From the Beginning

Jude 4 "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Who were before of old ordained to this condemnation; or judgment; meaning either judicial blindness of heart, they were given up to, in embracing and spreading errors and heresies; so that these are not casual things, but fall under the ordination and decree of God, which does not make God the author of them, nor excuse the men that hold them; and they are ordained and ordered for many valuable ends; on the part of God, to show his power and wisdom; and on the part of truth, that it might be tried and appear the brighter, and to manifest his people and their graces: or else punishment is designed, even everlasting condemnation, to which some are preordained of God; for this act of preordination respects persons, and not mere actions and events; and is not a naked prescience, but a real decree, and which is sure, certain, and irrevocable; is God's act, and springs from his sovereignty, is agreeably to his justice and holiness; nor is it contrary to his goodness, and is for his glory: the date of this act is "of old"; or as the Syriac version renders it, "from the beginning"; that is, from eternity; see 2 Thessalonians 2:13; for reprobation is of the same date with election; if the one is from eternity, the other must be so too, since there cannot be one without the other: if some were chosen before the foundation of the world, others must be left or passed by as early; and if some were appointed unto salvation from the beginning, others must be foreordained to condemnation from the beginning also." —John Gill (1697–1771)

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

You Call That a Conference?

Just in case you missed the ground-breaking news in the Baptist Press about 15 pastors from eight states who recently gathered in Jackson, TN because "they have concerns about the growth of Calvinism and the rise of a Willow Creek-style of non-confrontational evangelism within Southern Baptist churches." Sorry but I can not imagine a Willow Creek-style of evangelism ever coming out of a Calvinist church. I also promise that I will never use the words Willow Creek and Calvinism in the same breath again! What is real news to me is that (BP) called this small meeting a conference, WOW. Please take the time to read the entire article and then head over to Timmy Brister's blog as he gives some insight into this SBC summit.

"The SBC media machine, Baptist Press, has a way of making matters “newsworthy” that do not have the merits thereof. There are thousands of church staff who have “conference meetings” with higher attendance than this conference."

Still Ashamed

A dear brother reminded me of this article by John MacArthur that was adapted from his 1993 book Ashamed of the Gospel. I'm sure that this article may still take some by surprise even after fifteen years but the problem is still with us and it's just getting worse. So please church, WAKE UP!

The market-driven philosophy of user-friendly churches does not easily permit them to take firm enough doctrinal positions to oppose false teaching. Their outlook on leadership drives them to hire marketers who can sell rather than biblically qualified pastors who can teach. Their approach to ministry is so undoctrinal that they cannot educate their people against subtle errors. Their avoidance of controversy puts them in a position where they cannot oppose false teaching that masquerades as evangelicalism.

Calling God a "Monster"?

John Hendryx posted a beautiful rebuttal to a response by a so called "professed Christian" who attacked one of John's previous post saying that the God John presented was a "Monster". A must read for any Calvinist. I also wanted to make note of one of the comments made by Jerry of Minor Mutterings which I think is so often the case. "Unfortunately, many "professing Christians" are, in actuality, blasphemous idolaters." Read Full Article

"It is pure ignorance and folly, and one of the highest forms of blasphemy, to call God a 'monster' simply because He exhaustively knows all things before they take place"

Drive-Thru Church

The Law of Christ

Matthew 5:20 "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

"Of course the righteousness of the disciples can never be a personal achievement; it is always a gift, which they received when they were called to follow Him. In fact their righteousness consists precisely in their following Him, and in the beatitudes the reward of the kingdom of heaven has been promised to it. It is a righteousness under the cross, it belongs only to the poor, the tempted, the hungry, the meek, the peacemakers, the persecuted who endure their lot for the sake of Jesus; it is the visible righteousness of those who for the sake of Jesus are the light of the world and the city set on the hill. This is where the righteousness of the disciple exceeds that of the Pharisees; it is grounded solely upon the call to fellowship with Him who alone fulfils the law. Their righteousness is righteousness indeed, for from henceforth they do the will of God and fulfil the law themselves. Again, it is not enough to teach the law of Christ, it must be done, otherwise it is no better than the old law. In what follows the disciples are told how to practise this righteousness of Christ. In a word, it means following Him. It is the real and active faith in the righteousness of Christ. It is the new law, the law of Christ." —Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945)

Excerpt taken from The Cost Of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, SCM Press Ltd. published 1959, p. 125

Join Church Online!

