to a healthy Christian today. And you don't have to read a lot of books or even read a lot every day to nourish your soul. Did you know that if you read just a few pages a day, you can read several books a year? Reading just ten pages a day means you can read one solid Christian book a month; that is twelve a year. If you can't read that much then, read a page a day like Don Whitney advised some homeschooling moms to do. (Of course, after one page, you probably will want to read a few more. Half the battle is just sitting down and starting to read. Is anyone's "to-do" list every complete?)

So, after you read and meditate some on God's Word, pick up a doctrinally sound Christian book and read! And also encourage your children at a very early age to read. The world is lamenting that fact that young people aren't reading anymore. Christians can't afford not to be "readers" as Al Mohler points out in this excellent article.

Our identification with Christ

I have been memorizing and meditating on Romans 6:5 this week which says, "If we have been united with him in a death like this, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." This verse speaks of my identification with Christ as a believer. This is what theologians call positional truth. For those who are repenting of their sin and trusting in Christ, we are in Christ. When he died, we died. When he rose again, we rose again with him.

Pastor Kent Hughes comments on Romans 6,

The specific emphasis of verses 3–5 is that we are so profoundly identified with Christ’s death and resurrection that we actually did die with him and truly were raised with him, so that we now share in his resurrection life. Again the Scriptures attest to this. Galatians 2:20 tells us: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 6:14 says: “… the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Just as we died with him, we were also resurrected with him. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Whereas before we had only a solidarity with Adam’s sin, now that has been broken and we have a solidarity with Christ, the Second Adam, in his death and resurrection. We need to know and count on this if we are to experience victory over sin.--Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans : Righteousness from heaven. Preaching the Word (124). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

The practical outworking of this is what Paul develops in the next few verses which we will look at next week. But first we must know these truths before we can live them. And when we do know them they will have a profound impact on overcoming sin and temptation.

Self-control in the new year and every day

We are now almost through the first month of a new year. Those new year resolutions and goals that you may have set may be a distant memory. Some have already given up on working on their prayer life, reading through the Bible, daily Scripture memory, losing weight, cutting down your TV viewing or getting your finances back in line after blowing the budget during December.

I find that I fail miserably at a goal if I don't have a specific plan and some accountability in place to work toward that goal. I fail if I say, "Well, I just want to improve my prayer life." Women who say, "I just want to be more organized at home this year" are setting themselves up for failure. The person who says, "I want to be more humble" will feel defeated if they don't have a measurable plan. The same goes for those trying to work on patience or spending money faster than it comes in.

Dr. Ed Welch, has a timely word on this subject. After you read it, develop your plan, use self-control, and ask someone to hold you accountable for it.

". . . the desire for self-control must be accompanied by a plan. If self-control demands thoughtfulness, and if it ultimately declares war on both our own flesh and Satan’s temptations, then there must be a strategy. If our battle was against an insignificant foe, then planning would be unnecessary.

However, given that our enemy is subtle and crafty, a strategy is essential. This is just one of the ways that New Year’s resolutions get thrown onto the scrap heap. Having eaten too much over the holidays, we make a resolution to eat wisely. But our decision usually lasts no longer than dinner the next day. Or, having been caught buying drugs, we figure that the vague sense of remorse will engender abstinence, and we don’t even think that next week we will feel the same drug-desires and have access to the same drug-users and drug-dealers. In these situations, there was no thoughtful plan, no consideration of the spiritual dominion involved, no calling out for the grace of God in Christ, no real desire to take one’s soul to task, and no pleas for help and counsel from other brothers and sisters.

A good indicator of whether or not you want to grow in self-control is this: do you have a clear, public strategy? Put another way, if anyone says, “I am really going to change this time – I don’t think I need any help,” then that person has yet to understand the biblical teaching on self-control. It is one thing to make a resolution; it is something completely different to repent, diligently seek counsel, and, in concert with others, develop a plan that is concrete and Christ-centered.

The heart of any plan, of course, must be Jesus Christ. Self-control is like any other feature of wisdom in that it is learned by contemplating a person. Strategically, this is unprecedented. We would expect God to yell at us and tell us, again, to shape up, but God’s ways, being much better than our own, are rarely predictable. Rather than give us twelve steps on which to rely, he gives us a Person to know. As Jesus is known and exalted among us, you will notice that self-control becomes more obvious. The double cure for sin is the foundation for all change. That is, in the gospel, we have been released from both the condemnation and the power of sin. We have been freed “to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he rescued from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:9, 10).

Ed Welch, "Self Control: The Battle Against 'One More'" (not available online, published in The Journal of Biblical Counseling 19/2 [Winter 2001]: 24-31)

Husbands leading with love

I have been battling a cold for the last several days and therefore my goal to blog daily has been been disrupted, but I thought I would try to get back on track a little bit today and catch up on at least a day or two of blogging themes. So here is my weekly on marriage and the family.

