John Piper's Heart in the 2008 Election

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Romans 6: Union with Christ

Our position in Adam has been satisfied in our Federal position in Christ. So how are we to live? Is our position just a static positional reality in Christ? Do we just get out of jail free and that ends what Christ has achieved for now?

Romans 6 tells us otherwise! Yes, our union with Christ involves our justified position before a holy God. Yes, our union with Christ will one day result in a glorified body. But now, we participate in one of the most dynamic verities of all of Scripture! God has designed his grace to be magnified in our lives NOW! Of course this grace is not simply a grace of forgiveness, but it is a grace that frees our faculties from the bondage of unrighteousness to victorious Christ-like living.

We are privileged through our union with Christ to put him on display in a dark world. Just as John 1 speaks of the Light that entered time and space, searing the darkness with supernova-like intensity, so our lives now actively stand as beacons for Christ.

How is this accomplished? It is accomplished in moment by moment indebtedness to the infinite bounty of grace purchased up by Christ. Recently, I was sitting in a seminary class where one asked about our indebtedness to Christ. The response to the question, sadly, did not place indebtedness in a positive light when it is in fact one of the most glorious dynamics of the Christian walk. Indebtedness to God's grace is exactly how we are to live - moment by moment accruing debt to God with no sense (at all!) of guilt. Why? So that God might be magnified! God is achieving his glory through our culpable inability to gain righteousness through justification and now through our inability to conquer sin and live out righteousness moment by moment in sanctification.

We are under GRACE! in Christ. So live out your union with him by falling into further debt to his grace so that you find Christ-like satisfaction in magnifying the Father who has put Christ forward as the purchasing token of grace.

King of Kings

The sovereignty of God is an unfathomable reality, "for we merely know the edges of his ways". In his meticulous control over all things at all times God allows his stated purposes to be assaulted. And in doing so, He glorifies himself by demonstrating the magnitude of his unshakable control over everything - even over rebellious assaults.

Ps 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

For believers, may the sovereignty of God never give us a thought of sinful compromise; perhaps by thinking he will use our sin for good anyhow. The fact is the King of Zion has purchased you with his blood. He rescued you from the bondage of sin and now brings you into union with him to walk as he did, to love as he loved, to please him as he pleased his Father.
Yes, God maintains sovereignty over sin and will use it to magnify himself but the sovereign end of sin is devastation.

Ps. 2:7 I will tell of the decree:The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;today I have begotten you.8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,and the ends of the earth your possession.9 You shall break [2] them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

So how should we respond to God's sovereignty?

Ps 2:10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;be warned, O rulers of the earth.11 Serve the Lord with fear,and rejoice with trembling.12 Kiss the Son,lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,for his wrath is quickly kindled.Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Rev. 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in [4] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Can Our Sins Mess Up God’s Plans?

October 29th, 2008 by Mark Altrogge

Sin can really mess up our lives, not to mention send us to hell.

Our sins play havoc with us, and sometimes we wind up eating the fruit of our disobedience for years. Sometimes it can seem like we’ve derailed God’s design for our lives and now he’s had to opt for plan B. But that is simply not true.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)

ALL things work together for good, including our sins.
God is in no way responsible when we blow it, for God is not the author of sin. But somehow even our worst sins and mistakes fall under the umbrella of his supreme plan for our lives.
God is so awesome he can take our wickedness and use it to accomplish his purposes. When Jacob duped his father and swindled his big brother Esau, God used it to fulfill his prophecy that the older would serve the younger. When Joseph unwisely boasted of his dreams to his brothers, God used his foolishness to provoke his brothers to sell him to slave traders who dragged him to Egypt where God exalted him to spare thousands from starving, including his scheming brothers.

When Jonah fled in the opposite direction from where God commanded him, God used Jonah’s rebellion to reveal himself to pagan sailors on the ship he’d taken:
Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. (Jonah 1:8-10)

David began his relationship with Bathsheba with adultery, deception and murder. Yet God gave them Solomon, author of Proverbs and one of Israel’s greatest kings. Not even the worst sins can stymie God’s purpose.

Regret can easily slide into self-pity. And excessive regret is an insult to God, because we are saying what Christ did on the cross was somehow not enough to remove all our guilt. Excessive regret is also an insult to God’s sovereignty, because we are saying that our sins are too hard for God to turn to good.

Now DO NOT go out and sin, thinking God will use it for good. For sin has painful consequences. But if you believe your sins have ruined God’s plans for you, know that the cross of Christ and the power of God is infinitely greater than your offenses. God hasn’t opted for plan B.

