Every Moment of Every Day

“It’s no wonder that self-help books top the charts in Christian publishing and that counseling offices are overwhelmed. Our pride and our neglect of the gospel force us to run from seminar to seminar, book to book, counselor to counselor, always seeking but never finding some secret to holy living.

Most of us have never really understood that Christianity is not a self-help religion meant to enable moral people to become more moral. We don’t need a self-help book; we need a Savior. We don’t need to get our collective act together; we need death and resurrection and the life-transforming truths of the gospel. And we don’t need them just once, at the beginning of our Christian life; we need them every moment of every day.”

- Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2009), 30.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Filed under: Christ crucified, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, Gospel-centred, Grace, Jesus Christ, Sanctification, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel

DA Carson – How can God allow suffering and evil in the world?

Also:

How do I know God exists? and How can God be loving yet send people to hell? from A Passion for Life on Vimeo.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Filed under: Christ crucified, DA Carson, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, Suffering, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

A Plain, Ordinary Christian

From Justin Buzzard:

What is an evangelical? John Stott once said, “An evangelical is a plain, ordinary Christian.” Justin Taylor summarizes a lengthier answer John Stott gave to this question in a lecture many years ago:

1. The Claim of Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is not a novelty, and it is not a deviation. It is neither neither new nor odd.

2. The Distinctives of Evangelicalism

At the centre of the evangelical faith lies the Bible as our authority and the cross as our salvation.

By what authority do we believe what we believe?

* Catholics emphasize the church, the magisterium and the role of tradition.
* Liberals emphasize reason, conscience, and experience
* Evangelicals recognize tradition and reason, but as subordinate authorities to the only supreme authority, Scripture

How can I, a lost and guilty sinner, stand before a just and holy God?

* Catholics emphasize the priesthood and the sacraments as necessary to meditate salvation between God and us
* Liberals emphasize good works, individual and social righteousness, as at least contributing to our salvation
* Evangelicals affirm ministry, sacraments, and good works, but our focus is on the cross – what God has done in Christ for us

We affirm two unpopular but important words: inerrancy (Scripture in the original is without error in all that it affirms when interpreted correctly) and substitution (Christ died not only on our behalf but in our place, with the result that substitution is the very essence of atonement (not just a theory among many)

3. The Concern of Evangelicalism

As evangelicals we desire to bear witness to the unique glory of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Insisting on our distinctives is not on account of having a sinful party spirit, or because we are arrogant, angular, awkward, uncooperative, obstinate by temperament. No, it’s precisely because we are determined to proclaim and defend the unique glory of Jesus Christ.

We believe God has spoken fully and finally in Jesus Christ.

We believe God has acted fully and finally in Jesus Christ, especially in the finished work of the cross.

In Christ we have God’s last word to the world (revelation), and God’s last deed for the world (redemption). God’s word and work in and through Jesus Christ are hapax—final and finished once and for all and forever. Hapax (once for all and forever) in Christ is the essence of evangelicalism.

4. The Essence of Evangelicalism

The essence of evangelicalism is humility.

God’s revelation is necessary because we could not know God in any other way; God’s redemption is necessary because we could not achieve it by ourselves, or even contribute to it.

Without revelation we would be lost in our ignorance; without redemption we would be lost in our guilt.

Evangelicalism denies self-salvation and magnifies the grace of God.

If we are to commend evangelicalism, nothing greater is needed than humility.

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christ our Mediator, Evangelical, Gospel-centred, Jesus Christ, John Stott, The Bible, The Gospel

A Great Summary of Gospel Ministry

From David Wayne:

There is so much right with this quote in so many ways . . .

We declare what has been accomplished, not what we would like to be accomplished.

It’s on a live blog of the Desiring God National Conference for a talk by Doug Wilson.  Gospel ministry is all about what Christ has accomplished, yet it seems to me that most of what passes for life and ministry in the church is focused on what we would like to be accomplished, hence we miss Christ.

Of course I suppose you could argue that it is permissible, even necessary to discuss what could/should be accomplished based on what has been accomplished.  But it would help if we discussed this in reference to what Christ would like to accomplish, and then make sure we limit ourselves in this regard to what is revealed in the Word, to keep our own imaginations out of it.