I am continuing to be challenged by a book Love that Lasts by Gary and Besty Riucci. After establishing the need for the gospel in a marriage, Gary deals with the role of husbands leading with love. He reminds us men to love our wives graciously and sacrificially. Sacrifice means more than just providing for her; it means making sure that she never has to sacrifice before or more than we do. He lists these thought-provoking questions to query ourselves.

• Is there some way I can give myself to serve my wife?
• Where do I see selfishness in my life that hinders unreserved love for my wife?
• Am I withholding something of myself that would bless my wife – my attention, affection, or creativity?
  
• What is God calling me to give up because it diverts my attention and affection from my wife?
  

God's Word also teaches that we must love our wives redemptively, remembering our model is Christ's love for His church. Therefore every husband might ask himself these questions:

• Do I faithfully pray for her, that Jesus Christ might be glorified in her and that she might know his love and grace?
• Do I love her enough to confront and correct her sin, especially recurrent patterns of sin, and then patiently and consistently lead her into fruitful and liberating repentance?
• Do I wash her with the water of God’s Word (Ephesians 5:25-27), or do I compromise her growth in godliness because my pride, selfishness, or fear keeps me from this God-given responsibility?
• Do I lead her into active involvement and service in our local church?
• Do I consistently remind her of the gospel of grace and of god’s active goodness on our behalf?

In addition, over in 1 Peter 3, God's Word teaches us to love our wives with understanding and with honor.

To really love our wives like this leads us to what Ricucci calls "desperate dependence" which explains by writing,

Desperate is exactly where God wants us. Far from being a desperation devoid of hope, it is a self-despair that acknowledges absolutely no inherent adequacy, sufficiency, or competency for the task. It is a desperation that turns the eyes of faith toward the God of grace. There, and there alone do we discover complete and perfect adequacy, sufficiency, and competence (2 Corinthians 1:20)

It comes down to this: we can love and lead our wives because, and only because, Christ first loved us (Galatians 2:20). Our role originates in the gospel, is empowered by the gospel, and is perfected through the gospel. We can love and lead our wives because our Savior, Jesus Christ, loved us, gave himself up for us, and leads us each day in mercy and grace.

If such a standard leaves you feeling defeated, take Gary's advice and remember that the most important question isn't "How badly have I failed?" but rather with all God's limitless grace at my disposal, "What can I do today to trust, obey, and glorify Christ in my marriage by loving, serving, and leading my wife?"

A la carte!

Another free book for you to download and read. I am working my way through it in hard copy. Amazing how you can sit at the feet of the masters now for no or little cost. Owen deals more practically, thoroughly, and biblically with the doctrine of sin and temptation better than anyone I know.

Al Mohler reflects very personally on some life lessons he has learned in a time of recent crisis. It is great to have Dr. Mohler back on line and behind the microphone again. He also has a great post on "A Search and Destroy Mission against Down Syndrome Babies." Well worth the time reading both articles!

Finally, someone has way too much time on their hands.

On Abortion

Reflect on what abortion is all about today on the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. This video is disturbing, but it will make you stop and think and realistically portrays where this "choice" has lead us.

After the Amen!

At our Sunday services yesterday, there were various elements to our worship. I often pause to wonder why in God's providence He leads us to select certain songs, Scripture readings, and other parts for the worship service.

I am convinced though that God has chose those songs and Scripture for He knows someone needs that truth then or will need it in the week to come. I am also amazed how by God's providence not even with our forethought he brings one part of the service together with another part.

For example, yesterday I spent sometime exhorting us as a congregation from Ephesians 4 regarding our interpersonal relationships with the rest of the body. I asked each member to rate themselves in regard to humility, gentleness, patience, building up the body, and speaking the truth in love. Some of that meshed so well with our Scripture reading from Philippians 2 which speaks of Christ's humility and gentleness and Timothy and Epaphroditus' example of building up the body of Christ.

Also my brother and fellow pastor inserted a song Jesus, Your Name that speaks in part about the comfort of that name that is above all names. As that immediately preceded the message, I sensed a prompting to share a song that I have just heard, God Reigns in the Storm. It is just amazing to see God's sweet providences in the "order of service." Here are the words to this new song by Steve and Vikki Cook. You can hear a sample of it and download the music here.

There's a tempest that can flood the soul
When troubles pound like crashing waves.
In these afflictions I have realized
There's a place that I can hide.
I know that God has promised me His strength,
And His Word can never fall.
He is faithful, O so faithful.