Mundane is Glorious

October 20th, 2008 by Mark Altrogge

But we urge you, brothers, to [love one another] more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thess 4.10-12


You probably won’t hear this verse read at many college graduation ceremonies. Keynote speakers usually encourage graduates to aspire to greatness, not to live quietly and mind their own affairs.
When I first believed in Christ, I dreamed of becoming a Christian performer, singing before thousands at Jesus festivals. I didn’t yearn to trudge off to work every day in the same office for the next 25 years, get married, have kids, go to Little League games, serve in the church, then die. That seemed so ordinary, pedestrian, and bland. But there’s this little thing called making a living. So I became an elementary art teacher, bouncing among five different buildings, teaching buck-toothed kids how to cut out hearts, carve soap animals and make construction paper Christmas trees.I got married, had kids, went to Little League games for 19 years, and served in our church, where I’ve worked in 2 offices since 1980.
Most Christians lives aren’t remarkable. Most of us aren’t speaking at conferences, writing books or rocking at festivals. Most of us work at rather humdrum jobs, or labor with little thanks in our homes serving our families. We faithfully plod away, going to care groups and serving our church.
If someone made a movie about most of us it would probably be rated “B” for “boring,” or “U” for “uneventful”. But when, by God’s grace, we “live quietly”, and mind our own affairs, and work with our hands, God is honored. He’s no more glorified by the pastor preaching to thousands than he is by the Mom trying to get her one-year-old to eat his Gerber peas for the hundredth time. He’s no more blessed by the man who leads thousands in worship than by the dad who runs a high lift all day, plays catch with his kids after dinner, and falls asleep reading a Bible story to his kids before bed.
Mundane is glorious in the kingdom of God. Because it takes God’s grace to live quiet lives of faithfulness, serving, and loving. Aspire to do all you do, no matter how commonplace, for God’s glory.

Fight Club: Lesson 7 - Not a Lover of Money

From the selling of indulgences to the prosperity gospel, the church has been ravaged by what Paul calls “lovers of money” or those “greedy for filthy lucre”. Although we would never categorize ourselves among those of the prosperity gospel, we can be much more subtle at “earning” indecent/dishonorable gain. The overseer must fight these selfish desires. He must exemplify diligence in his work ethic and seethe with honorable motives. The overseer is an honest worker with healthy desires.

Discuss: What types of materialistic desires compete with your faith in your service to the Lord?

Paul describes for Timothy those who use the gospel for gain. He says, “They are puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissensions, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved of mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” (6:4-5) Paul goes on to exhort Timothy with contentment. He says, “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing in to the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”(6:6-8). In verses 9 and 10 Paul teaches Timothy that loving money results a plethora of others godless desires which make a shipwreck of the faith. Therefore in verse 11 Paul exhorts Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith”.

The overseer must fight off competing desires that would attempt to diminish holy affections for Jesus Christ and his church. Richard Baxter writes,

Nor is man fitted to be a minister of Christ who does not have the proper public spirit towards the Church. He needs to delight in its beauty, long for its happiness, seek for its good, and rejoice in its welfare. He must be willing to spend and to be spent fo the sake of the Church.[1]

Discuss: Theologically, how do we fight for Christ-centered affections?

Answer the following questions:

1. Do you give generously and sacrificially?

2. Are your investments heavenward or earthly-minded?

3. What is your philosophy about gain in this life?

4. Are your professional and personal decisions calculated to pursue gain?

5. Do you show more regard for money and ‘stuff’ than people?

6. How does your perspective of money affect your outlook on the church’s financial decisions?

Read: Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices, Satan’s Devices to Keep Souls from Holy Duties, To Hinder Souls in Holy Services, To Keep Them Off From Religious Performance, p. 102-141
[1] Baxter, Richard. The Reformed Pastor. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2007.

Some Questions to Ask When Considering a Job


By John Piper January 14, 1997

1. Can you earnestly do all the parts of this job “to the glory of God,” that is, in a way that highlights his superior value over all other things? “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

2. Is taking this job part of a strategy to grow in personal holiness? “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

3. Will this job help or hinder your progress in esteeming the value of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord? “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7).

4. Will this job result in inappropriate pressures on you to think or feel or act against your King, Jesus? “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23).

5. Will this job help establish an overall life-pattern that will yield a significant involvement in fulfilling God’s great purpose of exalting Christ among all the unreached peoples of the world? “Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

6. Will this job be worthy of your best energies? “Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

7. Will the activities and environment of this job tend to shape you or will you be able to shape it for the Christ-magnifying purposes of God? “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

8. Will this job provide an occasion for you to be radically Christian so as to let your light shine for your Father’s sake, or will your participation in the vision of the firm tend by definition to snuff your wick? “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

9. Does the aim of this job cohere with a growing intensity in your life to be radically, publicly, fruitfully devoted to Christ at any cost? “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

10. Will the job feel like a good investment of your life when these “two seconds” of preparation for eternity are over? “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

