The Rightness of Trouble

Sometimes the brokenness of this fallen world pours into your life like a flood that washes away every familiar landmark, drowns every self-sufficient anchor point under the roiling waters, and leaves you gasping for air as it washes over your head and pulls you ever downward. When the curse of sin crashes  and crushes you, prayer is not a problem. The Lord is our refuge, calling us home through the clamoring of the Spirit's warnings. Our heart sees the Son of Man lifted up and we cry out to Him for help in our trouble, in our disaster, in our darkness, in our pain. Trouble is the servant of God, a teacher for the saints, helping us remember how far we've fallen, how high our Triune God is, and how willing God is to help us in our trouble.

More Testimony to the Depths of Human Depravity

I am left in disbelief at the testimony of a Planned Parenthood representative, and a separate publication by two ethicists concerning human babies.  This written editorial documents the tragic thinking of humanism  taken to its logical conclusion. To be clear, there is no such an operation as 'post-birth abortion'. That is a sanitized and unjustifiable re-titling of infanticide, plain and simple.

Read the editorial here.

The Problem of Forgiveness

"God deserves worship, and we deserve his wrath. Our greatest need is to be right with God, and the insurmountable obstacle is our sin. 'Where God's wrath is no longer a problem, Christ's cross is no longer a solution.' So we must be clear on what the problem is for sinners. The one from whom we need pardon is the one whom we have offended. We have spat on God's infinitely precious name with our wickedness. We have insulted his majesty and belittled his worth. We desperately need forgiveness for our sins, cleansing for our disobedience. Granting forgiveness, though, is no cheap act by God."

     -- The Gospel is for Christians, Mitchell Chase

Words of Wisdom

"Sin was so odious and detestable in the presence of our heavenly Father, that by no other sacrifice could the same be purged, except by the blood and death of the only innocent Son of God."

 -- John Knox, cited in Bonar's Words Old & New

Jesus' Inefficient Ministry

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, nicknamed 'sons of thunder' by Jesus himself, were models of the inefficiency of Jesus' ministry.  Christ called them into his inner circle to witness many of his miracles in person, miracles that the other disciples did not get to see. He brought them along with Peter to the mount of transfiguration, where they were given a foretaste, an appetizer of heaven displayed in Jesus' glory revealed. He brought them into the inner room to witness him raising a little girl from the dead. These are a couple of amazing examples where Jesus involved them in his ministry of sovereign miracles.

 

Yet, when we turn to James specifically, what role does Jimmy Thunder play in the early church?  He is the first martyr drawn home from the twelve, dying by the sword early in the book of Acts.  He didn't write of his intimate experiences with Jesus. He didn't leave a written account of the refulgent glory of Jesus on the mount, or of Jesus' precious tenderness as he raised the little girl with a gentle call and a helping hand.  No, instead of Jesus selecting the ones he knew would bear the most fruit, write accounts of their treasured Lord, and testify before the watching world, he devoted time to a man who would only live for a few weeks past the cross. 

 

What of us? Do we seek to make 'strategic decisions' on who we will disciple, aiming for optimized time invested  and potential impact from that individual over the long-haul? Jesus had a wonderfully inefficient ministry with James, son of Zebedee, martyr  of the church.

 

Written On a Tablet of Silicon

I made the decision last week to purchase a tablet computer. After consulting my resident 16-year-old hacker, I settled on a brand and model based on his compelling reasons. I supplemented the tablet with a compact bluetooth keyboard, wondering if the combination would enable me to write more actively than my obviously reluctant authorship.  I think it has. I was able to convert several years of notes into draft posts for the blog, giving a body to ideas so far only captured in germ form. And here I am, authoring this update as well on the same tablet.

Life remains very busy, with several commitments at my home church, including: a 12-week introduction to New Testament Greek (halfway through as I speak...   er.... write), co-teaching our mid-week youth group, teaching adult Sunday School (current series is a foray into biblical theology based on Walter Kaiser's Messiah in the Old Testament), and a devotional study with my pastor on Bruce Ware's book of theological reflections on the humanity of Christ. I can think of few times in my life when I was this busy. Of course, there are the usual commitments to spouse, children, and parents that are such a great joy to serve. All that said, I am very thankful to the Lord for my health and well-being and these many opportunities to impact others for King Jesus.