There's a midnight that can fill the soul
When the darkness knows no end.
And though it feels like I am all alone
There's a truth that gives me hope.
I know the One whose counted all my tears,
And He is nearer than my breath
He is with me, always with me.

There are Sovereign hands holding all my days
Yes I know God reigns in the storm
Every trial and pain wisdom has ordained
Yes I know God reigns in the storm.

There's so many things that I don't understand,
but I know His every plan for me is good!

Blogging about God

An article appeared in the Erie Times-News about me and a few other pastors who blog in the Erie area. On the front page of the newspaper, there was a large 'ad' for the article which actually appeared on the last page of the newspaper. The editors gave a lot of copy space to the article as well as running a separate article on the same theme and listing both my blog address as well as our church website address. I am praying that it will increase traffic to both sites as well as leading some people to visit Garden Heights Baptist Church.

Blessings from the Blog

Providence and Abortion: Tomorrow our church, like many others across the country, will be devoting some of our worship to testifying to the sanctity of human life as we observe the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Tim Chailles has a thoughtful post about Sentences in the Book of Providence on this theme.

A Gospel Primer: We (Christians) never outgrow our need of the gospel! C. J. Mahaney has helped us immensely in this area of living a cross-centered life. He has said, “If there’s anything in life that we should be passionate about, it’s the gospel. And I don’t mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate about thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to be.” (C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, 20-21) Here is an excellent resource I am currently reading that is proving of immense encouragement to me in preaching the gospel to myself every day. (HT: girltalk)

Here is an on-line exclusive: Phil Johnson interviewing John MacArthur on the doctrine of election. I would encourage anyone who has struggled with this doctrine - or has professing family members or friends whose view of election is far from the truth - to listen to this interview themselves and also to direct others to it here.

Growing Up Christian: "Have you known anyone who seemed to be a Christian throughout his teenage years, but when he went off to college dropped his faith and stopped following God? Have you known anyone who actively participated in youth meetings and church missions trips, but after high school no longer pursued God or the things of God?" Karl Graustein, who wrote Growing Up Christian, has four posts that ought to be read by teens and young adults who have been raised in Christian homes and by Christian parents who are trying to raise their children in the church. Wise words here in this four part series

Part 1: The Dynamics of Growing Up Christian
Part 2: False Assurance
Part 3: Un-Amazing Grace
Part 4: Failing to Develop Personal, Biblical Convictions

What happens when you die?

The aim of the church I pastor is to "disciple passionate worshippers of God by living God's Word and proclaiming God's truth to everyone we can."

God's truth is not very politically correct today. It never has.

But if you want to know what God says about what happens when you die or hell's best kept secret, check this site out that explains God's truth clearly when it comes to your eternal destiny. (After the introduction, click on icon 1 or 3.)

If you want to understand who Jesus really is, go here.

If you live in the Erie, PA and want to learn more about God's truth, please visit us here for more information.

Ryan Ferguson recites Hebrews chapters 9 and 10

Do you need some inspiration to memorize Scripture this year? Here you go! This video is from the WorshipGod06 Conference Aug. 9-12, 2006. Ryan Ferguson is giving a memorized dramatic recitation of Hebrews 9 and 10 from the ESV Bible. God’s Word is powerful. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version is copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Necessity of God's Word

In this inaugral post on Christian living and the spiritual disciplines, I think it is fitting that I point out the absolute centrality of the Word of God!

Oh, how I long to be a strong believer, not a weak one. This is my heartfelt cry of prayer to God for the flock I shepherd. But so often in my spiritual journey and so often in my conversations with others I find that so many professing Christians struggle with so many problems but they can't get past "first base" in solving those problems for they aren't Word-saturated Christians. Our intake of the Word of God is minimalistic at best. Because of this we are anxious, unhappy, and beset with sin.

Several years ago, I put this quote on a half sheet of paper, hung it up on my wall and made copies of it available to the congregation I serve. Oh God, stir your people to see the radical importance of being Word-saturated Christians!

"If you don't read the Word and memorize the Word and meditate on the Word daily and delight in the Word and savor it and have your mind and emotions shaped by the Word, you will be a weak Christian at best. You will be fragile and easily deceived and easily paralyzed by trouble and stuck in many mediocre ruts. But if you read the Word and memorize important parts of it and meditate on it and savor it and steep your mind in it, then you will be like a strong tree planted by streams of water that brings forth fruit. Your leaf won't wither in the drought and you will be productive in your life for Christ (see Psalm 1). "--John Piper

Knowing Christ

Paul cries out, "I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death" (Philippians 3:10, NIV). Knowing Christ, or knowing God (the title of J. I. Packer's classic book) should be the heart of our lives. We ought to pursue a knowledge of the Holy One with a passion, but that knowledge should always lead to worship and heart transformation. Right theology should lead us to a right worship and love for God.