11. Does this job fit with why you believe you were created and purchased by Christ? “Everyone who is called by my name…I have created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6-7). “You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

12. Does this fit together with the ultimate truth that all things exist for Christ? “For by him all…have been created by [Christ] and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

For the supremacy of God in all things,
Pastor John

Wouldst thou grow in the grace of the fear of God?: John Bunyan


What things they are that have a tendency in them to hinder the growth of the fear of God in our hearts.
And that I may yet be helpful to thee, reader, I shall now give thee caution of those things that will, if way be given to them, hinder thy growth in this fear of God, the which, because they are very hurtful to the people of God, I would have thee be warned by them. And they are these which follow:

First. If thou wouldest grow in this grace of fear, take heed of A HARD HEART, for that will hinder thy growth in this grace. "Why hast thou hardened our heart from thy fear?" was a bitter complaint of the church heretofore; for it is not only the judgment that in itself is dreadful and sore to God's people, but that which greatly hindereth the growth of this grace in the soul (Isa 63:17). A hard heart is but barren ground for any grace to grow in, especially for the grace of fear: there is but little of this fear where the heart is indeed hard; neither will there ever be much therein.
Now if thou wouldest be kept from a hard heart, 1. Take heed of the beginnings of sin. Take heed, I say, of that, though it should be never so small; "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." There is more in a little sin to harden, than in a great deal of grace to soften. David's look upon Bathsheba was, one would think, but a small matter; yet that beginning of sin contracted such hardness of heart in him, that it carried him almost beyond all fear of God. It did carry him to commit lewdness with her, murder upon the body of Uriah, and to abundance of wicked dissimulation; which are things, I say, that have direct tendency to quench and destroy all fear of God in the soul.
2. If thou hast sinned, lie not down without repentance; for the want of repentance, after one has sinned, makes the heart yet harder and harder. Indeed a hard heart is impenitent, and impenitence also makes the heart harder and harder. So that if impenitence be added to hardness of heart, or to the beginning of sin which makes it so, it will quickly be with that soul, as is said of the house of Israel, it will have a whore's forehead, it will hardly be brought to shame (Jer 3:3).
3. If thou wouldest be rid of a hard heart, that great enemy to the growth of the grace of fear, be much with Christ upon the cross in thy meditations; for that is an excellent remedy against hardness of heart: a right sight of him, as he hanged there for thy sins, will dissolve thy heart into tears, and make it soft and tender. "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, - and mourn" (Zech 12:10). Now a soft, a tender, and a broken heart, is a fit place for the grace of fear to thrive in. But,

Second. If thou wouldest have the grace of fear to grow in thy soul, take heed also of A PRAYERLESS HEART, for that is not a place for this grace of fear to grow in. Hence he that restraineth prayer is said to cast off fear. "Thou castest off fear," said one of his friends to Job. But how must he do that? Why the next words show, "Thou restrainest prayer before God" (Job 15:4). Seest thou a professor that prayeth not? that man thrusteth the fear of God away from him. Seest thou a man that prays but little, that man feareth God but little; for it is the praying soul, the man that is mighty in praying, that has a heart for the fear of God to grow in. Take heed, therefore, of a prayerless heart, if you would grow in this grace of the fear of God. Prayer is as the pitcher that fetcheth water from the brook, therewith to water the herbs; break the pitcher, and it will fetch no water, and for want of water the garden withers.

Third. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of A LIGHT AND WANTON HEART, for neither is such a heart good ground for the fear of God to grow in. Wherefore it is said of Israel, "She feared not, but went and played the harlot also." She was given to wantonness, and to be light and vain, and so her fear of God decayed (Jer 3:8). Had Joseph been as wanton as his mistress, he had been as void of the fear of God as she; but he was of a sober, tender, godly, considerate spirit, therefore he grew in the fear of God.

Fourth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of A COVETOUS HEART, for neither is that which is such an one good ground for this grace of fear to grow in. Therefore this covetousness and the fear of God are as enemies, set the one in opposition to the other: one that feareth God and hateth covetousness (Exo 18:21). And the reason why covetousness is such an obstruction to the growth of this grace of fear, is because covetousness casteth those things out of the heart which alone can nourish this fear. It casteth out the Word and love of God, without which no grace can grow in the soul; how then should the fear of God grow in a covetous heart? (Eze 33:30-32; 1 John 2:15).

Fifth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of AN UNBELIEVING HEART, for an unbelieving heart is not good ground for this grace of fear to grow in. An unbelieving heart is called "an evil heart," because from it flows all the wickedness that is committed in the world (Heb 3:12). Now it is faith, or a believing heart, that nourisheth this fear of God, and not the other; and the reason is, for that faith brings God, heaven, and hell, to the soul, and maketh it duly consider of them all (Heb 11:7). This is therefore the means of fear, and that which will make it grow in the soul; but unbelief is a bane thereto.