As time passes we will all be able to see if this technology truly is revolutionary for my writing... or not.  The proof will be in the posting.  Here's hoping to seeing you much more frequently in the coming weeks.

On Memorizing Scripture

A couple of years ago I was able to attend a conference where James White spoke.  Dr. White said something concerning scripture memorization that has stuck with me.  I think it impacts me because I recognize myself in the illustration.  This instruction from Dr. White has alloyed with the continued brotherly prodding of my pastor to look at theology in a biblical framework rather than simply a systematic framework, resulting in a long-term shift in the way I read, study, and meditate on the Bible. I am thankful for their care for me, pushing me to consider truth in deeper disciplines that can carry me through the rest of my life.  Roughly quoted, here is what Dr. White said.

"Context is key. Verse divisions are artificial and drive us towards an artificial focus on specific snippets. Memorize in context."

On the Exclusivity of Christ

Dr. Alistair Begg, senior pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland Ohio, presents a message at the 2010 Ligonier National Conference on the Bible's presentation of the exclusivity of Christ. The message is 50 minutes long and is well worth your time.

The Evangelical Mind, Heart, and Mouth

Winds of change are blowing across America. Yesterday we might have been able to convince one another in the evangelical subculture that biblical convictions informed, influenced, and intersected with much of American cultural conviction. Today, the picture is changing rapidly. Evangelical convictions concerning societal norms are being crushed, pushed from the public square by the steamroller of "progress", specifically under the guise of accused bigotry from the highest levels of national public life down to state and local dialogues.

Yes, I do fear that our 'niceness' has possibly broken our spines and snuffed out our willingness to live as lights in a dark world. I am no alarmist shouting for the evangelical bunker-builders to set up shop in my back yard. I do think we need to take courage from our Lord, from the Scriptures, and from one another as we consider how best to maintain our fidelity to biblical conviction in and through our active obedience to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

To spur our awareness and stimulate our response, please take the time to read Dr. Owen Strachan's open letter to evangelicals. He writes, "Do you realize that if you define marriage as the exclusive union of a man and a woman, you are already, even if you speak in the gentlest, softest, most nuanced, most hyper-qualified terms, considered a bigot by a vocal and highly influential contingent today?"

Read what Dr. Strachan has written here.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News Indeed

Good news! Good news!

Dave Sherrill

---

"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The Lord our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 23:5-6, NASB)

"Anyone who is acquainted with the nature of mankind in general, or his own heart in particular, must acknowledge that self-righteousness is the last idol that is rooted out of the heart: " (George Whitefield, The Lord our Righteousness, p.9)

How can a sinner stand before a righteous and holy God and receive the verdict "Justified. Righteous in the eyes of God." God is a righteous God. He is also the just judge. He does not judge with partiality nor can he overlook any sin. His knowledge about us is perfect and complete. He has known us and everything about us from eternity past. Nothing is hidden from Him. He executes perfect justice from perfect knowledge.  


So how can a sinner stand before God, guilty in himself, and receive God's pronouncement of justification? As the creator of heaven and earth and everything that exists, including us, God has decreed that there is only one way of peace with Him. That way is perfect righteousness. Not merely to be without sin, in a sort of neutral state before God. No, not merely without sin, we must possess a perfect righteousness, obeying God perfectly and doing all His will, perfectly.  


God's law is his own holy standard. It flows from him and reveals His holy and perfect nature. It is the standard God has established that, by it, true justice will be rendered. It is the keeping of that law perfectly that justifies someone in the sight of our perfect God.  

'You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. 'So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord. (Leviticus 18:4-5, NASB)

"Perform My judgments and keep My statutes, by which a man may live if he does them." There is an explicit blessing here. Keep My law and you will live. But the law is a double-edged knife. It cuts both directions. It holds not only a blessing but also a curse. "Obey this law and live. Break this law and die."


So how can you stand justified before God? Simply knowing that the law exists is not enough. (for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. Romans 2:13, NASB )   No one reading this meets these qualifications which God requires. No one (except Jesus Christ) has perfectly obeyed God in avoiding sin and in performing righteousness perfectly. All of us have broken God's law. We have sinned against our creator and have violated his holiness by our rebellion against His law. We are at war with God, albeit impotently, but at war nonetheless. In our very natures we have inherited a fatal curse from our fleshly father Adam. We hate God's good commandments and we love sin. We run from the light and leap headlong into darkness.  