Samuel Guzman over at Christian Research Net writes

I believe that one reason we do not see power in the fundamental churches today is that we do not know God in the way that we should. I am not talking about right theology, for we have plenty of that. We have built our theology on the shoulders of the great men of God, and right it may be, but why did those great men of God shake the world while we remain helpless bickering armchair theologians? It is because they knew God. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that theology plays an essential role in the Christian church. Without right theology, we cannot know who God is or what He requires of us. But there seem to be so much fear of over emphasizing the Holy Spirit, that we fear any knowledge of God that goes beyond a dry intellectual sense. If you take the time to read any of the writings of the great men of God, Augustine, Luther, Tozer, and of course the Apostles, you will be impressed with one thing: God was real to these men and their hearts overflowed with love for him. I believe that’s what we are missing. We have figured God out, we have analyzed him into a cold abstract, and we have lost our love.

As a post on Thursday's on the theme of theology, I trust that it will awaken and stir up within all of us a love for God. My goal, by the grace of God, is to enlighten the mind and awaken the affections so that we pursue God more and say with Paul, "I want to know Him!" Knowing more about God causes us to know more of His love for us and causes us to see more of His love and care for us. Both are important.

David is a great example of a person who knew God, but His theology of God set His heart on fire for God. He knew God deeply but he also knew Him personally, not abstractly. He called God "my rock, my strength, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my shield, my horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my redeemer."

John Owen helps us to know Christ more in his book called Communion with God by spending much time just revealing the glorious nature of Christ.

Christ is all-glorious:

• glorious in his throne, which is at “the right hand of the Majesty on high”
• glorious in his commission, which is “all power in heaven and earth”
• glorious in his name, a name above every name—“Lord of lords, and King of kings”
• glorious in his scepter—“a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of his kingdom”
• glorious in his attendants—“his chariots are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels,” among them he rides on the heavens, and sends out the voice of his strength, attended with ten thousand times ten thousand of his holy ones
• glorious in his subjects—all creatures in heaven and in earth, nothing is left that is not put in subjection to him
• glorious in his way of rule, and the administration of his kingdom—full of sweetness, efficacy, power, serenity, holiness, righteousness, and grace, in and toward his elect—of terror, vengeance, and certain destruction toward the rebellious angels and men
• glorious in the issue of his kingdom, when every knee shall bow before him, and all shall stand before his judgment-seat.

Knowing you, Jesus!--there is no greater thing! You are my all in all!

You and your anger!

The Bible assures you that if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can overcome anger. That is the good news of the gospel.

Often people say, "But I just can't overcome or control my anger." But what they really mean is "I won't overcome it or I don't want to overcome my anger."

You can control your temper when you really want to, when you are highly motivated to do so, and when you make a strong effort. You are able to keep your anger within at critical times in your life when you do not want others to think ill of you. We learn to respond angrily in the presence of family members, even though we have learned to not get angry in front of others.

One of the best deterrents to anger is how we think! As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Think about how anger damages your relationship to your spouse, your children, and God! Anger damages your relationship to your wife, husband, and to God. Here is an article that will help you do just that.

In the Bible there are three kinds of anger: God's righteous anger, human righteous anger, and human unrighteous anger. Anger, like every other emotion that God has given us, is a proper and useful emotion when it is expressed in a manner that is consistent with the principles of Scripture and used for the purposes that God set forth in His Word.

Robert Jones in Uprooting Anger points out that righteous anger must meet three criteria: 1) it reacts against actual sin 2) it focuses on God and His Kingdom, rights, concerns, not on me, my kingdom, rights, and concerns and 3) it is accompanied by other godly qualities and expresses itself in godly ways . (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Uncontrolled anger is never acceptable. It is always sin. We express uncontrolled anger by blowing up. The Bible says to put such wrath, anger, and rage away from us. (Ephesians 4:31).

The opposite of blowing up is clamming up. This is what we call bitterness and this to is to unacceptable to God (Ephesians 4:31). The answer to loss of control of temper is not resentment.

Both ways of expressing anger (clamming up or blowing up) do not solve problems and they displease God. They grieve His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). Such anger only creates new problems, it never solves the current problems biblically.

Jay Adams has written that anger is a powerful, motivating force that is intended to destroy, something. It must be used to destroy the problem, not the person. Clamming up destroys the angered person. Blowing up destroys others.

So, what do we do? We aim our energies at solving problems God's way, not our way.

You will never defeat anger on your own. First, you must become a subject of a new kingdom by repenting of your sin of rebellion against God and unbelief in His Word and "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry (Psalm 2:12). You must trust the Lord Jesus Christ! The only people who can control anger are those who have Christ and are yielded to His Spirit.