Sixth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of A FORGETFUL HEART. Such a heart is not a heart where the grace of fear will flourish, "when I remember, I am afraid," &c. Therefore take heed of forgetfulness; do not forget but remember God, and his kindness, patience, and mercy, to those that yet neither have grace, nor special favour from him, and that will beget and nourish his fear in thy heart, but forgetfulness of this, or of any other of his judgments, is a great wound and weakening to this fear (Job 21:6). When a man well remembers that God's judgments are so great a deep and mystery, as indeed they are, that remembrance puts a man upon such considerations of God and of his judgments as to make him fear—"Therefore," said Job, "I am afraid of him." See the place, Job 23:15. "Therefore am I troubled at his presence; when I consider, I am afraid of him"—when I remember and consider of the wonderful depths of his judgments towards man.

Seventh. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of A MURMURING AND REPINING HEART, for that is not a heart for this grace of fear to grow in. As for instance, when men murmur and repine at God's hand, at his dispensations, and at the judgments that overtake them, in their persons, estates, families, or relations, that their murmuring tendeth to destroy fear; for a murmuring spirit is such an one as seems to correct God, and to find fault with his dispensations, and where there is that, the heart is far from fear. A murmuring spirit either comes from that wisdom that pretends to understand that there is a failure in the nature and execution of things, or from an envy and spite at the execution of them. Now if murmurings arise from this pretended wisdom of the flesh, then instead of fearing of God, his actions are judged to be either rigid or ridiculous, which yet are done in judgment, truth, and righteousness. So that a murmuring heart cannot be a good one for the fear of God to grow in. Alas! the heart where that grows must be a soft one; as you have it in Job 23:15, 16; and a heart that will stoop and be silent at the most abstruse of all his judgments—"I was dumb, because THOU didst it." The heart in which this fear of God doth flourish is such, that it bows and is mute, if it can but espy the hand, wisdom, justice, or holiness of God in this or the other of his dispensations, and so stirs up the soul to fear before him. But if this murmuring ariseth from envy and spite, that looketh so like to the spirit of the devil, that nothing need be said to give conviction of the horrible wickedness of it.

Eighth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of A HIGH AND CAPTIOUS SPIRIT, for that is not good ground for the fear of God to grow in. A meek and quiet spirit is the best, and there the fear of God will flourish most; therefore Peter puts meekness and fear together, as being most suited in their nature and natural tendency one to another (1 Peter 3:15). Meekness of spirit is like that heart that hath depth of earth in it in which things may take root and grow; but a high and captious spirit is like to the stony ground, where there is not depth of earth, and consequently, where this grace of fear cannot grow; therefore take heed of this kind of spirit, if thou wouldest that the fear of God should grow in thy soul.

Ninth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of AN ENVIOUS HEART, for that is not a good heart for the fear of God to grow in. "Let not thine heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long" (Prov 23:17). To envy any is a sign of a bad spirit, and that man takes upon him, as I have already hinted, to be a controller and a judge, yea, and a malicious executioner too, and that of that fury that ariseth from his own lusts and revengeful spirit, upon (perhaps) the man that is more righteous than himself. But suppose he is a sinner that is the object of thine envy, why, the text sets that envy in direct opposition to the fear of God; "Envy not sinners, but be thou in the fear of God." These two, therefore, to wit, envy to sinners and fearing of God, are opposites. Thou canst not fear God, and envy sinners too. And the reason is, because he that envieth a sinner, hath forgotten himself, that he is as bad; and how can he then fear God? He that envies sinners rejects his duty of blessing of them that curse, and praying for them that despitefully use us; and how can he that hath rejected this, fear God? He that envieth sinners, therefore, cannot be of a good spirit, nor can the fear of God grow in his heart.

Tenth. Lastly, Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then take heed of HARDENING THY HEART at any time against convictions to particular duties, as to prayer, alms, self-denial, or the like. Take heed also of hardening thy heart, when thou art under any judgment of God, as sickness, losses, crosses, or the like. I bid you before to beware of a hard heart, but now I bid you beware of hardening your soft ones. For to harden the heart is to make it worse than it is; harder, more desperate, and bold against God, than at the present it is. Now, I say, if thou wouldest grow in this grace of fear, take heed of hardening thy heart, and especially of hardening of it against convictions to good; for those convictions are sent of God like seasonable showers of rain, to keep the tillage of thy heart in good order, that the grace of fear may grow therein; but this stifling of convictions makes the heart as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. Therefore happy is he that receiveth conviction, for so he doth keep in the fear of God, and that fear thereby nourished in his soul; but cursed is he that doth otherwise—"Happy is the man that feareth alway; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief" (Prov 28:14).

