Never Despair!

This post is mainly for my Wife to encourge her in the salvation of our oldest son, God is able to save!

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save!" (Isaiah 59:1)

"Let us learn never to despair of the salvation of anyone—as long as he lives. Fathers ought never to despair of prodigal sons. Mothers ought never to despair of self-willed, headstrong daughters. Husbands should never despair of wives, nor wives of husbands. There is nothing impossible with God. The arm of grace is very long, and can reach those who seem very far off. Let us pray on, and hope on, for others—however unlikely their salvation may appear to be at present. The Holy Spirit can change any heart! The blood of Christ can cleanse away any sin! We shall see many in heaven, whom we never expected to see there.Grimshaw, the famous pastor of Yorkshire, when he died, left his only son unconverted, careless, thoughtless, and indifferent to true religion. The day came when the young man’s heart was changed, and he walked in the steps of his holy father. And when he lay upon his deathbed, one of his last words was, "What will my old father say—when he sees me in heaven!" —J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)

(HT) Dog On The Lawn

Quote of the Day

"If you preach the law as the Bible really does, or the gospel as it's really meant to be proclaimed, you will empty the Compaq Center." Dr. Michael Horton

Nothing But Contempt

"The most dishonoring and degrading conceptions of the rule and reign of the Almighty are now held almost everywhere. To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Christians, the God of the Scriptures is quite unknown.... A. W. Pink"

"Men imagine that the Most High is moved by sentiment, rather than actuated by principle. They suppose that His omnipotency is such an idle fiction that Satan is thwarting His designs on every side. They think that if He has formed any plan or purpose at all, then it must be like theirs, constantly subject to change. They openly declare that whatever power He possesses must be restricted, lest He invade the citdel of man’s “free will” and reduce him to a “machine.” They lower the all efficacious Atonement, which has actually redeemed everyone for whom it was made, to a mere “remedy,” which sin-sick souls may use if they feel disposed to; and they enervate the invincible work of the Holy Spirit to an “offer” of the Gospel which sinners may accept or reject as they please.

The “god” of this twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun. The “god” who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible Conferences is the figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality. The heathen outside of the pale of Christendom form “gods” out of wood and stone, while the millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a “god” out of their own carnal mind. In reality, they are but atheists, for there is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all. A “god” whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity, and so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nought but contempt." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Excerpt taken form "The Attributes of God" by A. W. Pink

Lost Hymns

I know that this hymn doesn't really fall into the category of Lost Hymns but I do think we should be reminded of it's meaning on a daily basis.

Jesus Paid It All

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Quote of the Day

"Jesus Christ, the Son of God crucified, is the Wisdom of God, by which the love of God can save sinners from the wrath of God, and all the while uphold and demonstrate the righteousness of God." —John Piper

(HT) Pure Church

He Loved Us!

1 John 4:9-10 "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Ephesians 2:4-5 "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

The Glory of The Gospel

(HT) Recover The Gospel

Christ is Greater

"Christ is a greater Christ than you think him to be when your thoughts are at the greatest. My Master is more able to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress. My Master is more ready to supply than you are to ask, and ten thousand times more prepared to save than you are to be saved. Never tolerate low thoughts of my Lord Jesus. Your highest estimates will dishonor him; when you put the crown on his head, you will only crown him with silver when he deserves gold; when you sing the best of your songs, you will only give him poor, discordant music, compared with what he deserves, but oh! do believe in him, that he is a great Christ, a mighty Savior. Great sinner, come and do him honor by trusting in him as a great Savior." —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Excerpt taken from a sermon titled "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ" Delivered on April 14th, 1867 by C. H. Spurgeon

Sermon Archives

Just last week I set up a little PHP script to help organize the audio archives for my church and I think it turned out really nice, anyway just wanted to share the link which offers 200 sermons and counting by my Pastor Jonathan Sims and other guest. Oh, be sure to locate the David Miller sermons and have a listen you won't be disappointed.

The Deity of Christ

I have heard many Muslims say that Jesus never claimed to be God because he actually never said the words "I am God" but they are sadly mistaken to imply that just because Jesus never actually said this exact statement means that there is no straight forward claim that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. So the question is does the scripture claim the Deity of Christ from the teaching of Christ Himself? Indeed it does and I pray the text presented will clearly and loudly proclaim that Christ is God in the flesh even though I know I will fail to present all the text that actually refer to Christ Deity.

First lets look at passages from the Apostles teachings before we actually look at the Words of Christ Himself. First lets look at what the apostle Paul taught in Titus 2:13 "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus," in Acts 20:28 Paul address the Ephesian elders as he said "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

The apostle Peter also taught the Deity of Christ in 2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:"

The apostle John makes the claim of Jesus' Deity right in the first chapter of his gospel in John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." and then 13 verses later in John 1:14 he says Jesus is the Word, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

The apostle Thomas makes the most direct claim of the Deity of Christ in John 20:28 said "My Lord and my God!". There are numerous text which the apostle's clearly make the claim of Christ's Deity but I think it's fair to say that from these four apostle's we just mentioned the teaching of the Deity of Christ was widely accepted among all the apostle's.