Are you ready for eternity? Are you ready to meet God? Do you think he will just excuse your anger and your sin? Click here if you want to find out what God has to say about your eternal destiny.

If you are trusting Christ and are serious about overcoming anger in your life, David Powlison of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation has developed this helpful worksheet for you to help you analyze anger in your life and put this sin to death! Use this worksheet the next time you get angry. You will find it helpful in living out the reality of Romans 6:13, "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness."

1. Ponder the following passage from Ephesians.

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 4:29-5:2).

Read it over 3-4 times. Take it slowly. Emphasize different sentences, phrases, words. Where do you tend to misfire in this area? Notice how God boxes us in: you can’t “keep to yourself” (bitterness), or “go to the other person” (wrath and anger), or “go to other people” (clamor and slander)! We are driven to deal with our attitudes before God, and then deal constructively and mercifully with others. Notice how persistently Paul puts specifics about the Lord into the picture. He knows we need strong and sweet-tasting medicine in order to deal with anger. What most strikes you about this passage?

2. Now work through our six questions.

Situation: What circumstances trigger your anger or complaining? What pushes your buttons?

________________________________________________________________________

Reaction: How do you express anger (thoughts, emotions, actions)?

________________________________________________________________________

Motive: What are your “buttons”?
I want _____________________.
I must have____________________.
At all costs, I don’t want _______________ and must avoid it.

Message: What specific things does God reveal about Himself (right in this passage), that bid to do battle with your angry reactions?

________________________________________________________________________

You might also start to fan out into the surrounding sentences in Ephesians.

Turn: Bring the real you in your real world to this Savior and Father. Have a conversation about what matters. Talk to God about these things. It is a huge step to verbalize out loud that our “buttons” (idols, cravings) are core sins, and to verbalize that we need the very mercies that are held out as our example. Christ is not a “model” that we watch from afar and then seek to emulate. Rather, he actually treats us with mercy, so we experience his mercy. By doing mercy to us, he teaches us up close and personal to show mercy to others.

Respond: What are you now called to do (and to not do)? What specific actions express how faith-working-through-love replaces craving-working-through-anger? What can and must you do right now that is merciful? Or when you get back home later today?

________________________________________________________________________

3. Worship is the opposite of anger & grumbling.
What “consolations to delight your soul” do the hymns, ("Jesus, what a friend for sinners" & "How firm a foundation") offer, give, proclaim, embrace, hope in, delight in?

Build your marriage on the gospel!

I am reading a book currently called Love that Lasts by Gary and Betsy Ricucci. Gary is a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. His wife is C. J. Mahaney's sister. C. J. wrote the foreword to this book.

Most books, even Christian books, on marriage start right into the practical aspects of marriage like roles, communication, finance, and conflict resolution. This book covers all those areas, but unlike most Christian books on marriage, it starts off by relating the gospel to marriage. I can't remember any other book on marriage and relationships doing this. But then again I shouldn't be surprised by this for the influence of C. J.'s ministry is primarily about the cross and the gospel and obviously this has infected his relatives greatly.

The authors observe correctly that most Christians simply assume the gospel, misunderstand the gospel, or even ignore or miss the gospel when it comes to their marriage relationship. This being so, I fear that some people who read this book might skip the first chapter because they want "help" for their marriage. They think they know the gospel--been there, done that. But that reflects an attitude that compartmentalizes the gospel. We think the gospel has ramifications only for our eternal destiny. But that is so misguided and wrongheaded.

The authors give a marvelous summary of the gospel's impact on marriage.
Because of the gospel, Christians have become new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, in our marriage, our past does not define us, confine us, or determine our future.

Because of the gospel, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). Therefore, we can live free of all guilt and condemnation for every sin, and we can trust that God, in his mercy, will be gracious to us.

Because of the gospel, we can forgive just as Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32) Nothing done against us compares to osur sin against God. Therefore, all offenses, hostility, and bitterness between Christians can be completely forgiven and removed.

Because of the gospel, we are accepted by God (Romans 15:7). Therefore, we are not dependent on a spouse for who we are or what we need.

Because of the gospel, sin's ruling power over us is broken (Romans 6:6, 14). Therefore we can truly obey all that God calls us to do in our marriage, regardless of any circumstance or situation.

Because of the gospel, we have access to God through Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). Therefore we can at any time take any need in our marriage to the One who can do all things.

Because of the gospel, we have hope (Romans 5:1-4). Therefore we can endure any marital difficulty, hardship, or suffering, with the assurance that God is working all to our greatest good (Romans 8:28).