Philippians 2:6-11

Our hearts must take into account the mindset/attitude of Christ in order that we might correctly live out his humility. There are three principles to consider from Phil. 2:6-11.

First, verses 6-7. "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."

1. Christ-likeness embraces God-given roles. (vs. 6-7)

(Who though he was in the form of God,) In the greater biblical narrative we are informed that God is Triune and that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who participate in definite roles and relationships. Specifically, the Father stands in a position of authority and the Son stands in submission. It is this relational structure in which infinite love and joy has flourished from eternity past. And although Christ maintained infinite glory with his father he…

(…did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped) Hence, before the foundations of the world the Father, the Missio Dei, summons the Son and lovingly sends him (according to Ps. 2 and Eph 1) to purchase up a people from their sin. But this required Christ to give up his glory with the Father …
(…and made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men) Christ seeks a lowly mission to the point of robing himself in human flesh; being born to a young and inexperienced couple. He made himself completely vulnerable. He entered time and space and embraced all the limitations of man without giving up an ounce of his divinity.

Does this not astound you? That Christ, in his glory, would come… demonstrating complete submission to the Father in embracing his role. And consider this, God has created us in his image with relationship structures that stand to glorify the authority/submission structure in God. Consider marriage: God has given you a role. Consider the church: God has given you a role. Consider employment: God has given you a role.

Are you thwarting your God-given role due to a selfish sense of elitism or partiality? Do you sulk because you think you deserve a better job? Or Do you use your authority to demean your wife; perhaps it’s just by the nuance of your tone? Or have you embraced your God-given role recognizing that…As Bruce Ware mentions, that whether our role is one of authority or submission, it is just as God-like to correctly embrace a role of biblical authority as God-like it is to embrace a role of biblical submission…

Second, What does Christ-likeness look like? First it embraces its God-given role and second...

2. Christ-likeness embraces difficult tasks with simple obedience/faith. (vs. 8-11)"And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Does this not beg the question, “Who was Christ obedient to?” Well obviously with a Trinitarian perspective we understand that to be the Father. Never do we see Christ losing focus of his purpose. Christ spent numerous nights in prayer seeking the will of his Father. In John 4, when Christ is speaking to the woman at the well his disciples had gone into the city to get food, and when they returned exhorting Christ to eat but he says “My meat/satisfaction/nourishment is to do the will of the Father.”. Simple obedience!

Furthermore in John 8 Christ mentions that he always does the will of the Father but then in the next couple verses speaks of liberty/freedom which is to say that Christ experienced perfect liberty in being enslaved to the purposes of his Father, …the purposes that would soon lead to suffering, to death and to a relational abandonment… as Christ cried out “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. Why can Christ be so sure of liberty being found in obedience to his Father? Because as verse 9 says, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," Christ knew his Father’s love and trusted that his Father was seeking his good.

It is often times hard to obey and trust God when he gives you difficult tasks and circumstances. It is within those circumstances that we feel the urge to give up or take the reins of our life in our own hands doubting that God has good intentions.

But God really does have good thoughts toward you. It is why Paul encourages the Philippians to embrace their union with Christ by suffering for his sake (1:29). That is why he encourages them with the promise, “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (1:6) And is it why he establishes his testimony in chapter 3 by saying that he counts all things as dung for the sake of Christ and to share in Christ sufferings, becoming like Christ in his death, that by any means possible he might attain the resurrection. Paul’s concern is for sanctification to be taking place while holding firm to the hope of a future day of glorification.

Growing in sanctification, on the outset, in not a safe place to be. But knowing that God, through our union with Christ, loves and cares for me, and is seeking my good – there is no other place I would want to be.

So what does Christ-likeness look like? I.) it embraces its God-given roles 2.) it embraces difficult tasks with simple obedience and third…

3. Christ-likeness embraces greatness by deflecting the glory to God. (vs.11b) to the glory of God the Father.

The relationship of the Father and Son demonstrate the most wonderful acts of love. God the Father graciously gives the Son center stage in redemptive history and exalts the Son in his mission so that reverence, adoration, worship, respect, and honor is given to the Son but the Son turns around and loving points it all glory back to the Father. Just as 1 Cor. 15:28 says “When all things are subjected to him (the Son), then the Son will also subject himself to him(the father) who put all thing in subjection under him(the Son), that God (the Father)may be all in all.”

Greatness is not ours! As John Calvin mentioned, “our hearts are idol factories”. It is often times when God exalts us in our simple obedience that we become a repository of that exaltation for the sake self-worship rather than deferring that success or praise as a worshipful gift to God - the one who alone is worthy of it.

