Exhortation without the gospel degenerates into mere pharisaism

“A message that merely advocates morality and compassion remains sub-Christian even if the preacher can prove that the Bible demands such behaviors. By ignoring the sinfulness of man that makes even our best works tainted before God and by neglecting the grace of God that make obedience possible and acceptable, such messages necessarily subvert the Christian message. Christian preachers often do not recognize this impact of their words because they are simply recounting a behavior clearly specified in the text in front of them. But a message that even inadvertently teaches others that their works win God’s acceptance inevitably leads people away from the gospel.

Moral maxims and advocacy of ethical conduct fall short of the requirements of biblical preaching…

A textually accurate discussion of biblical commands does not guarantee Christian orthodoxy. Exhortations for moral behavior apart from the work of the Savior degenerate into mere pharisaism even if preachers advocate the actions with biblical evidence and good intent.”

Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching, p. 274

(HT: John Fonville)

The Loving Meaning of the Leftovers

I love this from John Piper:

After Jesus had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000 with only a few loaves and fish, the disciples got in a boat without enough bread for themselves.

When they began to discuss their plight, Jesus said, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?” (Mark 8:17). What didn’t they understand?

They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Jesus said:

“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Understand what? The leftovers.

The leftovers were for the servers. In fact the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43). The second time there seven basketfuls left over—the number of abundant completeness.

What didn’t they understand? That Jesus would take care of them. You can’t outgive Jesus. When you spend your life for others, your needs will be met.

Sons and Daughters by Adoption

“Extol and magnify God’s mercy, who has adopted you into his family; who, of slaves, has made you sons; of heirs of hell, heirs of the promise. Adoption is a free gift. He gave them power, or dignity, to become the sons of God. As a thread of silver runs through a whole piece of work, so free grace runs through the whole privilege of adoption. Adoption is greater mercy than Adam had in paradise; he was a son by creation, but here is a further sonship by adoption. To make us thankful, consider, in civil adoption there is some worth and excellence in the person to be adopted; but there was no worth in us, neither beauty, nor parentage, nor virtue; nothing in us to move God to bestow the prerogative of sonship upon us. We have enough in us to move God to correct us, but nothing to move him to adopt us, therefore exalt free grace; begin the work of angels here; bless him with your praises who has blessed you in making you his sons and daughters.”

Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, p. 240

(HT: John Fonville)

What If There Were No Cross?

No cross, no… divine justice (Romans 3:25-26)
No cross, no… divine love(Romans 5:8)
No cross, no… cancelling of the law (Col 2:14)
No cross, no… defeat of the devil (Col 2:15)
No cross, no… reconciliation between people & God (Eph 2:11-22)
No cross, no… access to God (Hebrews 10:19)
No cross, no… one to open the scrolls of history (Revelation 5:2-6)
No cross, no Christianity(The Bible)

We never move on from the cross,
only into a more profound understanding of the cross.
—David Prior, BST 1 Corinthians

(HT: Jimmy Davis)

Gospel Intentionality

From Tim Chester:

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Steve Timmis recently did a series of posts on Twitter on ‘living ordinary life with gospel intentionality’ (see Total Church, 60-62  and 63-66 ). Here they are gathered together …

• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … buying from local shops.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … frequenting a local coffee shop or pub.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … playing for a local sports team.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … always tipping generously in local restaurants.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … being the kind of neighbour everyone wants to have as a neighbour.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … volunteering at a local charity shop along with a couple of others from church.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … doing ordinary things in community.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … opening your home to, and sharing your food with others.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … walking the same route to work at the same time or catching the same train each day.
• Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means … we do EVERYTHING for the sake of the gospel!

Guy Waters on Tom Wright

Guy Waters thoughtfully reviews N. T. Wright’s Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision.

His conclusion:

Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision is the most comprehensive and current statement of N. T. Wright on justification to date. Justification is largely a restatement of Wright’s views, with some amplification and rhetorical refinement. It is not a detailed textual and theological interaction with his Reformational readers’ concerns and objections. To the degree thatJustification summarizes and synthesizes nearly three decades of Wright’s publications on justification, the book is useful to the student of Wright’s work. To the degree that Justification has failed to engage criticisms of Wright’s formulations on justification in such a way as to advance the discussion, the work is a missed opportunity. What is clear from Justification is that the fundamental concern of Wright’s Reformational readers remains unallayed and firmly in place: Wright’s views on justification have parted company with the teaching of the apostle Paul.

(HT: Andy Naselli)

Why the Reformation Was Necessary

From John Piper:

In March, 2008, Graeme Goldsworthy delivered a lecture at Southern Baptist Theological seminary titled “Biblical Theology and its Pastoral Application.”

In it he gave one of the clearest statements of why the Reformation was needed and what the problem was in the way the Roman Catholic church had conceived of the gospel.

Both Catholicism and allegorical interpretation of Scripture involved the dehistoricizing of the Gospel. The Reformation rehistoricized both the Gospel and the Old Testament.