Because of the gospel, Christ dwells in us by His Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore we are confident that God is always with us and is always at work in our marriage, even when progress is imperceptible (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Because of the gospel, we have power to fight and overcome remaining sin, which continues to dwell and war within us (Romans 7:19-21, 24-25; Galatians 5:16-17). This indwelling enemy represents the essence of what is called the doctrine of sin.

The gospel can transform your life and your marriage! If you are looking for hope in your marriage, you will find it in the gospel (even if and especially if you have been a Christian for a long time. If you are unmarried or pursuing a relationship, I urge you to build your life on the gospel! You and I never, never, never outgrow our need for the gospel. In order to have a God-glorifying marriage, you must build your life and marriage on the gospel!

So, think about this today: Using the above list of truths about the gospel, how can you specifically apply God's grace and the gospel to your marriage? Where do you see areas of weakness in your life or relationships that reveal a deficient application of the gospel?

After the Amen!

Yesterday I preached on biblical eldership in congregationalism and sought to answer this question, "Is plural, elder-led, congregationalism biblical?"

Since we are a Baptist church, another question people also have is, "Are elders Baptist?" Many people think that elders are unbaptistic. But a brief survey of Baptist history shows that this position is untenable. A survey of historical Baptist confessions of faith shows that up until the late 1800's, most Baptist churches had the word elder in their terminology.

John Piper has done an excellent job presenting the historical usage of this word in Baptist documents so I see no need to duplicate his research. He writes, "The purpose of this historical survey is to show that, from their earliest beginnings Baptists, have held to the view that the two ongoing church offices presented in the New Testament are elders and deacons, and that only in more modern developments has the eldership largely disappeared from Baptist churches."

Piper concludes his article by making this imporant point:

Of course our only infallible rule for faith and practice is not tradition, either old or new, but rather, is the Word of God. Nevertheless, we believe that humility and wisdom commend the careful consideration of what our fathers in the faith have taught and practiced. We are not the sole possessors of truth. And we are very prone to be blind at the very points where perhaps they saw clearly. The least we can say from this historical survey of Baptist Confessions is that it is false to say that the eldership is unbaptistic. On the contrary, the eldership is more baptistic than its absence, and its disappearance is a modern phenomenon that parallels other developments in doctrine that make its disappearance questionable at best.

But in the end, the issue is whether the Bible itself teaches a form of church governance including elders and deacons as the two abiding officers of the church.

If elders used to be found in Baptist churches, why did they seem to disappear? Mark Dever in The Display of God's Glory explains, “Elders could be found in Baptist churches in America throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century.” But our century is different. During most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, elders fell out of normal Baptist structure and church life. Dever suggests that the change in structure may have been caused by either the neglect of biblical teaching or the rapid spread of the church into the frontier regions of our nation. With so many churches started so quickly, the local leadership may have been hampered in forming the plurality of elders. The growth of Baptist by 1844 “represented an increase of 360 percent in thirty years,” while the population increase of the nation was only 140 percent in the same period. Much of the growth took place in rural and frontier areas under untrained ministers planting churches among a people of imbued with individualistic and democratic ideologies in the wake of the American Revolution. The Baptist emphasis on congregationalism, combined with the early American emphasis on individualism, likely resulted in the decline of churches being governed through elder plurality. Additionally, with the move into the frontier, the “one elder” structure of a pastor, who often served several churches, was a necessity of last resort rather than biblical conviction.

Another great resource that has helped me understand that elders are baptistic is Phil Newton's Elders in Congregational Life.

After the Amen!

I am thinking about the idea of blogging on a different theme every day of the week. For example, here is what each day might look like:

• Monday: After the Amen! Something from my message on Sunday. This may be just an extended quote from my message or it may be something more in-depth that I didn't have time or take the time to develop in the message.
  
• Tuesday: Some insight on the family, marriage, or parenting
• Wednesday: a blog on a common problem in our lives that God gives us counsel on through His Word
• Thursday: Theology musings
  
• Friday: Christian living or spiritual disciplines
  
• Saturday: Blessings from other blogs
• Sunday: a brief prayer or praise or maybe just a day of rest from blogging.

I don't know if I will be able to maintain this schedule but it is worth a try!

Two books for free!

John Piper has just released two outstanding books that you can either read for free on-line or you can get a hard copy.

If you ever experience depression, know someone who does, or simply pray at times, "Lord, restore to me the joy of my salvation", then I would strongly recommend John's book When the Darkness Will Not Lift.

Also John has written a book on the life of William Wilberforce, a radically God-centered Christian who spent his lifetime fighting for the abolition of the African slave trade and against slavery itself until they were both illegal in the British Empire. The release of this book coincides with the upcoming movie Amazing Grace which will be premiering in February.

Both these books will help you to treasure and savor Jesus Christ even more.