This church claims that the reason Christ died on the Cross was so that God could have a relationship with you, (I don't even want to go in to that one) but apparently relationships with new church members are optional, as perspective members don't even need to come to church to become a member just join the congregation from the comfort of your home by filling out the online Application for Church Membership. What's next virtual baptism?

Quote of the Day

"The most insidious assault on the Gospel comes from the so called church." —John MacArthur

Saved to Happiness?

John Samson at Reformation Theology has written an article on what it means to be "Saved" titled Just So We Are Clear.

"The usual modern "Gospel" message being preached is "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." Though the message is heard almost everywhere around us, when I turn to the New Testament, I cannot find Jesus or a single Apostle preaching this kind of message. Certainly God is a God of love. The Bible speaks of this on almost every page. There's no doubt about that. But God is also a holy God who will never compromise His holiness."

Christless Christianity

This is a must read article by Dr. Michael Horton of Modern Reformation and host of The White Horse Inn, titled Christless Christianity.

"Jesus was not revolutionary because he said we should love God and each other. Moses said that first. So did Buddha, Confucius, and countless other religious leaders we've never heard of. Madonna, Oprah, Dr. Phil, the Dali Lama, and probably a lot of Christian leaders will tell us that the point of religion is to get us to love each other. "God loves you" doesn't stir the world's opposition. However, start talking about God's absolute authority, holiness, wrath, and righteousness, original sin, Christ's substitutionary atonement, justification apart from works, the necessity of new birth, repentance, baptism, Communion, and the future judgment, and the mood in the room changes considerably."

Inability of the Law

I just wanted to share today's daily devotional Day-By-Day By Grace, by Pastor Bob Hoekstra, Director of Living In Christ Ministries.

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ... But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "The just shall live by faith." Galatians 2:16; 3:11

Our great initial need before God is to be justified, to have God Himself declare us not guilty, to have the Lord pronounce us righteous in His sight. At first glance this appears to be an impossible situation for man. God, our Judge, is holy. Man is innately unholy. "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

The consequences of such ungodliness are inevitably universal and appropriately severe. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23a). The just sentence for all of humanity, in light of their sins against a pure and holy God, is death, everlasting separation from God.

The law of God offers no help and provides no hope of remedying this dire situation. People are "not justified by the works of the law." Trying one's best to measure up to the law never produces a verdict of not guilty. In all the history of humanity, not one person could ever perform sufficiently before God's law to achieve a declaration of being righteous. "No one is justified by the law in the sight of God."

Vows and pledges of personal improvement offer no hope. Asking others how to strive more earnestly provides no assistance. Only faith supplies the necessary remedy. "A man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ." Trusting in our own best efforts leaves us guilty before God. Trusting in Christ's perfect work on the cross leaves us justified before God. "The just shall live by faith." - Bob Hoekstra

The Milky Way

Not Our Finest Hour!

"Sadly, this is not the church's finest hour. We live in an age of weak theology and casual Christian conduct. Our knowledge is insufficient, our worship is irreverent, and our lives are immoral. Even the evangelical church has succumbed to the spirit of this age. What ever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?

Perhaps the simplest way to say this is that evangelicalism has become worldly. This can be demonstrated by comparing it with yesterday's liberalism. What was once said of liberal churches must now be said of evangelical churches: they seek the world's wisdom, believe the world's theology, follow the world's agenda, and adopt the world's methods." —James Montgomery Boice (1938–2000)

Taken from The Doctrines of Grace by James Montgomery Boice & Philip Graham Ryken, Crossway Books, p.20 Copyright © 2002.

Quote of the Day

"In the total expanse of the human life there is not a single square inch of which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine'." —Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920)

Happy New Year

"We hope that this newborn year will not be worse than its predecessor, and we pray that it may be a great deal better. At any rate, it is new, and we are encouraged to couple with it the idea of happiness, as we say one to another, "I wish you a happy New Year." —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Quote taken from a sermon delivered on Thursday evening, January 1st, 1885, by C. H. Spurgeon titled Sermon for New Year's-Day.