The prime focus recovered in the Reformation was the justification of the sinner on the basis of the objective, historic work of Christ for us.

Catholicism had reversed the vision so that the prime focus was on the work of Christ or his Spirit within us.

This meant the reversal of the relationship of sanctification to justification. Infused grace, beginning with baptismal regeneration, internalized the Gospel and made sanctification the basis of justification. This is an upside down Gospel.

I would add that this “upside down” gospel has not gone away—neither from Catholicism nor from Protestants who equate our faithfulness (sanctification) with faith (understood as a receiving of Christ’s faithfulness as the sole ground of God being 100% for us).

When the ground of justification moves from Christ outside of us to the work of Christ inside of us, the gospel (and the human soul) is imperiled. It is an upside down gospel.

Christian exultation

“Christian exultation in God begins with the shamefaced recognition that we have no claim on him at all, continues with wondering worship that while we were still sinners and enemies Christ died for us, and ends with the humble confidence that he will complete the work he has begun. So to exult in God is to rejoice not in our privileges but in his mercies, not in our possession of him but in his of us.”

—John Stott, The Message of Romans (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press,  1994), 147-48

(HT: Of First Importance)

Treasuring Christ above all things

The Practical Value of Revelation

“…the churches are to read and reread the book in their assembly so that they may continually be reminded of God’s real, new world, which stands in opposition to the old, fallen system in which they presently live. Such a continual reminder will cause them to realize that their home is not in this old world but in the new world portrayed parabolically in the heavenly visions. Continued reading of the book will encourage genuine saints to realize that what they believe is not strange and odd, but truly normal from God’s perspective. They will not be discouraged by outside worldliness, including what has crept into the churches, which is always making godly standards appear odd and sinful values seem normal. John refers to true unbelievers in the book as ‘earth-dwellers’ because their ultimate home is on this transient earth. They cannot trust in anything except what their eyes see and their physical senses perceive; they are permanently earthbound, trusting only in earthly security, and will perish with this old order at the end of time when the corrupted cosmos finally is judged and passes away. On the other hand, Christians are like pilgrims passing through this world. As such they are to commit themselves to the revelation of God in the new order so as progressively to reflect and imitate his image and increasingly live according to the values of the new world, not being conformed to the fallen system, its idolatrous images, and associated values (cf. Rom. 12:2).”

—G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (NIGTC), p. 175.

(HT: Tony Reinke)

Tim Challies on Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was in so many ways a product of this sick celebrity culture (that he helped create) that will never rest satisfied until it has both created and then destroyed the newest celebrity. We want our celebrities to start strong and finish weak, to begin with a bang and then fizzle, pop and sputter, all for our enjoyment and entertainment (Susan Boyle stands as the most recent example of this). Jackson gave us so much to talk about, so much to enjoy. More than any other celebrity he embodied the “vanities” of Ecclesiastes. He was at one time known for what he did so well and then was known for being a freak; he was at one time fantastically wealthy and then utterly broke; he was once loved and then despised. He had it all and yet, it seemed, he had nothing. All of it was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

The Gospel In Two Words

“But God.”

(Ephesians 2:4a)

“With these two words we come to the introduction to the Christian message, the peculiar, specific message which the Christian faith has to offer to us. These two words, in and of themselves, in a sense contain the whole of the gospel. The gospel tells of what God has done, God’s intervention; it is something that comes entirely from outside us and displays to us that wondrous and amazing and astonishing work of God which the apostle goes on to describe and to define in the following verses.”

- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

God’s Way of Reconciliation chapter 2, page 59

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House; 1972

(HT: Adrian Warnock, via Erik Kowalker)

All the Doctrines of the Gospel are Practical Principles

“All the doctrines of the Gospel are practical principles. The word of God was not written, the Son of God was not incarnate, the Spirit of God was not given, only that Christians might obtain right views, and possess just notions. Religion is something more than mere correctness of intellect, justness of conception, and exactness of judgment. It is a life-giving principle. It must be infused into the habit as well as govern in the understanding; it must regulate the will as well as direct the creed. It must not only cast the opinions into a right frame, but the heart into a new mould. It is a transforming as well as a penetrating principle. It changes the tastes, gives activity to the inclinations, and, together with a new heart, produces a new life.”

- Hannah More, Practical Piety

(HT:  Of First Importance)

There in Heaven

“There, in heaven, this infinite fountain of love — this eternal Three in One — is set open without any obstacle to hinder access to it, as it flows forever. There this glorious God is manifested and shines forth in full glory, in beams of love. And there this glorious fountain forever flows forth in streams, yea, in rivers of love and delight, and these rivers swell, as it were, to an ocean of love, in which the souls of the ransomed may bathe with the sweetest enjoyment, and their hearts, as it were, be deluged with love!”

Jonathan Edwards, “Heaven is a world of love,” Charity and its Fruits, pages 327-328.

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

The Great god Entertainment

“For centuries the church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognising it for what it was — a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world.

“But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.”