This is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (John 3:19-20, NASB)

So how can you, a sinner, stand justified before God?  

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" And he answered and said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." (Luke 10:25-28, NASB)

"Do this and you will live." Keep God's law perfectly, never sin, and always obey Him in everything with all of yourself. Your heart, soul, strength, and mind must be perfectly expended in obedient love to God and to your neighbor. No losing heart in time of trial. No weakness in work. No wandering thoughts leading to sin. Every fiber of your being expended in love for God and this perfectly. "Do this and you will live." This is the perfect and holy law of the perfect and holy God. But is this good news? Did the lawyer who answered the Lord rejoice in this? Did he go away feeling self-righteous, thinking that he certainly had a good standing before God? After all, he was trying his very best to obey these two great commandments.  


Note the next verse. (But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "and who is my neighbor?" John 10:29, NASB) Self-righteousness raises it's ugly head here. "Wishing to justify himself." But note, God's law is not based on "our best efforts" or "our good intentions" to keep it. You really, truly have to keep it! Perfectly! "Do this, and you will live." Not "Try to do this." Not "Give it your best shot." No, one single failure, one disobedient act, one sinful thought, one omission of any kind, one failure is fatal. Yet this expert in the law was "wishing to justify himself."  


In case you remain unconvinced let's look at another man "wishing to justify himself" in his own self-righteousness.  

And as He [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. "You know the commandments, 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up." And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property. (Mark 10:17-22, NASB)

The Lord of the universe rehearsed with this man the requirements of the Law. What is his answer? "I have kept all these things from my youth up." Wrong! He missed it. He didn't get it. His eyes were blind, his heart was cold. He did not hear the Lord that day, but wishing to justify himself, he condemned himself by his own words.  


Now I wonder, do you hear the Lord right now? "Do not murder (or be angry with your brother without cause). Do not commit adultery (or look lustfully on another). Do not steal (or envy another). Do not bear false witness (or lie)." Can you even meet the first requirement of the law mentioned here, let alone law upon law upon law?  


Don't think that Jesus was giving the man an opportunity to justify himself before God through obeying these laws. The Lord here was not implying that the man had actually followed these nor could he follow them. Jesus was using the law to demonstrate to the rich man his utter sinfulness; his total, complete poverty of any righteousness, and thus His need of a savior. He had broken every one of these commandments (as we all have - either in thought or in deed). But did the man hear? Did he really hear what the Lord said? No, even though he had physical ears and heard Jesus' words, God had not yet given him "eyes to see and ears to hear". No, he thought he had kept these commandments of God. He remained in darkness. Instead of answering "I have broken each of these countless times. How can I find righteousness before God? God, be merciful to me the sinner!" Instead of that kind of answer, he broadcasts his spiritual blindness. "Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth up."  


I expect that some of the people reading this are like these men. You wish to justify yourself in the sight of God. Your answer to the Lord would run along the same lines and that answer would miss the mark of God's righteousness to your damnation. Instead of justifying yourself, you condemn yourself by your own words.  


If the Lord were to question you now, "Why should I let you into heaven?" Will you venture your answer by starting your sentence with "I...". Or perhaps you would even be bold enough to say, "Lord, I...". You are seeking to justify yourself. You are standing on your own righteousness. To do so, even in part, even in small part, is to be self-righteous and self- condemning. The road to hell starts in your own heart with that one little word "I". I hope and pray that this tiny word leading to an eternity of separation from God would not be found on any of your lips. Oh that the Lord would open your eyes and ears today that you would hear His words and see your condition as it is.  

Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20, NASB)

Are the requirements of God's perfect law good news? To know that perfection is the required standard? Is that the gospel, the "good news"? No it is terrible news. It is the worst news possible for our pride for there is no way that we ourselves can attain to it. No, it is not good news but it leads us to the good news. It is our schoolmaster teaching us, revealing our complete and total lack of hope in saving ourselves. But if perfect righteousness is the requirement, where will we find it? How can you, a sinner, stand justified before a holy and just God?  


"What good does it do to me to tell me that the type of religion presented in the Bible is a very fine type of religion and that the thing for me to do is just to start practicing that type of religion now? ... I will tell you, my friend. It does me not one tiniest little bit of good. ... What I need first of all is not exhortation, but a gospel, not directions for saving myself but knowledge of how God has saved me. Have you any good news? That is the question that I ask of you. I know your exhortations will not help me. But if anything has been done to save me, will you not tell me the facts?" (Machen cited in Horton, Trust and Obey, p.40)  

"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The Lord our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 23:5-6, NASB)

The Lord our Righteousness!  

Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. (Romans 10:1-3, NASB)

God's righteousness! Not ours, God's!  

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (Romans 3:21-24, NASB)

The righteousness of God! How? Through faith in Jesus Christ. Why? It is a gift by God's grace! Good news! Good news! The demand of God's law for perfect righteousness has been met in Jesus Christ, the Lord our Righteousness!  

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4, NASB)

What the Law could not do, God did! What we cannot do for ourselves, God has done for us. "The Lord our Righteousness." The Lord himself has undertaken to provide the qualifications necessary to meet His own just judgment.  

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4, NASB)

 

"Justification means more than mere pardon for sin; it means that the justified person is regarded as having kept all God's laws perfectly." (James Buchanan, Not Guilty, p.25)

The Lord our righteousness. Who is this Lord and what does it mean to say he is our righteousness? The Lord is clearly Jesus Christ. How does His righteousness become ours? By God's grace through faith.

But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, (Romans 4:5, NASB)

We must be careful here in what we understand about this "faith".

"Yet, as we have seen, this obedience of faith is not the righteousness by means of which we are accepted by God. Obedient faith is the means by which we receive Christ's righteousness. Faith is the instrument by which righteousness is procured. Eating is necessary for the nourishment of our bodies, but it is the food we eat that actually nourishes us. Likewise, faith is necessary to receive righteousness but it is the righteousness of Christ which actually justifies us. Faith is the only means for the receiving of justification. Justification is not by faith plus the knowledge that one is among the elect of God. Justification is not by faith plus a certain amount of conviction of sin. True, none will believe unless they are the elect of God and are convicted of their sin and need of a Savior. But it is primarily our faith in God's promise of salvation in Christ for sinners which brings justification, not anything else we may know or feel. The reason why faith alone is the instrument by which we receive justification is that it is by believing -- and in no other way -- that we can rely on Christ's saving work. It is not sorrow for sin that unites us with Christ. It is not the spiritual graces of love and hope which make us partakers of Christ's righteousness. It is by the use of faith that sinners rely on Christ for salvation." (James Buchanan, Not Guilty, p.88)

Or said another way,

"Our faith, however, is not the reason for our justification. Believers are said to be justified by faith, not because of faith. No man has perfect faith. If faith were the reason for justification, them some believers might be justified by a more perfect faith; others by a less perfect faith. Or else, some are more justified than others! All this is absurd. And it makes faith into a way of earning justification. No! The righteousness of God is said to be "revealed ... to faith" (Rom 1:17). Faith therefore cannot be what makes us righteous." (Abraham Booth, By God's Grace Alone, p.39)

What makes us righteous is Christ's righteousness imputed to us, received by faith.  

All of life is designed by God for the purpose of glorifying God, including our salvation. "God is the only hero of these stories." (Michael Horton, Trust and Obey, p.20)

 

"My soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10, NASB)

 

"Perhaps the greatest evidence of our sinful nature is not found in the horrible acts of immorality, violence, or selfish ambition, but in the fact that even when God offers us in the wedding garment of perfect righteousness we persist in our self-vindication! Whatever the fig leaves, whether made of self-esteem therapy or of energetic moralism, we refuse to see our filthy rags as insufficient to appear in the presence of a holy God. As one grand old Puritan said, "We attempt to cover filth with filth." (Michael Horton, Trust and Obey, p.24)

God imputes [or counts toward us] righteousness apart from works. (Romans 4:6) God's reckoning of righteousness to us is not a matter of him searching out our hearts and finding righteousness within us. That is not imputation. If he were to investigate our "righteousnesses" He would not find 'righteousness'. He would find only filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) Note that it is not merely our acts of disobedience, but "our righteous acts" that are so described.  

Imputation is a reckoning or a putting to the account of. The idea is one of an accounting of righteousness from one who is truly righteous to one who is bankrupt of all righteousness. So if God is imputing righteousness to us, it is not our own but another's. But whose? Christ's! God does not whip up righteousness out of thin air. It is Christ's real righteousness that is imputed to us by faith.  


