In this short clip from The Gospel Coalition, J. Ligon Duncan spoke out on what must constitute the message within any Gospel presentation. Essentially, What is the Gospel ?
‘Sola Gratia: The Erosion Of The Gospel Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches. God’s grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.
Thesis Three: Sola Gratia
We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.’ THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, April 20, 1996
“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”Luke 14:25-33
In the Book of Haggai, the LORD of hosts spoke out through the Prophet Haggai against His people, who has lost their first love, to “consider your ways”. For the start of a new year 2010, this is a good reminder from Pastor Steve Lawson for all professed believers of Jesus Christ to carefully examine ourselves and consider Jesus Christ, Who is the greatest treasure and the inheritance of all true disciples who are washed in His blood.
By John MacArthur Pastor, author
Let’s be brutally honest: most of Jesus’ teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.
I’m talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.
Consider the account of Jesus’ public ministry given in the New Testament. The first word of his first sermon was “Repent!”–a theme that was no more welcome and no less strident-sounding than it is today. The first act of his public ministry touched off a small riot. He made a whip of cords and chased money-changers and animal merchants off the Temple grounds. That initiated a three-year-long conflict with society’s most distinguished religious leaders. They ultimately handed him over to Roman authorities for crucifixion while crowds of lay people cheered them on.
Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of his generation were so hostile to him.
Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that he would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.
Against such a culture Jesus’ message strikes every discordant note.
Check the biblical record. Jesus’ words were full of hard demands and stern warnings. He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” (Luke 9:23-25). “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
At one point an unthinkable Roman atrocity took the lives of many Galilean pilgrims who had come to worship in Jerusalem. Pilate, the Roman governor, ordered his men to murder some worshipers and then mingled their blood with the sacrifices they were offering. While the city was still reeling from that awful disaster, a tower fell in the nearby district of Siloam and instantly snuffed out eighteen more lives.
Asked about these back-to-back tragedies, Jesus said, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-5).
Ignoring the normal rules of taste, tact, and diplomacy, Jesus in effect declared that all his listeners were sinners in need of redemption. Then, as now, that message was virtually guaranteed to offend many–perhaps most–of Jesus’ audience.
Those with no sense of personal guilt–including the vast majority of religious leaders–were of course immediately offended. They were convinced they were good enough to merit God’s favor. Who was this man to summon them to repentance? They turned away in angry unbelief.
The only ones not offended were those who already sensed their guilt and were crushed under the weight of its burden. Unhindered by indignation or self-righteousness, they could hear the hope implicit in Jesus’ words. For them, the repeated phrase “unless you repent” pointed the way to redemption.
Elsewhere, Jesus made the promise of life and forgiveness explicit: “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).
That, of course, is the glorious message of the gospel, just as potent and just as relevant today as it was then. But the promise is for those who are weary of sin; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6); those who come to Christ with repentant heartsCnot those who are convinced they are fundamentally good.
Proud people, including lots of religious people who call themselves Christians, don’t really believe Christ’s message at all. He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17).
So what would Jesus say to a pluralistic, tolerant, self-indulgent society like ours? I’m convinced his approach today would be the very same strategy we see in the New Testament. To smug, self-satisfied, arrogant sinners (including multitudes on church rolls) his words would sound harsh, shocking, provocative. But to “the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3)–those who are exhausted and spent by the ravages of sin; desperate for forgiveness and without any hope of atoning for their own sin–Jesus’ call to repentant faith remains the very gateway to eternal life.
This is a particularly hard message in cultures like ours that elevate self-love, self-esteem, or self-righteousness, but Jesus was absolutely clear, and these words do still speak to us: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). Dr. John MacArthur, pastor of 7,000-member Grace Community Church in Southern California, is a best-selling author of more than 200 books and study guides. His new book is “The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ.“
Churches today have adapted Christian faith for marketing to satisfy the felt needs of consumers shopping for a quick fix to meet their earthly needs and unfulfilled emptiness in their lives.
‘In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God.’ THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, April 20, 1996
“As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.’ THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, April 20, 1996
This video documented the interviews of both clergy and lay persons showing the sad state of where the Church is today: “Christianity” without Jesus Christ and devoid of the saving Gospel.