A.W. Tozer

(HT: Todd Pruitt)

Ministry Idolatry

My thanks to Justin Childers for this challenging piece:

Driscoll’s second message at the Advance ’09 conference a few weeks ago was the best message on idolatry I’ve ever heard. I would highly encourage you to listen to the audio or watch the video from that message. It is time for the church to begin identifying and repenting of the good things we’ve used to replace God. Here are the 11 types of idolatry Driscoll ended the message with, along with a penetrating question to help us identify these subtle idolatries (keep in mind he is talking to church leaders):

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1. Attendance idolatry: Does your joy change when attendance at church goes up or down?
2. Gift idolatry: Do you feel as if God needs you because you are so skilled?
3. Truth idolatry: Do you consider yourself more godly than more simple Christians?
4. Fruit idolatry: Do you point to your success as proof that God loves you?
5. Tradition idolatry: What traditions are you upholding that thwart the forward progress of the Gospel?
6. Method idolatry: Do you worship your method as your mediator?
7. Office/Title idolatry: Are you motivated primarily by God’s glory or your title?
8. Success idolatry: Is winning (however you define that) what motivates you at the deepest level?
9. Ministry idolatry: Do you use the pressure of ministry to walk with God instead of love for Him?
10. Innovative idolatry: Do you have to be considered “unique”?
11. Leader idolatry: Who, other than Christ, are you seeking to be like?

Sam Storms testimony

My good friend and colleague at ‘Life in the Spirit’, Sam Storms, was interviewed recently by the folk at Desiring God ahead of their Autumn conference. Here’s some of Sam’s testimony:

John Piper’s appreciation of Sam is also well worth viewing here.

Home again!

Well, I’m back! A big and heartfelt thank you to all who have prayed for me while I’ve been ministering in Burma.

The Lord certainly answered many prayers and I’m grateful to Him for a successful trip. Because of the increasing restrictions on Christians in Burma it was not possible to teach at the Theological College, situated in the suburbs of Yangon, so we used the more central and safer location of the small church building in the heart of the city. It’s a lot easier to operate ‘under the radar’ in the hustle and bustle of Rangoon where there are quite a number of Westerners.

Six days teaching from Ephesians was a tremendous blessing to me, and I trust to the students too. I was stirred again in my spirit by the central role the Church plays in God’s purposes, particularly in its cosmic testimony to the wisdom of God in redemption. I was humbled again and awed by Paul’s disclosure of  ’the mystery hidden’, the mystery revealed in the gospel:  That through the preaching of the magnificence of Jesus Christ (seen most clearly in the cross), all peoples, by faith, are gathered into one family to express the manifold wisdom of God to all creation, for His glory.

My prayer now is that the students will see their emerging ministries as part of that wonderful plan.

The faculty of the college were grateful too for the six ESV Study Bibles donated by my church. What a resource to leave with them!

Off to Burma

I suspect this will be the last post for a few days. I’m off to Burma in a few hours and I’m not confident of reliable internet access there. This is one of my twice yearly trips to teach at a bible college in Rangoon. I love the students at Canon Theological College, they are completely ‘sold out’ to serving the Lord, and consequently are hungry for the word of God. My aim is to model good, gospel-centred exposition. They have asked me to take them through Ephesians this semester. What a privilege to teach about the Cosmic Christ, the unsurpassed One, who is Lord of the Church, and who blesses us with unsearchable riches in Him.

Life for believers is difficult in Burma at the best of times, but there is increased tension at the moment. Christian organizations are ‘encouraged’ to register with the ‘government’ for their ‘well being and safety.’ But that usually leads to all kinds of control and compromise of the gospel. I will probably have to conduct the lectures covertly this time, for the students and my own safety.

If you are prompted to pray for me and the family at home I would be very grateful.

10 Reminders re: Gospel Faithfulness

From Tony Reinke.

Ten notes about gospel faithfulness, a collection derived from Galatians 1:6-10:

1. Gospel faithfulness is required of the entire church, not merely its pastoral leaders.

2. No matter how religious we claim to be, no matter how close to the truth we reside, no matter how recent our conversion, sinners are all prone to an unintentional replacement of the gospel with a counterfeit.

3. According to Paul, we can relax our grip on the biblical gospel suddenly and dreadfully easily (ταχέως).

4. To add anything to the gospel is to desert the gospel.

5. To add anything to the gospel is to have a “no-gospel.”

6. To modify the gospel is an act of defection from God.

7. The content of the gospel is unchanging and “embodies a core of fixed tradition which is normative so that no preaching deviating can be called ‘gospel’” (Fung).

8. No authority—not even an angel from heaven—has the right to modify the gospel because “the authority of the gospel resides primarily in the message itself and only secondarily in the messenger” (Fung).

9. A divine curse (ἀνάθεμα) is threatened against teachers who—in claiming to preach the gospel—have deviated from its biblical, Apostolically-defined, substance.

10. Faithfulness to the genuine gospel requires that our hearts be freed from the chains of man-pleasing, in order that we might serve Christ. We cannot serve Christ with an adjusted gospel.