Some dare to call this a "legal fiction". They accuse us of making God a liar by calling one "righteous" who is not righteous in themselves. But this is no "legal fiction". This is our life! (For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16, NASB) It is the true, real, existing righteousness of Christ and not a lie! This is the gospel, the good news!  


For what does God's word say? (But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, Romans 4:5, NASB) Him who justifies the ungodly! Are you ungodly today? Then this is your good news, that God in Christ has done for you what you cannot do yourself. He can make you stand justified before Him today, and that by the perfect righteousness of Christ which is counted to you by faith.  


How can you, a sinner, stand justified before a righteous and holy God? By God's grace, Christ's righteousness is accounted to you through faith. Your sin is reckoned to Christ and was punished in Him on the cross. You then stand before God clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ and God's pronouncement over you is "Justified". Christ's righteousness is reckoned to you, and you stand in Christ, justified before God.  


The cross of Christ simultaneously presents both the justice and mercy of God. Justice in that the sins of those who Christ died for were punished in Christ on the cross. Mercy in that those same ones who Christ died for may now be reckoned as fully righteous, fully obedient, perfect in respect to God's holy law, because Christ's perfect righteousness is imputed to them, reckoned to their account by faith. May today be the day when you hear and believe this glorious gospel, the good news of God's salvation in Christ.  

'Behold, days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 'In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 'In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she shall be called: the Lord is our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 33:14-16, NASB)

Fighting the Good Fight: The Life and Legacy of J. Gresham Machen.

Bethlehem Bible Church, Conference Series 2012, Dr. Stephen J Nichols, Research Professor of Christianity and Culture - Lancaster Bible College (PA).


Dr. Stephen J. Nichols is a professor and Bible and Theology department chair at Lancaster Bible College (PA) and Graduate School. This message is Session 7 of 7 from Bethlehem Bible Church's Conference Series held on March 30 – April 1, 2012 at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, MA.

Jesus Christ / Jehovah's Witnesses Q&A, part 1

Jesus Christ - The Answers to Our Questions

An Evangelical Response to the April 1, 2012 Watchtower

As an evangelical Christian, I count it a precious biblical truth that Jesus Christ is the Savior sent by the Father.  Jesus is a life-changer in the most profound sense. As a Christian, one of the deep impacts Jesus has had on my life is to give me a desire to speak truthfully about him. And so we arrive at the reason for this series of blog posts - a heartfelt desire to portray Jesus in the awesome light of truth contrasted with the tiny, confused, inaccurate picture of Jesus presented by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The April 1, 2012 edition of the Watchtower magazine focuses on Jesus Christ and presents the unique understanding of the Jehovah's Witnesses concerning who he is.  Or as they have named the edition, "Jesus Christ - The Answers to Our Questions".

The answers given in the Watchtower magazine are very condensed, too brief to be truly helpful.  God willing, I will seek to provide responses that are full enough to be helpful in seeing the truth about Jesus Christ. Rather than create an overly lengthy blog post, I will be breaking my response up into a series of shorter posts. I hope the format proves to be helpful to you, dear readers.

Before Getting To The Questions

In the introduction of their magazine, the editors of the magaine spell out their method for answering the questions that will follow.

"The truth about Jesus can be discerned in his

words and actions, which are recorded in the four

Biblical Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

That inspired record is the basis for answering our

questions about Jesus."  (Watchtower, 4/1/2012, p.4)

Before we get to the questions, let's spend a little energy considering the impact this method could have. The Watchtower has effectively truncated the full testimony of Scripture by exclusively focusing on the four Gospels.  Is this a wise approach?  Are there important truths about Jesus Christ presented throughout the Bible?  The Watchtower leads the reader to believe that their answers to the questions are well-grounded and fully-formed.  Later in the publication, they emphasize that what we believe about Jesus really does matter (and I wholeheaertedly agree with them on that point - it truly does matter what we believe about Jesus).

Has the Watchtower decision to restrict the source material to the Gospels short-changed their answers in this issue of their magazine?  Yes.  Yes.  A thousand times, yes!  When we dive into the Biblical record, we find a rich palette painted across the canvas of the Old Testament concerning his unique sonship (Proverbs 30, Psalm 2, Isaiah 7 & 9); his unique Messiahship (Genesis 3, 9, 12, 49; Deut 18; and many others); many types and figures foreshadowing his multi-faceted uniqueness (Melchizedek, Abraham & Isaac, Boaz, Jonah, Moses, David, the entire Jewish priestly and sacrificial system, the Day of Atonement) and the list goes on.