Good success

We live in a success-driven culture. That is indisputable. The big problem is that our culture defines success for us and as Christians we either consciously or unconsciously buy into these measures of success. We think success is a bigger home, nicer car, better job, etc. And so often we have such a great concern for the things of men, that we define success by man's yardstick, rather than our own.

But what is God's definition of success. If we really fear God and keep his commandments we will be more concerned with a Godward definition of success than what man thinks. Man, of course, looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.

At the beginnning of Jesus' ministry he described what true happiness and true success looked like internally in his longest recorded sermon, the message from the moutain (Mathew 5-7). This wasn't just a sermon teaching us how to live in a future kingdom. Nor was it a sermon that simply gave us some ethical guidelines by which to get along with other people. It was a message that described how a true child of God would live. It laid down the requirements for the subjects of King Jesus. When Jesus described in the opening verses what a truly "blessed" person looked like, he changed all the "price tags" of what contentment and internal happiness really was. When He delivered those words, he turned man's thinking on its head as to what constituted true "success." No one would have considered a person who acknowledged his spirititual bankruptcy, mourned over their sin, sought after meekness, really hungered and thirsted for God's righteousness and thus demonstrated mercy, purity and peace-making and counted it joy when they were persecuted and reviled for their life and message as happy or successful. (Matthew 5:2-12). But this is what true happiness or success really is.

As a pastor I have to continually struggle against what I perceive to be success or what others perceive to be success over and what God says is success in ministry. Kent Hughes has helped me think biblically about this in his book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. Here are some of his biblically rooted observations from Scripture that may encourage you today in your life.

• Success is faithfulness: "So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." (1 Cor 4:1-2)
  

• Success is serving: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave." (Mat 22:25-27)

• Success is loving: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?...'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." (Mat 22:37-38)

• Success is believing: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Heb 11:6)

• Success is prayer: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col 4:2)

• Success is holiness: "Be holy because I am holy." (Lev 19:2)

• Success is attitude: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, though being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing." (Phil 2:5)

The words of a godly man have helped me so often in my life. He said, "Remember, Dwight. God doesn't call you to be successful. He calls you to be faithful." Those words have encouraged me so often and helped to regroup or reevaluate my life and ministry.

May we remember the words of God to Joshua, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." God help us to be faithful to the Gospel, loyal to Christ, and fearing God not man! That is true success.

Family Worship

Family worship is something that I have worked on for some years with a lot of ups and downs. I have found some help in this area from Erik who dubs himself the "Irish Calvinist." There is no right way and no wrong way to do family worship. The key components would be some Scripture, prayer, and maybe a song. You have to adapt family worship to your family situation. What works for older children obviously would be over the heads of little, elementary children. In our family, I have to have some components for each along with feeding my wife and my soul during this time. The goal is to start somewhere and try to build consistency in this area.

Among other pieces of advice in this article are these:

• Be in the Word yourself
• Make it fun
• Take time for application
• Teach prayer
• Gospelize your children
  

Training the hearts of our children is a command from God for parents to fulfill. Read the whole article and implement the wisdom. Then watch as God uses this time to transform your family more into Christ's likeness.

Memorizing long passages of Scripture

If you want to memorize and extended portion of Scripture, here is one of the best guides for doing so. I encouraged my congregation this morning to memorize Scripture because Scripture memory will solve 1000 problems before they occur, heal 1000 wounds after they occur, and kill 1000 sins in the moment of temptation. Scripture memory will help you discern the 1000 different deceptions that Satan allures us with to sin which lead to 1000 miseries.

Over at the Family Room, the men are discussing the importance of first things at the beginning of the new year. One contributor in tackling the issue of your time with God in the Word writes,

As you consider your approach to spending time with God how would you evaluate your passion and pursuit of encountering His presence? Here are some questions to get you thinking:

• Do I meet with God daily in His Word?

• Are my times rushed or am I consistently distracted when I spend time with God?

• When I spend time with God do I leave refreshed and reminded of the Gospel?

• Am I provoked by my time with God in such a way that I desire to share with others?

• Do others notice an increasing desire to spend time with God?

Good questions to consider. Read the full post here.

Prayer is the forerunner of mercy

"Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarcely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. You have found this true in your own personal experience. God has given you many an unsolicited favor, but still great prayer has always been the prelude to great mercy with you. . . .Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it. If we had the blessings without asking for them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our mercies more precious than diamonds. The things we ask for are precious, but we do not realize their preciousness until we have sought for them earnestly." --Charles Spurgeon

Cultivating a hunger for God's Word

John MacArthur gives us some very theologically-rooted practical advice as to how to really hunger and thirst after God's Word this year in this article. A summary of this exposition on 1 Peter 2:1-3 is that you cultivate a hunger for God's Word by:

• Remembering your life source
• Eliminating your sin
• Admitting your need
• Pursuing your growth
• Surveying your spiriutal blessings
  

Noel Piper has some helpful advice here from her own personal experience in trying to read through the Bible. She met with a lot of frustration but read the whole article to find what turned her into a "hunter" and gave her great motivation in her reading the Word. Some things that helped her included the following:

• Noel didn't necessarily start in January, but started "anytime now".
• She didn't start "in the beginning" but in "unknown territory".
• She didn't read the Bible "in sequence".
• She didn't split her reading into 365 "equal segments".
• She took only the Bible along with her for "reading material".