And of course there is one thing yet for Christ to accomplish – the second coming and the bringing in of the new heavens and new earth.

 

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christian Ministry, Doctrine, Evangelical, Gospel-centred, Jesus Christ, Substitutionary Atonement, The Christian Life, The Church, The Gospel

Propitiation as the Ground for Christus Victor

This is a great post from Justin Taylor:

John Murray:

Redemption from sin cannot be adequately conceived or formulated except as it comprehends the victory which Christ secured once for all over him who is the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air . . .

[I]t is impossible to speak in terms of redemption from the power of sin except as there comes within the range of this redemptive accomplishment the destruction of the power of darkness.

(Redemption—Accomplished and Applied, p. 50)

Colossians 2:14-15 is a key verse in this regard.

Paul lists two results of Christ’s work on the cross: (1) Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities, and (2) he publicly shamed them.

How? By triumphing over them in himself.

So how does Christ bearing God’s wrath for sinners, taking their sin as a substitute, constitute a victory over Satan?

George Smeaton (1814–1889), Professor of Exegetical Theology at New College, Edinburgh, provides the answer.

Sin was (1) the ground of Satan’s dominion, (2) the sphere of his power, and (3) the secret of his strength; and no sooner was the guilt lying on us extinguished, than his throne was undermined, as Jesus Himself said (John 12:31). When the guilt of sin was abolished, Satan’s dominion over God’s people was ended; for the ground of his authority was the law which had been violated, and the guilt which had been incurred. . . .

[A]ll the mistakes have arisen from not perceiving with sufficient clearness how the triumph could be celebrated on His cross. (The Apostles’ Doctrine of the Atonement (Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark, 1870), 307–308; my emphasis and numbering)

In other words, Satan’s power is based on sin and guilt; Christ’s death meant the ultimate death of sin, guilt, and death itself; and thus Satan was ultimately defanged by Christ’s atoning work.

As Smeaton says, “it was on God’s part at once a victory and a display of all God’s attributes, to the irretrievable ruin, dismay, and confusion of satanic powers.”

So it’s not Christus Victor (Christ defeating his enemies) instead of propitiation (Christ bearing God’s wrath)–rather, it’s Christus Victor because of propitiation. Both are gloriously important, but only in that order.

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christ our Mediator, Christ our sin bearer, Doctrine, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, Penal substitution, The Cross

The Dogma is the Drama

“We are constantly assured that the churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine — ‘dull dogma,’ as people call it. The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man — and the dogma is the drama. . . . This is the dogma we find so dull — this terrifying drama which God is the victim and the hero. If this is dull, then what, in Heaven’s name, is worthy to be called exciting? The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused Him of being a bore — on the contrary; they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certifying Him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended Him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”

~ Dorothy Sayers, quoted by Michael Horton in The Gospel-Driven Life (Grand Rapids, Mi.; Baker Books, 2009), 63-64.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christ-centred, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, The Church

“We preach Christ crucified” – Do we?

Martyn-Lloyd Jones:

“I am increasingly convinced that so much in the state of the Christian church today is to be explained chiefly by the fact that for nearly a hundred years the church has been preaching morality and ethics, and not the Christian faith. It is this preaching of the ‘good life’, or being ‘a good little gentleman’, and of viewing religion as ‘morality touched by emotion’, as Matthew Arnold put it, that has been the curse. Such men have shed the doctrines; they dislike any idea of atonement, they dismiss the whole notion of the miraculous and the supernatural, and ridicule talk about re-birth. Christianity to them is that which teaches a man to live a good life.”  (Life in the Spirit, 19)

(HT: Matthew Morizio)

Filed under: Biblical exposition, Christ crucified, Church, Culture, Doctrine, Evangelical, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Moralism, Preaching, The Gospel

The ultimate purpose of God

Here is John Piper’s message, from the Desiring God Conference, September 27, 2009 where he shows how Jesus Christ relates to the ultimate purpose of God in creating the universe as the theatre of God:

Filed under: Biblical exposition, Christ crucified, Christ-centred, Doctrine, Evangelical, God's Glory, John Piper, Salvation History, The Consummation, The Cross, The Gospel, The glory of Christ

Calvary and the Real World

“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross… In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of his.”