Fight Club:Lesson 6 - Sober, Gentle, Peacemaking

The next three character qualities that Paul mentions have been strung together most likely because they tend to complement one another. Sobriety refers to an individual who is not controlled by an addiction to substances. Specifically, Paul is writing about the use of alcohol. Ryken mentions, “An alcoholic cannot serve as an overseer because he is incapable of the kind of sober judgment that good spiritual leadership requires.”[1] The overseer must be a man of discernment; therefore he must be free from addictions in all areas of life.

Discuss: Define addiction. What areas of my life tend toward addiction? What are possible addictions besides pornography and substance abuse?

The Greek philosophers at times referred to a drunkard as a brawler.[2] Drunkenness carried with it the idea of violence or rage. The overseer must not be impatient or easily agitated by the people he is responsible to care for. In 2 Timothy 2:24, Paul exhorts Timothy to be gentle in correcting the false beliefs of those at the church of Ephesus. Therefore, gentleness does not condone passivity. Rather it is a life being lived out with Christ-like meekness (power/authority under control).

Discuss: What areas of my life do I tend to be passive in? What areas of my life do I lack patience and gentleness?

Finally, an overseer must not be quarrelsome, divisive, or argumentative. Consequently, it is necessary for the overseer to be selective on what battles are worthy to engage (1 Tim. 4:6-10; 2 Tim. 3:14-26). As the overseer engages in battles he must exemplify sobriety and gentleness, yet unwavering commitment to the Word of God.

Discuss: What theological issues am I most concerned about? What is my attitude when the terms fundamentalism, evangelicalism or reformed theology are mentioned?

Answer the following questions:

1. How do you measure appropriate sobriety?

2. Do you partake of alcohol and if so is it with appropriate sobriety?

3. What are some cardinal issues of the faith and what are some contemporary “foolish and stupid arguments”?

4. In regards to church-life and theological issues, at what times do you tend to be impatient or lack gentleness?

5. In regards to family life, at what times do you tend to be impatient or lack gentleness?

6. In what ways do/can you seek to be a peacemaker?

Read: Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices, 25-49
[1] Ryken, Phillip. 1 Timothy. (Phillipsburg, NJ: PandR Publishing, 2007) 112.

[2] Paraphrased from Ryken, Phillip. 1 Timothy. (Phillipsburg, NJ: PandR Publishing, 2007) 112.

What do ya think?

God Saves Sinners - Dr. J. I. Packer
“The very act of setting out Calvinistic soteriology [the doctrine of salvation] in the form of five distinct points (a number due, as we saw, merely to the fact that there were five Arminian points for the Synod of Dort to answer) tends to obscure the organic character of Calvinistic thought on this subject. For the five points, though separately stated, are inseparable. They hang together; you cannot reject one without rejecting them all, at least in the sense in which the Synod meant them. For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that God saves sinners."

“God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing. "

“Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies."

“Sinners – men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, unable to lift a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot. "

"God saves sinners – and the force of this confession may not be weakened by disrupting the unity of the work of the Trinity, or by dividing the achievement of salvation between God and man and making the decisive part man’s own, or by soft-pedalling the sinner’s inability so as to allow him to share the praise of his salvation with his Saviour. This is the one point of Calvinistic soteriology which the “five points” are concerned to establish and Arminianism in all its forms to deny: namely, that sinners do not save themselves in any sense at all, but that salvation, first and last, whole and entire, past, present and future, is of the Lord, to whom be glory for ever; amen.”

J.I. Packer, “Introductory Essay,” in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by John Owen (London: Banner of Truth, 1959) 4-5.

Preach What's True and Precious

October 21, 2008 By: John Piper

A word to preachers. Truth and falsehood is a good pair of categories to use when deciding what to preach. Speak truth not falsehood.

But there is another crucial pair of categories. God tells Jeremiah that he must use this pair if he would be faithful:

Therefore thus says the Lord: “...If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. (Jeremiah 15:19)

In deciding what to preach make these two judgments: Is it true and is it precious? Preach what is both. If it is true, preach it with authority. If it is precious, preach it with passion.

One great reason why some preaching leaves people unmoved is that preachers seem unmoved. Is this precious or isn’t it? That is the question in the hearts of the people. If it is, why don’t you sound like it?

The great battle of preaching is to see what's true and to savor what's precious. Weak seeing and weak savoring are a curse to God’s people.

Brothers, plead for deliverance from this curse. The ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. They are more precious than gold and sweeter than honey (Psalms 19:9-10).

Morning Devo's: John 12:36-43

John understood Isaiah's words of Christ's ministry. Some would believe, while others, although seeing many signs, would not believe. For it was God who blinded their eyes and
hardened their hearts. The fact is (as John goes on to articulate) that the Jews loved the glory of man rather than God. Obviously Christ was not a glorious man
according to societal standards. He was weak, with no place
to lay his head, no legalistic credentials, just a carpenter's son from Nazareth... yet he was the Son of God!
John 12:43 "For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God." Is. 2:22 "Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath for life, of what account is he?", Jer. 9:23,24 "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories, glory in this that he knows and understands me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteouness in the earth. For in these things I delight."
Man is never a repository of worth unto himself.
He is a conduit epuipped with features and faculties
to praise and glorify God.