In the New Testament we find the length and breadth revolving around Jesus Christ, bringing forth treasured view after view of his person, ministry, kingship, and Deity. It would not be unfair to describe the entire Bible as the book of Jesus Christ; for it either prefigures, predicts, or proclaims his greatness.

The Watchtower's approach in this issue of their magazine is overly-restrictive.  The truth about Jesus reaches far beyond the four Gospels, beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation.  The Watchtower limits its investigation unwisely and, in so doing, creates an incorrect caricature of Jesus Christ. 

We will see where the Watchtower misses the mark in subsequent posts in this series.  Stay tuned.

Truth Rings Out

Truth Rings Out

A man, reckoned as dead
in Jerusalem’s grip.
Led by his Lord
on a very long trip.

Governors. Kings. Rulers. Guards.
He holds nothing back;
bloodied,  beaten, scarred.
Truth rings out.

In Herod’s palace,

the accused brings peace.

Speaking truth,

testifying of one

who is truly great.

Purchased by Christ.
Chained for Christ.
Sent by Christ.
Truth rings out.

Book Impressions: Come to Me! by Tom Wells

Come to Me! - An Urgent Invitation to Turn to Christ, Tom Wells, Banner of Truth, 113 pages.

This short book is packed with good news! Sometimes we get too wrapped up in intellectual theology to the neglect of the great truths of the gospel stated in everyday language. Wells glorifies Christ in the simplicity and clarity of the gospel he presents. Particularly beneficial are the three chapters: Come to Me as King, Come to Me Exclusively, and Come to Me Immediately.

The entire book is helpful for those who are not yet Christians and these three chapters are especially helpful to those who are already Christians. They are a great reminder of the glory, beauty, and uniqueness of Christ and His claim on every sinner.

Book Impressions: Today's Evangelism - Its Message and Methods, Ernest C. Reisinger

Today's Evangelism - Its Message and Methods, Ernest C. Reisinger, Craig Press, 163 pages.

This book lives up to its title. It is a good examination of the foundation of evangelism and the outworking of that foundation in our methods of evangelism. The late pastor Ernest Reisinger writes to the layman at his level and not to the academy. He utilizes a three-point evaluation: a right rule (the Word of God), a right end (the glory of God), and a right motive (love to God and love to man).

Why should we examine our methods of evangelism?  Reisinger writes, "The question is not going to be 'Does it work?' but 'Is it true?' - 'Is it biblical?' The Jehovah's Witnesses' system works because they get converts, but is it true?" This book is a relatively quick read and it has lasting value. It's a good dose of 'true truth' for all the Lord's evangelists.

Words of Wisdom

"Oh! Reader, beware of self-righteousness. Open sin kills its thousands of souls. Self-righteousness kills its tens of thousands. "
   --J. C. Ryle, The Cross

Resting in Jesus or Justification by Faith Illustrated

Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account." (Romans 4:4-8, NASB)

One of the great truths of the Gospel that was recaptured and rightly emphasized through the Reformation was the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. Justification by faith alone was so foundational to the work of reformation that it became embodied in one of the slogans of the Reformation--Sola Fide (Faith Alone). It is not the only "sola" of the Reformation and there is a need to see it in combination with the other solas to understand the full picture. But such an examination is outside the scope of this little note. We are going to focus our attention on sola fide and will leave the broader examination for another time.


During the Reformation, "Faith Alone" was set in contrast to the Roman Catholic concept of works of merit done in a state of grace for which it was fitting (in the Catholic view) for God to judge them as worthy of reward. But the Reformers uncomprisingly held to the Biblical witness that our salvation is based SOLELY on the person and work of Jesus Christ, and not on anything done in us or by us. The Reformers held that God's judicial verdict of "righteous" in favor of us could be based solely on our sin being counted to Christ and correspondingly Christ's perfect righteousness being counted towards us. How can our sin be laid upon Jesus and His righteousness made ours? By placing our faith in Jesus as Savior, trusting Him to save us. This faith in Jesus has, at times, been described as "resting in Jesus".


"Faith Alone", like all Biblical doctrines, can be misunderstood. One way it is misunderstood is when people hear "faith alone" and think it means the following:

God does not justify us because of our good works. He justifies us because of our faith. Our faith stands in the place of good works. Our faith is what deserves our justification before God. In other words, faith becomes the one good work which we must do so that we deserve to be saved.