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. …..I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie–just as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1John 2:24,26-28
Since Matthew 6:1-18 showed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees' religion, it follows that wherever you have hypocritical religion you will have greed. So, our Lord deals with their view of wealth and money. Wherever you find a false teacher, invariably you will find that he is in it for the money. That is why the Bible says that we are not to discharge our ministry for the sake of filthy lucre (I Pet. 5:2). The Bible characterizes hypocritical religion in two ways: it is greedy of money, and it is immoral in its lusts. Those two things follow in the course of false religions and false religious leaders. The Pharisees were ...... -- using their religious position to fill their pockets. Twice Jesus had to take a whip and cleanse the temple (Jn. 2:13-17; 21:12- 13). Their system was one that filled their greed. They were using their religious position to get rich. There is nothing more foul smelling to the nostrils of God than hypocrisy and greed. I daresay there are people in our own country (some even well-known on television) who are doing exactly the same thing. Wherever there is religious hypocrisy, inevitably there is the problem of greed. To the Pharisees, being rich was a sign of holiness. In other words, "I'm rich because I'm so righteous that God is blessing me." When the Lord said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 19:24), that was absolutely and utterly shocking. To the Pharisees, riches were the stamp of divine approval on one's life because God gave riches to those who were righteous. To say that a rich man could no more enter the kingdom than a camel could go through the eye of a needle was really a shocking statement because they equated money with the blessing of God. So they greedily gathered money, and the richer they became the more they pretended to the people that they were spiritual. Overcoming Materialism Treasure in Heaven--Part 1 by John MacArthur
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Mat 6:19-24
"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, .... But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:22-24
Worship matters and it must be anchored entirely on God's truth. The entire truth about God, which He has revealed about himself within His word, is the key for any worshiper in truly knowing God and worshiping God acceptably in spirit and in truth. It is a matter of infinite importance. Without getting or accepting the complete truth about God as revealed by the scriptures only mean a professed worshiper is not truly worshiping the God of the bible but a "god" of his or her own imagination. It is a matter of eternal consequence when people get worship wrong, as a result they do not worship God acceptably however well meaning they may be. Worship matters, it really does.
‘Worship is not an addendum to life, it is at life’s core. You see, the people who worship God acceptably enter into eternal life, but the people who do not worship God acceptably enter into eternal death. Worship, then, becomes the core. Time and eternity are determined by the nature of a person’s worship.' True Worship by John MacArthur, Jr.
Quotes from Bob Kauflin’s book “Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God“:
Worship matters. It matters to God because he is the one ultimately worthy of all worship. It matters to us because worshiping God is the reason for which we were created. And it matters to every worship leader, because we have no greater privilege than leading others to encounter the greatness of God. That’s why it’s so important to think carefully about what we do and why we do it. (Pg 19)
Because I want to make it clear from the start that worship isn’t primarily about music, techniques, liturgies, songs, or methodologies. It’s about our hearts. It’s about what and who we love more than anything. Here’s my sobering discovery. I learned that I could lead others in worshiping God and be worshiping something else in my own heart. But by the grace of God, I was beginning to understand what worship is all about. (Pg 25)
That’s why as worship leaders our primary concern can’t be song preparation, creative arrangements, or the latest cool gear. Our primary concern has to be the state of our hearts. The great hymn-writer Isaac Watts once wrote: The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly for God. (Pg 26)
Related Posts: God Centered Worship: The Importance of Singing Truth Genuine worship is a response to divine truth as God has revealed Himself in His Word What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ? Finding Joy in Worship – Psalm 100 by Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia
Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship
Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God’s and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God’s centrality in the life of today’s church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.
