Conviction or Accusation?

Really helpful from Ray Ortlund:

“He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:8

“. . . the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down . . . .” Revelation 12:10

How can I tell the difference between the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit and the accusing attacks of Satan? Some thoughts:

1. The Holy Spirit puts his finger on a specific sin I have committed, something concrete I can own and confess, but the accusations of Satan are vague and simply demoralizing.

2. The Holy Spirit shows me Christ, the mighty Friend of sinners, but the devil wants me spiraling down into negative self-focus.

3. The Holy Spirit leads me to a threshold of new life, but the devil wants to paralyze me where I am.

4. The Holy Spirit brings peace of heart along with a new hatred of sin, so that I bow before Jesus in reconsecration, but the devil offers peace of mind with smug relief, so that I fold my arms and say, “There, that’s over with.”

5. The Holy Spirit helps me to be so open to God that I allow him to control the conversation, but the devil tempts me to take off the table certain questions I just don’t want God to talk to me about.

We are thankful for our dear Friend, the Holy Spirit.

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Discernment, Discipleship, Evangelical, God's grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Sanctification, The Gospel, The word of God

Paul Tripp: For Those Who Have Used Words to Hurt Others

I love the way Paul Tripp unwraps the grace of repentance, and shows how union with Christ and the gospel transform us.

Filed under: Christ our Mediator, Conviction of Sin, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, God's grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Power of the Gospel, Sanctification, Sin, The Christian Life, The Gospel, The word of God, Union with Christ

“The majesty of God’s forgiveness . . .”

“The majesty of God’s forgiveness is lost entirely when we lose what has to be forgiven. What has to be forgiven is not just what we do but who we are, not just our sinning but our sinfulness, not just our choices but what we have chosen in place of God. . . . When we miss the biblical teaching, we also miss the nature of God’s grace in all its height and depth. In biblical faith it is God’s grace through Christ that does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.”

- David F. Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2008), 167.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, David Wells, Discipleship, Evangelical, Forgiveness, God's grace, God's mercy, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Sanctification, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

Leviticus 16:21-22

“In Passion Week, as I was reading Bishop Wilson on the Lord’s Supper, I met with an expression to this effect — ‘that the Jews knew what they did, when they transferred their sin to the head of their offering.’ The thought came into my mind, ‘What, may I transfer all my guilt to another? Has God provided an Offering for me, that I may lay my sins on His head? Then, God willing, I will not bear them on my own soul one moment longer. Accordingly, I sought to lay my sins upon the sacred head of Jesus.”

Charles Simeon, describing his conversion, in H. C. G. Moule, Charles Simeon, pages 25-26.

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Doctrine, Evangelical, Forgiveness, God's grace, God's mercy, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin, Substitutionary Atonement, The Bible, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God, Union with Christ

Taking God’s side against sin

“I often tell my congregation that when it comes to battling sin in our lives, the difference between Christians and non-Christians is not that non-Christians sin whereas Christians don’t. The difference is found in which side we take in the battle. Christians take God’s side against sin, whereas non-Christians take sin’s side against God. In other words, a Christian will sin, but then he will turn to God and his Word and say, ‘Help me fight against sin.’ A non-Christian, even if he recognizes his sin, effectively responds, ‘I want my sin more than God.’“
-Mark Dever

(HT:  Reformed Voices)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, Jesus Christ, Mark Dever, Quotes, Salvation, Sanctification, The Christian Life, The word of God

Preach it sister!

Oh! How I wish more testimonies sounded like this:

(HT: CRN)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Doctrines of Grace, Evangelical, Forgiveness, God's grace, God's holiness, Jesus Christ, Saving faith, Testimony, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

Finally Alive – by John Piper

I believe this could be one of John Piper’s most important books.

From Thabiti Anyabwile

To be released in January 2009, John Piper’s newest book, Finally Alive (Christian Focus Publications), is a must read. Nothing could be more important than understanding the new birth, and understanding it, being sure we’ve come into possession of it. And as a preacher of the gospel, few things could be more important than to preach in such a way as to make the necessity, urgency, and the reality of the new birth a vibrant reality for our people.

Far too many people think they possess Christ but do not possess this new birth. Far too many think of conversion as essentially a person’s decision. Too few think of conversion in the radical, life-giving and transformative way Jesus understood it and the NT teaches it.

Bro. Piper has served the church wonderfully well in writing this book, which first took the form of a series of sermons preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The sermonic origin makes the pastoral quality all the richer. Read this book; give copies to your family, friends, and neighbors. And pray that by it, men and women would be finally alive!

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Available at:

Pre-order from Desiring God for only $5! Details here.

Amazon.com (here)

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Endorsements

“For those curious about the Christian faith to those deeply committed to Christ and his ways, come read and behold the glory of any and every sinner’s only hope—the miracle of the new birth that brings forth new life in Christ that will never end.”
- Bruce Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

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“Regeneration, or new birth, meaning simply the new you through, with, in, and under Christ, is a largely neglected theme today, but this fine set of sermons, criss-crossing the New Testament data with great precision, goes far to fill the gap. Highly recommended.”
- J .I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, Canada

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“Theologically thorough and yet heart-warmingly pastoral and practical, this important book should help God’s people to value the remarkable status and responsibility of being ‘born again.’”
- Richard Cunningham, Director of Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), United Kingdom

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“Nothing could be more eternally important than Christian people knowing what the Bible teaches about the new birth and knowing that they have experienced it. One wonders why it’s taken so long for a book on the new birth to be written! But now it has and I pray every reader rejoices in God for the rich beauties of Christ Jesus so compellingly shared in its pages.”
- Thabiti Anyabwile, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

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“Expository and practical, this rich survey of New Testament teaching explores the nature of the new birth and the life which flows from it. Full of refreshment and encouragement, it reveals more deeply the glory of Christ and the gospel and motivates a renewed commitment to live out this good news and share it with others.”
- David Jackman, President of The Proclamation Trust

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“When I was a boy my grandmother asked me, ‘Have you been born again?’ Though I didn’t understand what she meant at the time, that question led to my conversion to Christ. In this wonderful book, Pastor John Piper rescues the term ‘born again’ from the abuse and overuse to which it is subject in our culture today. This is a fresh presentation of the evangelical doctrine of the new birth, a work filled with theological insight and pastoral wisdom.”
- Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

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“Many will be thankful that John Piper is here addressing the key need of our times. Every awakening begins with the renewed discovery of Christ’s teaching on the new birth. Here is that amazing teaching in lucid yet comprehensive form; with a relevance to readers worldwide.”
- Iain H. Murray

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“Have I been born again? is not a question to be answered hastily. In this book, Piper strips away our complacency, arguing that many people falsely believe they are Christians. By examining the Bible’s teaching on the new birth, he shows us how to be certain our faith is genuine. Because no issue could be more critical, I believe this is the most important book Piper has written.”
- Adrian Warnock, blogger

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“Classic Piper—crystal clear exposition and a must read.”
- Alistair Begg, Parkside Church

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“I cannot too strongly celebrate the publication of this book. Owing in part to several decades of dispute over justification and how a person is set right with God, we have tended to neglect another component of conversion no less important. Conversion under the terms of the new covenant is more than a matter of position and status in Christ, though never less: it includes miraculous Spirit-given transformation, something immeasurably beyond mere human resolution. It is new birth; it makes us new creatures; it demonstrates that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. All the creedal orthodoxy in the world cannot replace it. The reason why “You must be born again” is so important is that you must be born again.”
- D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Filed under: Biblical exposition, Books, Conversion, Conviction of Sin, Doctrine, Doctrines of Grace, Evangelical, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Regeneration, Salvation, Substitutionary Atonement, The Cross, The Gospel

John Murray on Justification

The doctrine of justification (like other “big Bible words”), is viewed by many as something that is either hard to understand or irrelevant to everyday life.  Why is this the case? I’m sure there are many answers, but here’s an insightful one from the late John Murray:

Far too frequently we fail to entertain the gravity of [sin]. Hence, the reality of our sin and the reality of the wrath of God upon us for our sin do not come into our reckoning. This is the reason why the grand article of justification does not ring the bells in the innermost depths of our spirit. And this is the reason why the gospel of justification is to such an extent a meaningless sound in the world and in the church of the twentieth century. We are not imbued with the profound sense of the reality of God, of his majesty, and holiness. And sin, if reckoned with at all, is little more than a misfortune or maladjustment. – John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied, 117.

(HT: Thad Noyes)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, God's Glory, God's holiness, Holiness, Justification by faith, Salvation, Sovereignty of God, Substitutionary Atonement, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel

Spurgeon – Conviction of Sin Essential for Salvation

I am grateful for Adrian Warnock quoting from ‘The Soul Winner’.   I agree with Adrian and Spurgeon.

Adrian says: I wonder—when was the last time you heard another Christian preach or speak about conviction of sin? When was the last time you saw someone on the brink of salvation in tears of anxiety and burden because of a distinct awareness of their sinfulness? It seems to me that true conviction is not present as much as it should be today. If Spurgeon is right, if anyone has not experienced it, we should be very concerned about the validity of their salvation.

“First, regeneration will be shown in conviction of sin. This we believe to be an indispensable mark of the Spirit’s work; the new life as it enters the heart causes intense inward pain as one of its first effects. Though nowadays we hear of persons being healed before they have been wounded, and brought into a certainty of justification without ever having lamented their condemnation, we are very dubious as to the value of such healings and justifyings. This style of things is not according to the truth. God never clothes men until He has first stripped them, nor does He quicken them by the gospel till first they are slain by the law.

When you meet with persons in whom there is no trace of conviction of sin, you may be quite sure that they have not been wrought upon by the Holy Spirit; for “when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” When the Spirit of the Lord breathes on us, He withers all the glory of man, which is but as the flower of grass, and then He reveals a higher and abiding glory. Do not be astonished if you find this conviction of sin to be very acute and alarming; but, on the other hand, do not condemn those in whom it is less intense, for so long as sin is mourned over, confessed, forsaken, and abhorred, you have an evident fruit of the Spirit. Much of the horror and unbelief which goes with conviction is not of the Spirit of God, but comes of Satan or corrupt nature; yet there must be true and deep conviction of sin, and this the preacher must labour to produce, for where this is not felt the new birth has not taken place.”

— C. H. Spurgeon

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Doctrine, Evangelical, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Regeneration, Salvation, Sin, The Gospel, The word of God

God’s love shown through Christ’s substitution

Gresham Machen

“It is a strange thing that when men talk about the love of God, they show by every word that they utter that they have no conception at all of the depths of God’s love.

“If you want to find an instance of true gratitude for the infinite grace of God, do not go to those who think of God’s love as something that cost nothing, but go rather to those who in agony of soul have faced the awful fact of the guilt of sin, and then have come to know with a trembling wonder that the miracle of all miracles has been accomplished, and that the eternal Son has died in their stead.”

- J. Gresham Machen

(HT: Todd Pruitt)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Discipleship, Evangelical, Forgiveness, God's Love, God's mercy, Grace, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Sanctification, Substitutionary Atonement, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

Spurgeon on Preaching to Stir Emotions

From Adrian Warnock:

“… to win a soul, it is necessary, not only to instruct our hearer, and make him know the truth, but to impress him so that he may feel it. A purely didactic ministry, which should always appeal to the understanding, and should leave the emotions untouched, would certainly be a limping ministry. “The legs of the lame are not equal,” says Solomon; and the unequal legs of some ministries cripple them. We have seen such an one limping about with a long doctrinal leg, but a very short emotional leg. It is a horrible thing for a man to be so doctrinal that he can speak coolly of the doom of the wicked, so that, if he does not actually praise God for it, it costs him no anguish of heart to think of the ruin of millions of our race. This is horrible!

I hate to hear the terrors of the Lord proclaimed by men whose hard visages, harsh tones, and unfeeling spirit betray a sort of doctrinal desiccation: all the milk of human kindness is dried out of them. Having no feeling himself, such a preacher creates none, and the people sit and listen while he keeps to dry, lifeless statements, until they come to value him for being “sound”, and they themselves come to be sound, too; and I need not add, sound asleep also, or what life they have is spent in sniffing out heresy, and making earnest men offenders for a word. Into this spirit may we never be baptized!

Whatever I believe, or do not believe, the command to love my neighbour as myself still retains its claim upon me, and God forbid that any views or opinions should so contract my soul, and harden my heart as to make me forget this law of love! The love of God is first, but this by no means lessens the obligation of love to man; in fact, the first command includes the second.

We are to seek our neighbour’s conversion because we love him, and we are to speak to him in loving terms God’s loving gospel, because our heart desires his eternal good.

A sinner has a heart as well as a head; a sinner has emotions as well as thoughts; and we must appeal to both. A sinner will never be converted until his emotions are stirred. Unless he feels sorrow for sin, and unless he has some measure of joy in the reception of the Word, you cannot have much hope of him. The Truth must soak into the soul, and dye it with its own colour. The Word must be like a strong wind sweeping through the whole heart, and swaying the whole man, even as a field of ripening corn waves in the summer breeze. Religion without emotion is religion without life.”

— C. H. Spurgeon

Filed under: CH Spurgeon, Conviction of Sin, Doctrine, Evangelical, Grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Preachers, Preaching, The Bible, The Gospel, The word of God, Zeal

Focused on Christ & His Cross

“Focus on Christ will always result in focus on the cross. You cannot be Christ-centered without becoming cross-centered. The crucified Christ is to be the center of everything I know about myself and my world. You cannot have any real hope for flawed people in a fallen world unless there is a Redeemer to rescue us from the evil that resides both inside and outside of us. Real restoration to God’s created design requires the cross. It is the cross of Christ that alone will restore my allegiance to Christ and his rightful place at the center of everything in  my life.”

- Paul David Tripp, A Quest for More (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2007), 104.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Doctrine, Evangelical, Evangelism, Jesus Christ, Man in Sin, Substitutionary Atonement, The Bible, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

The need for conviction of sin

JC Ryle

“The plain truth is that a right understanding of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without it such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are “words and names” which convey no meaning to the mind.

The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ is to send light into his heart and show him that he is a guilty sinner. The material creation in Genesis began with “light,” and so also does the spiritual creation. God “shines into our hearts” by the work of the Holy Spirit and then spiritual life begins (2 Cor. 4:6). Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies and false doctrines of the present day.

If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul’s disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief wants of the contemporary church has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin,” (J.C. Ryle, Holiness, p. 1).

(HT: John Fonville)

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, God's holiness, Holiness, JC Ryle, Man in Sin, Salvation, Sanctification, The Bible, The Christian Life, The word of God

Seeing our sin and seeing the Saviour

My Thanks to Martin Downes for this:

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Some extracts from a letter that Robert Murray M’Cheyne wrote to a “soul seeking Jesus.

If you did not know your body was dangerously ill, you would never have sent for your physician; and so you will never go to Christ, the heavenly Physician, unless you feel that your soul is sick unto death. Oh, pray for deep discoveries or your real state by nature and practice!

Pray to see yourself exactly as God sees you; pray to know the worth of your soul. Have you seen yourself vile, as Job saw himself? (Job xi. 3, 5, xiii. 5, 6); undone, as Isaiah saw himself? (Isa vi. 1, 5). Have you experienced anything like Ps. li.?

Perhaps you will ask, Why do you wish me to have such a discovery of my lost condition? I answer, that you may never look into your poor guilty soul to recommend you to God; and that you may joyfully accept of the Lord Jesus Christ, who obeyed and died for sinners.

You will never stand righteous before God in yourself. You are welcome this day to stand righteous before God in Jesus.

Filed under: Conviction of Sin, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, God the Father, God's mercy, Grace, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Sanctification, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God, Union with Christ

Test Revival with Doctrine

John Piper posts on Lee Grady’s excellent article in Charisma Magazine. I recommend you read the whole piece linked below.

Lee Grady

Piper: Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma, one of the main charismatic magazines, has written a lament and critique of the Lakeland “revival” which is now in a tailspin over the leader’s announced separation from his wife. Grady’s summons to pray for the church and our nation is right, and among his commendable questions and observations are these:

• “Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It’s way past time for us to grow up.”
• “True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland.”
• “A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: “I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.” Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up.”

Charismatics will not be the only ones who follow the Antichrist when he rises. So will the mass of those who today in thousands of evangelical churches belittle the truth of biblical doctrine as God’s agent to set us free (John 8:32).

Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.

The common denominator of those who follow the Antichrist will not be “charismatic” it will be, as Paul says, “they refused to love the truth.”

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Our test for every Lakeland that comes along should first be doctrinal and expositional. Is this awakening carried along by a “love for the truth” and a passion to hear the whole counsel of God proclaimed?

Filed under: Church, Conviction of Sin, Culture, Discernment, Doctrine, God's Glory, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Repentance, Revival, Revivalism, Salvation, Sanctification, Spirit of the age, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God