Union with Christ:

Has the church forgot about a central doctrine: Union with Christ? Recently the emphasis within the popular reformed circles has been the Gospel and culture. We have listened to wonderful descriptions of the Gospel. We have heard the Gospel articulated as that which transcends and condemns legalism. Thus, in being impacted by the reality of the Gospel we think that the Gospel gives permission to participate in greater liberties found within culture. However, aren't we speaking of a reduced Gospel if it condemns legalism without articulating a Christlike walk. The Gospel must not be used as an excuse for the very sin Christ has saved us from. Union with Christ brings us to recognize our need to discover the Gospel afresh yet at the same time it provides a trajectory of discernment.

I like to understand union with Christ (in a practical way) as this. First, in John 8 Christ describes his complete fidelity to his Father in doing everything that is pleasing to his Father. Christ never - not one day- woke up thinking " hmmm... what do I feel like doing today?". Every morning Christ sought his Father's will. Union with Christ is a union that puts to death your agenda for the sake of embracing God's agenda. Second, in John 8, Christ mentions the fact that he alone sets people free. But the example Christ is setting is a life of bondage to his Father's will. Thus, Christ is literally saying that freedom come from bondage - bondage to the agenda of the one who you were created for. God wants you to find your greatest functionality in him. But be careful, God's loving will was demonstrated to the Son in sending him to the cross. Which will mean that God's loving will for you is to incurr Christ-like difficulty and suffering. To be brought into union with Christ is not a safe place to be but it is exactly were we find God's good thoughts and intentions for us in Christ. For Christ purchased up all the grace necessary to supplying strength, endurance and love amidst suffering.

Mark Driscoll: warns his church


5 Points of Rebuke: Your either selfish or a servant! But fundamentally your selfish!
1.) There is not a servant understanding in our church of sex and marriage which is an underlying Christian virtue for all of life that leads to selfishness which is ultimately the root of abuse as people are takers and not givers.
2.) There is a common misperception that everyone is an exception to the biblical rule according to our extenuating circumstances.
3.) There is no relationship for many between God, marriage, sex, and children as being related together.
4.) There is a strong pressure for us as church leaders to legitimize people's sinful lifestyles and when we refuse there is strong personal vengeance as they want us to both bless their sin and their sense of righteousness so as to appease their guilty conscience.
5.)People want to know what is acceptable and is not acceptable so as to get as close to sin as possible without a deep concern for the heart motives that drive their ethical decision making.

Getting Caught Up: Chapters 3-5


Chapter 3: The bottom line is that we are sinners from the inside out…literally. It begins with the sinful proclivities of our heart to suppress truth and it ends by manifesting itself in perverted thought and action.(Rom. 1:18-19) When it comes to porn, the fundamental purpose is lust. This happens by objectifying the person being viewed and thereby perverting the dignity in which God has created them and perverting your own God-given-dignity to participate in a holistic relationship that God intends for marriage. Therefore, Scripture gives several commands against such lust. 1. God’s men should not commit adultery (Ex.20:14) 2. God’s men should not covet their neighbor’s wife even if her clothes leave little to the imagination (Ex. 20:17). 3. God’s men should not participate with prostitutes who use their bodies as a commodity to be rented for a good time or a good photo (Prov. 23:26-27;1 Cor. 6:15-16) Fourth, God’s men should not be polygamous. Fifth, God’s men should not be fornicators (1 Cor. 6:9-13).
“The problem is ‘in you’. If is from the sinfulness of your heart that lust and sin proceed like sewage from a culvert. This is the painful, unvarnished truth.”…”Jesus is normal and the rest of us are abnormal sinners with indwelling sin. Our individual lives and the corresponding collective lives we call culture are simply the outward reflection of the inner condition of our hearts.”

Chapter 4: Marriage is that one relationship in which the standard of beauty is to be found. Men are to have eyes only for their wives and their wives are to be their standard of beauty. Yet Prov. 27:20 speaks of the sinful eyes of men that are never satisfied. Porn is the outcome of such sin. It inevitably creates a reduced view of beauty and relationship, and hence, it creates a dissatisfaction in which no single woman can satisfy. However, Prov. 5:18-19 encourages the husband to find complete satisfaction in one – his wife.
Furthermore, Prov 11:22, 31:30, Heb. 13:4 reminds us of the gross beauty of loose women, the grand beauty of a woman who fears God and a reminder of our accountability before God for how we give ourselves to others. Driscoll concludes chapter four noting the need of men to view other Christian women as sisters in Christ. Men who have problems with porn often cannot even correctly engage in a conversation with an attractive Christian women because they have programmed themselves to see women only through sexual lenses. “If God’s men did view women as sister, they would see the naked girls they lust after as beautiful sisters in need of dignity and grieve as if their little sister suddenly became a stripper.”