God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God’s kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel. THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals April 20, 1996
Quotes from Bob Kauflin's book "Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God":
"singing and preaching aren’t incompatible or opposed to each other in any way. Both are meant to exalt the glory of Christ in our hearts, minds, and wills. Then whole meeting is worship; the whole meeting should be filled with God’s Word. And the whole meeting should be characterized by the Spirit’s presence." (Pg 89)
"Songs are de facto theology. They teach us who God is, what he’s like, and how to relate to him. ”We are what we sing,” one man said. That’s why we want to sing God’s Word.' (Pg 92)
"Singing God’s Word can include more than reciting specific verses in song. If the Word of Christ is going to “dwell in [us] richly” (Colossians 3:16), we need songs that explain, clarify, and expound on what God’s word says. We need songs that have substantive, theologically rich, biblically faithful lyrics. A consistent diet of shallow, subjective worship songs tends to produce shallow, subjective Christians. (Pg 92)
.......Too often we can be tempted to choose songs because of the music rather than the theological content. We need to realize that when words are combined with music we can be deceived. Music can make shallow lyrics sound deep. A great rhythm section can make drivel sound profound and make you want to sing it again." (Pg 93)
Related Posts: Genuine worship is a response to divine truth as God has revealed Himself in His Word What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ? Finding Joy in Worship – Psalm 100 by Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28
We often do not understand why God allows trials and testings to come into our lives. We have to trust God and look beyond to a time when we shall meet Him face to face and then we will have all the answers to our perplexing questions we now face while undergoing trials and testings. In the book of James, it clearly says that God allows trials to come into our lives, to test our faith in order to produce steadfastness in us. In going through trials, we learn to trust less in ourselves and we learn to turn to, trust in and rely upon God. Our faith in God then becomes steadfast, it becomes enduring and constant. God wants every child He receives to grow and to be mature in our walk with Him and our worship. When we trust God and we remained steadfast in our faith, we are blessed. Our love for Him is proved, when we look beyond our present sufferings and pains by trusting that God’s ways are the best because He is always compassionate and merciful to His children.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:2-4, 12
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James 5:10-11
Josiah Grauman, a believer who experienced tremendous trials and sufferings in his life starting at an early age. Even when he is actively pursuing God’s will for his life and serving God in obedience, the God of the bible still has a purpose to work out through him, by allowing the many challenges to confront and test and strengthen his faith. Through all the many trials and testing, Josiah Grauman has learned to trust firmly in the sovereignty of God to do and purpose as He pleases. The embedded clip is a video testimony of Josiah Grauman.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow; For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Thabiti Anyabwile, currently senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, is a native of Lexington, North Carolina. Thabiti Anyabwile has a remarkable testimony of being converted to Islam while being a nominal Christian, and then God called him to a true saving faith in Jesus Christ. Being a former Muslim and is now a Christian pastor, Thabiti Anyabwile has a unique perspective of explaining to Muslims the Gospel and specifically “Who is Jesus Christ ?” with some very useful insights from Islam which he once held to.
Thabiti Anyabwile began serving as elder/senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman since August 2006. He served previously as an elder/assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and as an elder at Church on the Rock in Raleigh, NC. Thabiti Anyabwile has a strong professional and academic background in community psychology, with special interest in the history and development of the African American church. Thabiti holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from North Carolina State University.
In these video clips, Thabite Anyabwile explained “Who is Jesus Christ” at a dialogue/debate was organised by the Muslim Student Association and Christian Fellowship Club from the University of Wollongong in Dubai.
Pastor Steve Lawson preaching at the Shepherd Conference 2009 that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be defended and be preached without compromise or shame, for the purpose of salvation of men and women, to the glory of God. Ministers are called to serve God and declare His saving truth faithfully. Ministers are not to serve their own end in trying to be popular and to please the audience and then be found denying truth declared clearly by God in the Bible. Pastor Steve Lawson exposed the sad state of the popular religion of Joel Osteen, its teachings and position on the "gospel", which tickle the ears and please the listening audience but does not stand surely on God's eternal truth. Joel Osteen's influence is not merely limited to USA, he has fans everywhere. Through his books and tapes which are pervasive, he spread his perverted teachings to fans everywhere. Joel Osteen, in front of globally broadcast CNN cable TV, said that he does not know if believing in Christ is the only way to God. (see Clip below and Transcipts) This is the sad state of many popular man-centered teachers like Joel Osteen.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:36
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12
OSTEEN: I don't think it's that hard. To me it's fun. We have joy and happiness. Our family -- I don't feel like that at all. I'm not trying to follow a set of rules and stuff. I'm just living my life.