—John Stott, The Cross of Christ (IVP, 1986), pp. 335—336. As quoted in Randy Alcorn, If God is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil (Multnomah, 2009), p. 217.

(HT: Tony Reinke)

Filed under: Christ crucified, Discipleship, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, Suffering, The Christian Life, The problem of evil

Why did God punish Jesus for our sins?

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christ our Mediator, Christ our righteousness, Christ our treasure, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Justification by faith, Penal substitution, The Cross, The Gospel

All I have is Christ

Devon Kauflin and the Na Band lead over 2500 worshipers in the song “All I Have Is Christ”. Recorded at the Next 2009 conference in Baltimore, Maryland, May 30-June 2, 2009. From the album “Next 2009 Live”, available at sovereigngracemusic.org.

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christ our Mediator, Christ our treasure, Doctrine, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, Substitutionary Atonement, The Cross, The Gospel, The glory of Christ

The Focus of Puritan Preaching

“Puritan preaching revolved around ‘Christ, and him crucified’ – for this is the hub of the Bible. The preachers’ commission is to declare the whole counsel of God; but the cross is the center of that counsel, and the Puritans knew that the traveler through the Bible landscape misses the way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called Calvary.”

– J.I. Packer

(HT: Erik Kowalker)

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christian Ministry, Evangelical, JI Packer, Preaching, Puritan, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

“Who is occupying the throne today?”

“In our vision of ultimate reality, who is occupying the throne today? Are we authentic New Testament Christians, whose vision is filled with Christ crucified, risen and reigning? Is guilt still reigning, and death? Or is grace reigning, and life?

To be sure, sin and Satan may seem to be reigning still, since many continue to bow down to them. But their reign is an illusion, a bluff. For at the cross they were decisively defeated, dethroned and disarmed.

Now Christ reigns, exalted to the Father’s right hand, with all things under his feet, welcoming the nations, and waiting for his remaining enemies to be made his footstool.”

—John Stott, The Message of Romans (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 162

(HT: Of First Importance)

Filed under: Christ crucified, Doctrine, Evangelical, God's Kingdom, Jesus Christ, Jesus is Lord, John Stott, Resurrection of Christ, The Cross, The glory of Christ, The word of God

Certainty and Openness

This is excellent from Ray Ortlund:

Some Christians seem “all certainty.” Maybe it makes them feel heroic, standing against the tide. They see too few gray areas. Everything is a federal case. They have a fundamentalist mindset.

Other Christians seem “all openness.” Maybe it makes them feel humble and cool. They see too few black-and-white areas. They’re giving away the store. They have a liberal mindset — though they may demonstrate a surprising certainty against certainty.

The Bible is our authority as we sort out what deserves certainty and what deserves openness. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 defines the gospel of Christ crucified for our sins, Christ buried and Christ risen again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, as “of first importance.” Here is the center of our certainty.

From that “of first importance” theological address, we move out toward the whole range of theological and practical questions asking for our attention. The more clearly our logic connects with that center, the more certain and the less open we should be. The further our thinking extrapolates from that center, the less certain and the more open we should be.

When a question cannot be addressed by a clear appeal to the Bible, our conclusions should be all the more modest.

The gospel requires us to have high expectations of one another on biblically central doctrines and strategies, and it cautions us to be more relaxed with one another the further we have to move out from the center.

A church or movement may desire, for its own reasons, to define secondary and tertiary doctrines and strategies as important expectations within their own ministry. That’s okay. But then it’s helpful to say, “We know this isn’t a dividing line for Christian oneness. It’s just a decision we’ve made for ourselves, because we think it will help us in our situation. We realize that other Christians will see it differently, and that’s cool.”

May we become more certain where we’ve been too open and more open where we’ve been too certain, according to Scripture alone. And where it seems helpful to provide further definition on our own authority, may we do so with candor and humility but without apology.

Filed under: Christ crucified, Christ-centred, Evangelical, Gospel-centred, Jesus Christ, Primary doctrines, Ray Ortlund, Resurrection of Christ, Secondary doctrines, The Cross, The Gospel