In such a view, faith itself is seen as being our righteousness, not as the means of connecting us with the righteousness of Christ. In this view, faith replaces the work of Christ and becomes the basis upon which God gives salvation to us. Repeatedly throughout the years, as I have discussed "faith alone" with people, I have been conscious of the danger of misunderstanding "faith alone" in such a way. As I was thinking about "faith alone" and how to overcome this misunderstanding, the imagery of resting in Jesus came to mind. Let me describe what unfolded in my mind's eye.


As I thought on the phrase "resting in Jesus", an illustration came to mind which might help us see why faith itself is not why God will justify us. Now, this is an illustration, and no illustration is perfect. Think of your bedtime. At the end of a long, wearying day you look forward to a night of restful sleep. When bedtime arrives, you sit on the edge of the bed, turn off the light, pick your feet up off the floor, and rest on your bed. When you pick your feet up and lay down, your full weight is carried by the bed beneath you. You are "resting in bed". It is the bed which is holding you up. It is bearing the burden of all your weight. You cannot lay on it harder or softer. Your entire weight is all you have and no amount of "laying down harder" will put any additional load on the bed. We don't speak of laying down hard or soft. It's not a matter of degree. Laying down is not done in parts. It's all of you. When we speak of "resting in Jesus", it is this kind of resting that is being described. This kind of "full weight laid upon another to bear the load" is what I have in mind for "resting in Jesus".


Well, if you misunderstand "faith alone" to mean that you are saved by your work of faith instead of by Jesus' righteousness, how would that change the illustration? You would probably want to do the best job you could of laying in bed. So once you pick your feet up off the floor, you may think this way, "I must lay down as good as I possibly can. I am doing such a good job of laying here. I'm certain that this bed is going to recognize the quality of my laying here and reward me for it. Others can see that I am doing my best at laying here. I will continue to do my best at laying here." Perhaps you will think you should lay down harder, bearing down on the bed with all of your might (which really accomplishes nothing and certainly does not contribute to your rest). Or maybe you become convinced that you should lay lighter, but how would that be done? Perhaps you should stand and merely lean on the bed? Once again, you will not find true rest in such a posture. Are you really contributing anything to the bed's ability to hold you up as you lay there? Of course not! It is the bed that is upholding you and not anything to do with your laying will make you to be held up any better or more than you already are.


You see, "faith alone" is "resting in Jesus". This resting is a placing of all your weight on Jesus for HIM to bear you up. This resting, like physical resting, is not something which can be done more fully through exertion. It is a trust in HIM to uphold your full weight. It is a resting in HIM from the weariness of sin. Who does the work? Jesus does the work in holding you up, just as the bed alone holds you up and you contribute nothing to it without ruining your rest. And when people look to your resting in Him, what will they see? Not the fact that you are resting so well that God should forgive you, but that Jesus is holding you up entirely and perfectly. When you look to your own resting, what will you see? Not your resting, but the Beloved One who holds you up.


Do you see that faith alone does not point to your resting, to your faith, but to the one upholding you. He is the one bearing you up fully and completely. This is "faith alone". This is for His praise and glory. Amen.

Words of Wisdom

"We have in many areas blindly and unknowingly embraced values and ideas that are common in our culture but are antithetical to the gospel [Jesus] taught. Here we stand amid an American dream dominated by self-advancement, self-esteem, self-sufficiency, by individualism, materialism, and universalism."
-- David Platt, Radical.

Book Review: The Life of God in the Soul of the Church by Thabiti Anyabwile

The full title of the work is The Life of God in the Soul of the Church: The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Fellowship. It is published by Christian Focus under the 9 Marks imprint.

Henry Scougal was a 17th century Scottish pastor who wrote a small book for a friend entitled The Life of God in the Soul of Man.  Although the book was small, it has proven to possess enduring quality and powerful insights even to this day.

Enter Thabiti Anyabwile, a 21st century pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman.  Pastor Anyabwile, inspired by Scougal's original work has written a book designed to extend our understanding of the Life of God beyond the individual soul, to encompass the overall fellowship of the local church. 

Pastor Anyabwile's book is offered as a corrective to over-emphasized individualism found in many evangelical churches. He seeks throughout the book to highlight discipleship pursued intentionally through relationships in the the local church, using the rich tapestry of fellowship found throughout the New Testament as the basis for this course correction.