KING: But you have rules, don't you?
OSTEEN: We do have rules. But the main rule to me is to honor God with your life. To life a life of integrity. Not be selfish. You know, help others. But that's really the essence of the Christian faith.
KING: That we live in deeds?
OSTEEN: I don't know. What do you mean by that?
KING: Because we've had ministers on who said, your record don't count. You either believe in Christ or you don't. If you believe in Christ, you are, you are going to heaven. And if you don't no matter what you've done in your life, you ain't.
OSTEEN: Yeah, I don't know. There's probably a balance between. I believe you have to know Christ. But I think that if you know Christ, if you're a believer in God, you're going to have some good works. I think it's a cop-out to say I'm a Christian but I don't ever do anything ...
KING: What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?
OSTEEN: You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know ...
KING: If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?
OSTEEN: Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God with judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.
In this clip below, Joel Osteen said on public TV that Mormons teachings about Jesus Christ is the SAME as his. One really need to ask: Which Jesus Christ is Joel Osteen really pointing people to ?
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Gal 1:6-10
For all saved believers, children of an absolutely Holy God, our call to holiness is inextricably linked to the Holiness of the God we worship. We must have a grasp of God’s holiness based on biblical truth so that we know and believe who He truly is. Without a proper grasp of God’s holiness, we won't know who we really are and any understanding we may have of His grace would be meaningless. For we are wretched and hell-deserving sinners saved by His grace. Once we grasp the truth of God’s holiness, it will truly and must impact our walk and our worship.
'As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.' 1Peter 1:14 -16.
'Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.' Hebrews 12:28 - 29
The grasping of the truth of God’s holiness must certainly impact our walk as His disciple and our worship of the God. As we look to the Lord Jesus Christ, we grasp the truth of God’s holiness as revealed in His Word. The Holiness of God will put the God's grace bestowed on us in its proper place. Jesus Christ, our truth and grace, will be our greatest Joy and Treasure.
“Among all those who have been born of women, there has not risen a greater than John Calvin; no age before him ever produced his equal, and no age afterwards has seen his rival. John Calvin propounded truth more clearly than any other man who ever breathed, knew more of Scripture, and explained it more clearly.” - C H Spurgeon on the John Calvin
"There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer—I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it." C H Spurgeon on the doctrines of John Calvin
"The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again."— C H Spurgeon on the doctrines of John Calvin
Two clips on John Calvin from Steve Lawson and John Piper:
1. Pastor Dr Steve J. Lawson speaking on John Calvin he found and wrote in his book "The Expository Genius of John Calvin" available from Reformation Press.
2. Pastor Dr John Piper speaking on John Calvin and why a Desiring God Conference in 2009 with a theme focusing on John Calvin right on the 500th year of his birth.
The Trinity being of the One and only living God is something a finite creature, which man is, cannot fully grasped or explained. It is the very being of the One everlasting and ever existing God, who is The Creator. How can we fully grasp or explain it ? However, the scriptures are abundantly clear that God has revealed Himself as such. To worship God in spirit and truth, in exercising our biblical faith, we need to know God as fully as He has chosen to reveal Himself, our reliance must be based on His written Word.
What do we mean when we say the Bible declare that God is incomprehensible? When the Bible states that God is incomprehensible, we mean God through scripture is saying that there is much about Him that is still mysterious. God is simply beyond our understanding and comprehension. Augustine of Hippo was trying and struggling hard to understand the Trinity nature of God without success until he recognized the humbling fact that as a finite creature he was merely trying “to cram the ocean of God’s truth about Himself into his little box of brains”.
"There is nothing that the Father is that the Son is not, except that the Son is not the Father." * Quote from Notes on Hebrews 1:1-4 by David Linden
There is nothing that the Father is and the Son is that the Holy Spirit is not, except that the Holy Spirit is not the Father and the Holy Spirit is not the Son.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Mat 3:16-17
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Cor 13:14
In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.(Of God, and of the Holy Trinity. Chapter 2 - III. THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH -1646)
Here is a sermon by Pastor Alistair Begg expounding the Trinity truth based on the teachings as revealed in the bible.
In Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones' "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount", he commented that misunderstanding will arise when preaching with a "mighty emphasis upon grace". An erroneous and dangerous misunderstanding led some to think and believe wrongly that the perfect moral Law of God, Decalogue or Ten Commandments, has no place in the life of a believer: New Testament's grace has made the Old Testament's moral law redundant. This is not the truth taught by scriptures:
"There was never a man whose preaching, with its mighty emphasis upon grace, was so frequently misunderstood [as Paul]. You remember the deduction some people had been drawing in Rome and in other places. They said, 'Now then, in view of the teaching of this man Paul, let us do evil that grace may abound, for, surely, this teaching is something that leads to that conclusion and to no other. Paul has just been saying, "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound"; very well, let us continue in sin that more and more grace may abound.' 'God forbid', says Paul; and he is constantly having to say that. To say that because we are under grace we therefore have nothing at all to do with law and can forget it, is not the teaching of the Scriptures. We certainly are no longer under the law but under grace. Yet that does not mean we need not keep the law. We are not under the law in the sense that it condemns us; it no longer pronounces judgement or condemnation on us. No! but we are meant to live it, and we are even meant to go beyond it. The argument of the Apostle Paul is that I should live, not as a man who is under the law, but as Christ's free man. Christ kept the law, He lived the law; as this very Sermon on the Mount emphasizes, our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Indeed, He has not come to abolish the law; every jot and tittle of the law has to be fulfilled and perfected. Now that is something which we very frequently find forgotten in this attempt to put up law and grace as antitheses, and the result is that men and women often completely and entirely ignore the law.
But let me put it this way. It is not true to say of many of us that in actual practice our view of the doctrine of grace is such that we scarcely ever take the plain teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ seriously ? We have so emphasized the teaching that all is of grace and that we ought not to imitate His example in order to make ourselves Christians, that we are virtually in the position of ignoring His teaching altogether and of saying that it has nothing to do with us because we are under grace. Now I wonder how seriously we take the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ."Martyn Lloyd-Jones - Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i, p. 12 (emphasis in bold are mine)
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Mathews 5:17- 20
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Luke 16:17
“Understood correctly, the gospel is an invitation to slavery. When we call people to faith in Christ, we need to stress that fact in the same way Jesus did. On the one hand, the gospel is a proclamation of freedom to sin’s captives and liberty to people who are broken by the bondage of sin’s power over them. On the other hand, it is a summons to a whole different kind of slavery: “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). As the apostle Peter wrote, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (1 Peter 2:16).
Both sides of the equation are vital. There is a glorious freedom in being the slaves of Christ, because “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). On the other hand, being a true follower of Christ means the end of human autonomy. And that is as it should be, because self-determination turns out to be nothing more than an illusion anyway. The only kind of liberty it offers is “free[dom] in regard to righteousness” (Romans 6:20)—and that is the very essence of bondage to sin. Its inevitable end is death and destruction. If we want true liberty from sin and all its fruits, it’s not autonomy that we need, but a different kind of bondage: complete surrender to the lordship of Christ.
In other words, everyone serves some master. No one is truly independent and self-governing. We are all enslaved in one way or the other. In the words of the apostle Paul:
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-21)
No message can rightly be called the gospel if it glosses over or denies those truths. The gospel according to Jesus calls sinners to give up their independence, deny themselves, submit to an alien will, and abandon all rights in order to be owned by and controlled by the Lord. By confessing Jesus as Lord (Kurios), we automatically confess that we are His slaves (douloi).
What does this mean in practical terms? To borrow the words of Edwin Yamauchi,
It means that we have been captured, beaten, and enslaved. We discover, however, that our captor is a Despot of love and mercy. Neither is there anything slavish or servile about our slavehood, for we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). Nor has our reduction to slavery been a debasement or an abasement. . . . We have been elevated to serve in a heavenly court and have been invested with a higher nature.