Now let's look at the claims of Christ Himself and see what he actually taught about Himself.

1. Jesus is Omnipresent:
Matthew 28:20 "teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." and also in Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My Name, there I am in their midst"

2. Jesus is Omnipotent and Sovereign:
Matthew 20:18 "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Jesus said He has the power to forgive sins Matthew 9:6 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." Jesus also claimed to have the power to give eternal life in John 17:2 He said "even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life." In Luke 8:25 Christ demonstrated His power over creation "And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"

3. Jesus is Omniscience:
Matthew 26:21 "And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." and in John 2:24-25 "But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man." and also in Luke 6:8 "But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward." Now there are many other passages that affirm the Omniscience of Christ as Thomas Schultz observes that:

The knowledge of Christ is far beyond any mortal knowledge. He is not just a genius, not just the wisest of all humans. His wisdom far exceeds all human limitations and could only be classified as perfect knowledge. First, He knows the inward thoughts and memories of man, an ability peculiar to God (1 Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:9-16). He saw the evil in the hearts of the scribes (Matthew 9:4), He knew beforehand those who would reject Him (John 10:64) and those who would follow Him (John 10:14). He could read the hearts of every man and woman (Mark 2:8; John 1:48; 2:24, 25; 4:16-19; Acts 1:24; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Revelation 2:18-23). A mere human can no more than make an intelligent guess as to what is in the hearts and minds of others. Second, Christ has a knowledge of other facts beyond the possible comprehension of any man. He knew just where the fish were in the water (Luke 5:4-6; John 21:6-11), and He knew just which fish contained the coin (Matthew 17:27). He knew future events (John 11:11; 18:4), details that would be encountered (Matthew 21:2-4), and He knew that Lazarus had died (John 11:14). Third, He possessed an inner knowledge of the Godhead showing the closest possible communion with God as well as perfect knowledge. He knows the Father as the Father knows Him (Matthew 11:27; John 7:29; 8:55; 10:15; 17:25). The fourth and consummating teaching of Scripture along this line is that Christ knows all things (John 16:30; 21:17), and that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

Jesus is Everlasting:
Now I want to present just one last proof that the scripture teaches the Deity of Christ in that He claimed to be Eternal which is found in John chapter 8 beginning with verse 56 where He tells the Jews "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple." You see you may not get what Jesus said to the Jews but they got it and that's why the tried to kill Him johnny on the spot.

Now to claim to be Everlasting, Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscience is equivalent to saying "I am God". But Christ did more than just claim to be God, He revealed to us in fact that He is God.

Quote of the Day

"Sound, biblical doctrine is a necessary aspect of true wisdom and authentic faith. The attitude that scorns doctrine while elevating feelings or blind trust cannot legitimately be called faith at all, even if it masquerades as Christianity. It is actually an irrational form of unbelief." —John MacArthur

The Dreaded "D" Word

Martin Downes has written a great little post over at Against Heresies titled "On indifference to doctrine" and I just wanted to share it with the rest of you. Below is a little quote.

"Evangelicals who are indifferent to doctrine are a danger to Christianity. Church leaders who do not "hold firmly to the trustworthy word as taught" will never be able to bring God's people to mature godliness (which requires instruction in sound doctrine), nor will they be able to ward off infiltrators who teach another gospel (Titus 1:9)."

Reading Pink's Classic

I have been reading A. W. Pink's book "The Seven Saying of the Saviour on the Cross" with Tim Challies and I am a bit ahead of them but as I came to chapter six titled "The Word of Victory" I am caught up with total amazement of my Lord and His absolute sovereignty where Christ said "it is finished", Pink says quote:

“It is finished.” That to which so many types looked forward, that which so much in the tabernacle and its ritual foreshadowed, that of which so many of God’s prophets had spoken, was now accomplished. A covering from sin and its shame - typified by the coats of skin with which the Lord God clothed our first parents - was now provided. The more excellent sacrifice - typified by Abel’s lamb - had now been offered. A shelter from the storm of divine judgment- typified by the ark of Noah was now furnished. The only-begotten and well-beloved Son - typified by Abraham’s offering up of Isaac - had already been placed upon the altar. A protection from the avenging angel - typified by the shed blood of the Passover lamb was now supplied. A cure from the serpent’s bite -typified by the serpent of brass upon the pole - was now made ready for sinners. The providing of a lifegiving fountain -typified by Moses striking the rock - was now effected. —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

In Case You Forgot

I have a good friend named Dewayne who is from east Tennessee and he is famous for saying quote: "never forget where you came from". I think this would be good advice for the church today to fall down on it's face and remember where we came from and who it is that saved us.

Ephesians 2:1-5 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" KJV