The book is essentially a lightly edited sermon series that Pastor Anyabwile preached in his home church in 2008.  As expected from a sermon series, the book is not written in a heavily academic tone but rather carries a pastoral feel, with strong contextualization within the body of his local church.  Publishing a collection of thematic sermons has both strengths and weaknesses.  It is written at a very understandable level, avoiding unnecessary theological jargon. This makes it accessible to nearly every adult Christian. As expected of sermons, many illustrations and most applications are chosen and emphasized from within the congregational life of a pastor's local church. Since this work is a collection of sermons, this means it requires some re-interpretation for your own local church context, with little instruction within the text itself in how to do this.

This book is a hard read.  Not hard to read.  Anyabwile challenges us across the spectrum of church life. There is a mix of ideas presented, from strongly exegetical to less binding personal preference. This is one of the reasons it is a hard read. A variety of Anyabwile's examples could be directly applicable to your church.  Others may need to be applied as a concept and not necessarily using the explicit example offered in the book.  It takes effort to grasp these differences and thoughtfully mingle them with the character of your own individual local church.

The book has two major divisions. Part 1 builds the foundation for Christian fellowship as union with Christ.  Part 2 has specific examples of union with Christ expressed through fellowship in the local church.  The specific examples cover a broad range of fellowship, including: loving one another, spiritual gifts, restoration, suffering and comfort, giving, acceptance, and singing to one another among others.

A sample of quotations follows to whet your appetite.

"Membership in the local church is a biblical idea and an implicit requirement for the Christian life."

"I pray that you would see how indispensable you are to everyone in your church according to God’s design."

"There are not two classes of Christians— super-spiritual and ordinary. Because every Christian possesses the Spirit of God through faith, every Christian is spiritual. In that sense, the gospel flattens the world for us. We are all equal; we all live on the same plane."

"It’s really remarkable to see how Trinitarian the Christian life is from beginning to end."

"To see and experience this joy, we must commit to carrying ‘each other’s burdens’ (Gal. 6: 2). Restoration cannot be achieved a hundred yards away from the burdened. We cannot restore people by shouting across a football field, ‘Hey! Get it together! Get it right!’ The idea of carrying burdens requires proximity, intimacy, and teamwork."

"The Christian church is an astounding thing. It is the bodily presence of Christ in the world. Where is God in suffering? He’s in His people administering comfort. Christian, you’re not just you. You’re you— with God working and flowing through you! You’re an utterly strange being, and the only lasting source of compassion in a world gone mad with suffering."

"The stubborn pride of man that clings to self-reliance may be so strong God may sit death before us in order to shake us from it."

Finally, one quote surprised me quite a bit, considering it is coming from a baptist pastor.

"People often ask why the church is not flowing in the gifts the way the early church was in Acts— or like the church at Corinth which had every spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1: 7). They ask, ‘Why are we not seeing miracles and things like that?’ Just reading through 1 Corinthians 12– 14, I think the answer can be boiled down to this one problem— churches are not flowing in the miraculous because the commitment to love is so weak and partial in very many churches. Congregations are not bent on loving one another so that equal concern is shown for every member (12: 25) and so that the common good is the main goal (12: 7)."

In my thought, this is a less-than-helpful explanation why God does not move through miracles displayed commonly in the church today.  I fear that this statement could be taken to extremes by many readers, laying a deep burden of guilt on the church as a whole. Perhaps my fear is unfounded, but it is my conviction that there is danger lurking here.  It could easily cause burnout in most churches as the people attempt to love one another enough so that their church is flowing in the miraculous.  When the miraculous fails to materialize, where will the church turn?  Will they speed up the love treadmill and try even harder, or pull the ripcord and float away in exhaustion?

To summarize, I recommend that this book be read broadly but with care, as should be our approach with all theological writing.

Full disclosure: I received a free review ebook from Christian Focus to prepare this review.  This has not unduly influenced me and I offer this review with a clear conscience.

Words of Wisdom

"It was necessary Christ should be both God and man to work our redemption. As He was God, He was able; as He was man, He had aptness. No man nor angel could have effected it. Not man; for how could he, who was dead in sin, give life to others? Not the angels; for they had not sufficiency to stand upright themselves."  --Fulgentius, quoted in H. Bonar's Words Old and New.