. . . [It also] reminds us of our ransom from another master at an incredible price. It was not with the fabulous sums of all the royal estates we were bought, nor was it for handsome features or some prized skill we were purchased. But rather unlovely, without any merit, rebellious at heart, we were redeemed with the precious blood of the Master Himself.
Having thus been bought by Christ we are entirely His. There’s no other possible way to view it.”
"You were a slave at the highest level. And we have no honor for ourselves other than that honor that comes to us because of who our master is, right? And that’s why the apostles could say, “I’m a slave of God, I’m a slave of Jesus Christ.” That’s where the honor came from. And I submit to Him for all my needs, I’m dependent on Him as my protector and my provider and I submit to all His discipline of my failures and my disobedience that He might conform me more to His will and I submit to Him some day for that reward which He determines is suitable to give to me when I come before Him and hear, “Well done, good and faithful slave.” Let Him give me what He will.
And by the way, you’re going to be a slave to someone. Being a slave to Jesus Christ is beyond any kind of slavery that anybody ever knew because this master, listen to this one, makes us sons and gives us all the rights of His own sons. He adopts us into His family, calls us joint-heirs with Christ, takes us to heaven where we rule and reign from His own throne and pours out all the lavish riches in His possession forever and ever and ever for our own unmitigated joy and His own glory. Who wouldn’t want to be a slave under that master? What a joy to be a slave of Jesus Christ."Slaves for Christ by John MacArthur, Copyright 2007
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Rom 1:18-25
There is but one only,living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts,or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, (Of God, and of the Holy Trinity -WCF Chapter II -I)
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Cor 1:30-31
When I look at the enormous range of God’s creative works; vast and deep oceans, lofty mountain peaks, grand canyons, thunderous falls, swift and powerful rivers, gentle and meandering streams, mirror lakes, deep jungles and lofty trees, colors and scent of floral, creatures both great and small, ….I am always truly awed at the Wisdom of God: “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Psa 104:24
The wisdom of God is graciously and amazingly manifested in God’s Way of Salvation of sinners through the perfect redemptive work of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. This wisdom of God is clearly stated by Paul in Eph 3:8-11 , “To me, .., this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ..” Jonathan Edwards said, “One end of revealing God’s counsels concerning the work of redemption, is making known God’s wisdom. It is called manifold wisdom because of the manifold glorious ends that are attained by it. The excellent designs, hereby accomplished, are very manifold. The wisdom of God in this is of vast extent. The contrivance is so manifold that one may spend an eternity in discovering more of the excellent ends and designs accomplished by it, and the multitude and vast variety of things that are, by divine contrivance, brought to conspire to the bringing about those ends.”
God’s wise plan and eternal purpose for perfect redemptive work through Jesus Christ is “a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”1Cor 2:7. Yet the Gospel of Jesus Christ seems foolish to the intellectual atheist and skeptics, the scripture says in 1Co 1:18, 20 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. …..Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Why did God, in all wisdom, choose the way of Cross through Christ as the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life to Him ? Why ? The answer is simply this: so that no man standing before God can boast, I was saved because I…………… There will be no boasting of what I was. There will be no boasting of what I did. No boasting of meritorious works. There will no boasting of familial privileges. Here is the clear answer from scripture, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” 1Co 1:27-29
The only appropriate responses are these “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Ps 90:12 and “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1Co 1:30-31
God is only and most wise ! “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” Rom 16:27
There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, ......(Of God, and of the Holy Trinity -WCF Chapter II -I)
Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Isa 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity Psa 93:2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.
From everlasting to everlasting, God is God. He is always there, He is the ever existing one. Nothing causes God into existence, He alone creates all things. This concept of everlating is very hard for finite minds like ours to grasp, we are used to see the cycles of birth and death: man and beasts and plants. For these living things, some sort of parents gave out the seeds (with all the genetic code) for the next cycle of life for that creature. For inert things made by man, there is a someone, with a level of intelligence, who did some thinking and causes it to be made.We also know that inert things just don't last forever, things we make with our hands will crumble after a while whether they be made of stones or metal. It is thus very hard for us to grasp something or someone Who has no beginning and no end, such is the nature of God. Just focus our thinking about the eternal nature of God will cause our minds to go into a vortex of infinity.