New Years Goals and resolutions

The world is big into making new years resolutions. The usual ones have to do with more self-discipline, better time management, more kindness, etc. There is a biblical basis to make resolutions: "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).

Jonathan Edwards made seventy resolutions as a young man. Nathan Busenitz over at Pulpit Magazine does a great job of categorizing them into ten overall goals that every Christian should have for the new year. It is worth reading and posting somewhere so that you can keep these goals in front of you not only this week but 365/24/7.

Praying for two godly leaders in Christ's church

Here are two prayer requests that have come to me via the blogosphere.

Rick Phillips at the Reformation 21 blog asks for prayer for Dr. D. James Kennedy.

Please pray for Dr. D. James Kennedy, his wife and daughter, and Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Dr. Kennedy is in grave condition following a heart attack last evening.

Jim's health has deteriorated markedly in the last several months, and he has manfully continued his ministry to the best of his ability. During all my interactions with him even during this trying time, he has exhibited his characteristic good cheer, charm, and force of mind. Along with being a man with great vision for the kingdom of Christ, Jim Kennedy is a true Christian gentleman. Please pray for God to restore him to full health and give him grace as his situation should require.

And from Albert Mohler's blog comes another request:

Dr. Albert Mohler is recovering at Louisville's Baptist East hospital following abdominal surgery. Dr. Mohler was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday after experiencing abdominal pain. During a three-hour procedure, surgeons removed scar tissue from a 1980s operation. Dr. Mohler is expected to be released from the hospital next week and will continue his recovery at home. . . . .Please join the Southern Seminary community in praying for Dr. Mohler's quick and total recovery.

On the Fullness of Christ

Christ is full of "grace and truth"--

• full, to a sufficiency for every end of grace
• full, for practice, to be an example to men and angels as to obedience
• full, to a certainty of uninterrupted communion with God
• full, to a readiness of giving supply to others
• full, to suit him to all the occasions and necessities of the souls of men
• full, to a glory not unbecoming a subsistence in the person of the Son of God
• full, to a perfect victory, in trials, over all temptations
• full, to an exact correspondence to the whole law, every righteous and holy law of God
• full to the utmost capacity of a limited, created, finite nature
• full, to the greatest beauty and glory of a living temple of God
• full, to the full pleasure and delight of the soul of his Father
• full, to an everlasting monument of the glory of God, in giving such inconceivable excellencies to the Son of man.

John Owen, Communion with God (HT: Justin Taylor)

Bible Reading Plans for the New Year

From the ESV Blog:

Sign up for any of our one-year Bible reading plans and get them delivered to your email each day starting January 1, 2007.

But you should think about signing up for our daily RSS feeds instead because technology has made daily email newsletters largely obsolete.

Let’s Talk RSS

RSS is a technology that lets you subscribe to lots of different sites and have the information you want delivered to you. You don’t need to worry about giving out your email address or making sure that the emails don’t get caught in spam filters somewhere: your subscriptions get delivered to you automatically whenever an update is available, and you can peruse them at your leisure. An updated post doesn’t cry out for attention the way a newly delivered email does.

The latest versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox have RSS reading built-in. So do the latest version of Outlook and many other email programs. Don’t want to use new software? No problem! Websites like Bloglines and Google Reader let you manage subscriptions from your current browser. It’s fast and easy.

Do you read this blog in your browser? We have an RSS feed that you can subscribe to, eliminating the need to visit this site to check for new posts. As always, all our reading plans are available as RSS feeds.

RSS hasn’t quite hit the mainstream yet, though its popularity in technical circles is undeniable. You’ll be surprised how many sites offer RSS feeds once you start looking for them. RSS makes it faster to get your daily dose of news (or whatever you’re interested in), especially if you visit a regular cadre of websites.

In short, RSS gives you all the advantages of email newsletters without the privacy implications or your having to jump through hoops to cancel your subscription. We encourage you to give it a try if you haven’t yet.

Not interested in trying something new? That’s fine, too. Feel free to subscribe to our new daily emails.

A New Years Prayer

Length of Days does not profit me except the days are passed
in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains
sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbor,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

--From the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions