Posted in eschatology, Jesus Christ, Theology, tagged Jesus Christ on May 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3 ESV)
Theologians call this “the beatific vision.” We will call it the greatest moment of our lives—to see Christas he is; not as he was. . .
Keep reading “Our Greatest Moment” by Steve DeWitt.
Posted in Jesus Christ, Uncategorized, tagged Jesus Christ on March 19, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Born as a son,
led forth as a lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
he rose from the dead as a God,
for he was by nature God and man.
He is all things:
he judges, and so he is Law;
he teaches, and so he is Wisdom;
he saves, and so he is Grace;
he suffers, and so he is sacrifice;
he is buried, and so he is man;
he rises again, and so he is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.
- Melito, bishop of Sardis (d. 180)
Posted in overcoming sin, Satan and demons, tagged overcoming sin on February 14, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
In rural America, off a country road, on the soft soil of a weathered field, stands a sobering message for every passer-by: Go to church or the devil will get you!
The words are neatly strewn across a homemade billboard adorned with flood lights and a painted silhouette of a red figure, apparently Satan, holding a sling-blade. Go to church, the warning hisses, or be his victim.
As hokey as it sounds, the warning is right, you know, at least in a sense.
Now to be clear, if the sign means (and it likely does) that you’d better attend a weekly meeting or else Lucifer will eat your lunch, then no, that’s not right. That would be Anglo folk religion — more akin to African animism than anything Christian.
But, more positively, if “go to church” means be part of a gospel-shaped community, and “the devil will get you!” means you’re more susceptible to his schemes apart from such community, then the sign is absolutely right. By all means, if this meaning is the case, go to church or the devil will get you. Here’s why: first, Satan is real and he hates you; second, God designs that Christians persevere in faith by means of one another.
I preached about this recently from 1 Peter 5:8-10 which reminds us to be alert and watchful for our prowling adversary the devil. Though we must do so individually we must do this in biblical community as well. Parnell goes on to explain:
God has designed our warfare to include one another. We can’t wield the shield of faith alone. We need brothers and sisters to come alongside us to hold up our arms. More specifically, we need brothers and sisters to speak faith-building words to our souls.
After the warning of temptation, Hebrews 3:12 says “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
You see, the household of God is a talking family. We say things to each other, powerful things to each other about the truth of God and the victory of Christ. We exhort one another — be it encouragement, warning, or counsel — and the Holy Spirit breathes upon what is otherwise babbling to effect real devil-defying faith in our lives. This kind of speaking is a glorious staple of gospel-shaped community. And Satan wants you to have no part in it.
Satan wants us isolated from one another. He wants to find us all alone in the thunderstorm of our own thoughts, when we’re stuck in the sounds of our sinful souls. It is the oldest trick in the book, that he’d catch us when we’re perusing the tree by ourselves (2 Corinthians 11:3). We’ve too often repeated that scene of Genesis 3. But then imagine God’s truth crashing into the picture. Imagine that happening today as we gather together.
This is biblical wisdom that we must follow. Read all of “Watch Out or the Devil’s Gonna Get You.”
Posted in overcoming sin, Sin, spiritual growth, tagged overcoming sin on January 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
“To mortify a sin is not utterly to kill, root it out, and destroy it, that it should have no more hold at all nor residence in our hearts. It is true this is that which is aimed at; but this is not in this life to be accomplished. There is no man that truly sets himself to mortify any sin, but he aims at, intends, desires its utter destruction, that it should leave neither root nor fruit in the heart or life. He would so kill it that it should never move nor stir anymore, cry or call, seduce or tempt, to eternity. Its not-being is the thing aimed at. Now, though doubtless there may, by the Spirit and grace of Christ, a wonderful success and eminence of victory against any sin be attained, so that a man may have almost constant triumph over it, yet an utter killing and destruction of it, that it should not be, is not in this life to be expected.”
~ John Owen
Posted in overcoming sin, Sin, tagged john owen, sanctification, sin on January 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
“To mortify a sin is not utterly to kill, root it out, and destroy it, that it should have no more hold at all nor residence in our hearts. It is true this is that which is aimed at; but this is not in this life to be accomplished. There is no man that truly sets himself to mortify any sin, but he aims at, intends, desires its utter destruction, that it should leave neither root nor fruit in the heart or life. He would so kill it that it should never move nor stir anymore, cry or call, seduce or tempt, to eternity. Its not-being is the thing aimed at. Now, though doubtless there may, by the Spirit and grace of Christ, a wonderful success and eminency of victory against any sin be attained, so that a man may have almost constant triumph over it, yet an utter killing and destruction of it, that it should not be, is not in this life to be expected.”
~John Owen~ Overcoming Sin & Temptation (Wheaton, IL; Crossway; 2006) p. 70-71.
Posted in Sin on October 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” Romans 7:24
The godly man has a deep sense of the evil of sin.
He looks upon sin as the bitter root, from which springs all the woes and wars, all the sadness and sorrow, all the pains and pollution, all the misery and madness, and all the torment and terror — to be found in God’s universe!
He regards sin as that abominable thing which God hates!
It is to him a loathsome object; and a subject fraught with all that is base, degrading, and horrible. He looks at sin as more dreadful than Hell! Indeed, he considers sin to be the evil of all evils, and considers that nothing is evil in comparison with sin!
He often thinks of sin as it has grieved God’s heart, murdered God’s only begotten Son, and vexed and resisted the Holy Spirit.
O if he could be but free from sin!
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!” 1 John 3:2
~ James Smith
Posted in Satan and demons, tagged John Piper, quote, Satan on September 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“If at the cross every sin was covered, Satan’s mouth is shut. He has no weapon. He can gum you but his fangs are gone.” - John Piper
Posted in The Holy Spirit, tagged cessationism, sign gifts, tongues on September 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Cessationism is the position that the sign gifts ceased in operation in the church after the period of the apostles (i.e., before A.D. 100). Jared Moore explains this position and well and then seeks to show how it is supported by Scripture.
If you have questions about the existence of miraculous gifts including speaking in tongues or if you have a friend that talks with you about it, this would be a good article to read: A Case of Cessationism.
Posted in Prayer, The Holy Spirit, Uncategorized, tagged Prayer, the Holy Spirit on August 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26)
That verse should bring much comfort to every Christian heart. We have a Helper in our prayers! Why is that so important. As this verse points out we are weak and we are ignorant. And from other Scripture we know the Spirit is powerful and knows all things.
Paul Tautages expands on the above thoughts in “The Spirit’s Silent Prayer Ministry.”
Posted in Jesus Christ, tagged Jesus Christ on July 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“If I never write any more, let these be my last words:
There is none like Christ, none like Christ, none like Christ! Nothing like redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
There is no learning or knowledge like the knowledge of Christ. No life like Christ living in the heart by faith. No work like the spiritual service of Christ. No riches or wealth like the unsearchable riches of Christ. No rest or comfort like the rest and consolations of Christ. No pleasure like the pleasure of fellowship with Christ.
Little as I know of Christ, I would not exchange the learning of one hour’s fellowship with Christ for all the learning of ten thousand universities during ten thousand ages, even if angels were my teachers.”
~ John Brown of Haddington, Scotland