God is not like us, time has no hold on Him. He is not subjected to the ravages of time or decay. He does not grow weary or weak with age, He is the "King of Ages", He is constant for all eternity and His mighty strength remains the same: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable (Isa 40:28)
We ought to remind ourselves from Hab 1:12 "Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One?". When our thoughts and meditations and focus is on Him, we can trust and rest upon His everlasting arms. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deu 33:27). When our faith in our God, it is great joy and comfort to know that He is the eternal God with the everlasting arms. We can rest, for our peace, security and assurance comes from God and not in our finite selves.
Yes, Lord ! You are the eternal and everlasting God. As finite creatures, our only appropriate responses are summed by these verses:
To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1Ti 1:17 )
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. (Psa 41:13)
The world out there says there is no such thing as absolute truth. Today, it is much more popular and politically convenient to the world to say no religion has the monopoly to the Truth. However, Truth is absolute. Truth cannot be relative or it becomes meaningless. So when a Christian says that there can only be one and only one Truth from God, a Christian is often labeled as unloving, narrow-minded, closed-minded, arrogant and bigoted. As a result, in Churches where the teachings emphasize a need on love for and acceptance of the world, both Churches and Christians become conscious of offending the world and opt for toning down declaring “all the counsel of God”
Every disciple of the Jesus Christ has to know and believe Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Truth: “Jesus said unto him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6. The Gospel is a very exclusive message pointing to one God and the only Way for sinners to be reconciled to God and be spared from God’s wrath. The Gospel is very clear: Jesus Christ is the only way to God, there is no other way. The Truth to God is found in the person of Jesus Christ alone, there is no other Truth. Eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ, there is no other way to be with God in heaven.
People of God who heard and believed the Gospel must live it and declare it faithfully. We know that “God is Love” (I John 4:8) and it is true. It is very important to know that Love “rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor 13:6). Apostle Paul loved the Lord’s sheep and he wants to present the Church as the chaste bride to Christ the Bridegroom (2 Corinthians 11:2). Paul lived the Truth and wholly preached and fully declared everything he has received from the LORD Jesus Christ. He said, “for I have not shrunk from declaring unto you all the counsel of God.” (Act 20: 27).
Paul recalled, “in all seasons,…and how I kept back nothing that was profitable for you, but have shown you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying…..repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20: 18-21). The focus of his ministry, his joy and his life was very clear to him. The Apostle Paul said, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.” (Act 20: 24).
While Paul’s ministry and purpose is to preach, convert and disciple believers for the Lord Jesus Christ, he is well aware that Satan will always be there to try subverting what God has purposed to do. The “wolves” will present a perverted Gospel: watered down Gospel, half Gospel, twisted Gospel. As an under-shepherd who has watered and fed God’s sheep, he reminded the “overseers” of God’s flock to “take heed” because the “grievous wolves” shall enter in amongst the sheep. He was saying very clearly that there will be “wolves” amongst the sheep within the professing believers in the visible church.
He pleaded and urged the “overseers” to do their duty to God: “to feed the church of God” (Act 20: 28). He commended the “overseers” to feed the sheep on “God and to the word of His grace”. Overseers of God’s sheep must desire and work very hard to ensure that every sheep in their care “that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so” (Act 17: 11).
If overseers are not vigilant or do not care to “take heed” and are not preaching and teaching “all the counsel of God”, then God’s sheep are not fed. If God’s sheep are not fed, they will likely follow “wolves”. The character of these wolves is as such: “among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them”.
Paul warned and warned God’s sheep for THREE years DAY and NIGHT. This part of the ministry is no small matter to Paul. “Therefore watch, and remember that for the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Act 20: 31 Today it appears that this “take heed” and “to warn” aspect of an overseer’s ministry is a small matter to many “overseers” within the visible church ? Why ? Why the neglect of “all the counsel of God ” ?
Paul’s plead is that overseers must feed and warn the sheep all the time. All believers must fix our eyes upon God by immersing in His Word seriously “And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