Chapter 5: I will leave this chapter for your own reading; it gets graphic. A couple things to consider, 1.) We must emphasize our accountability before God, as redeemed sinners still influenced by sin. 2.) Sex in marriage can, and often does, become an idol, and 3.) Your heart is ridiculously deceptive.

Fight Club: Lesson 5 - Able to Teach

Consider the following excerpt from D.A.Carson.

As someone who has taught seminary students or more than 15 years. I worry about the rising number of seminarians who, when asked where and how they think they might best serve, respond with something like this, “Well, I think I would like to teach somewhere. Every time I have taught, people have told me I have done a pretty good job. I get tremendous sense of fulfillment out of teaching the Bible. I think I could be satisfied teaching Scripture.”

How pathetic. I know pagans who find satisfaction and fulfillment by teaching nuclear physics. In any Christina view of life, self-fulfillment must never be permitted to become the controlling issue. The issue is service, the service of real people. The question is, “How can I be most useful?”, not “How can I feel most useful?”[1]

Here Carson makes so clear that it is not what I do that makes my work sacred but rather why I do it.[2] It is therefore necessary for the overseer to be able to teach yet with concern for his God and propagation of the His Good News into lives of those who are spiritually dead or hurting.

Discuss: What type of satisfaction do I find in standing before people and heralding the truth of God’s Word?

The ability to teach would involve a level of education and knowledge but also a life that conforms to the teaching and exemplifies the teaching. The ability to teach involves an awareness of the world, Satan and his devices, and the tendencies of the sinful heart. A teacher must be a physician of the soul who can remedy the heart with the truth of God’s Word.

Simply, teaching is the ability to communicate and apply the truth of Scripture with clarity, coherence, and fruitfulness. Those who have this ability to handle the Scripture with fidelity, and others are edified when they do so. This ability is not limited to public teaching…they (overseers) may have stronger gifts one-on-one or in small groups.[3]

Answer the following questions:

1. In what venues have you had the opportunities to teach?

2. How have you taken critique from you opportunities to teach?

3. What is your hearts reaction when you see others getting the opportunities to teach when you are not receiving the opportunities you would like?

4. What does it mean to be dedicated to exposition?

5. What does it mean to have pastoral sensibility in teaching?

6. If you were asked to teach on a variety of subjects, would you confident that your life already conforms to your teaching?
7. Are you teachable?

8. What are some academic areas you are theologically and doctrinally weak in?

Read: Dave Harvey, Am I Called? Discerning the Summons to Ministry. p.33-46

[1] D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1992) 82-83.

[2] Paraphrased from A.W. Tozer, God’s Little Instruction Book for Dad, (Colorado Springs, CO: Honor Books, 1994)19.

[3] Under Able to Teach, Anyabwile, Thabiti. "Pure Church." Blog Spot. December 14, 2007.

How to Develop A God-Centered Church When Most Attendees are New Believers

by Michael Mckinley
A common question that church planters face is "How can you develop a God-centered church when most of the people attending aren't mature believers?" Assuming that you're not trying to fill your seats only with believers who are already mature, you're going to face this question. How do you create a God-centered culture?
A week back, Mark Dever gave five suggestions to church planters in Baltimore:
1. Prayer-- Specifically, prayer in the public gatherings.-- Prayer makes it clear that God stands at the center of everything we do. Prayer acknowledges that God is in control and that all of the fruit we hope to see comes from God (I Corinthians 3).

2. Set an example of God-centeredness.-- Part of pastoring is modeling. Live a God-centered life and disciple other believers so that they can do the same.

3. Preach the Word of God.-- Because, after all, the Bible is a pretty God-centered book. People will probably catch onto that if you keep preaching the Bible to them.

4. Patience-- God's timing tends to be different then ours. But since He's God, let's go with His timing.

5. Confidence-- We've all read the end of the story. God wins. -- The Word of God is very powerful and effective. God uses it. You can trust it and trust Him.-- God loves the church more than you do. He's more jealous for the love and affection of your people than you are.

James 3: A Story

John Franke on the Mission of God:

God’s Missional Character
Read: John 20: “As the Father has sent me so send I you…”
1. Mission is the character of God.
- God is a missionary.
‣ As it is the character and nature of a mother to love and care for her children so it is the character of God to be a missionary.
‣ As it is the character of fire to burn so it is the character of God to be a missionary.
- Mission is not a project or program that God does because of something else; it is who God is.

2. Where does this come from? Why do we say that mission is who God is?
- The way Christians answer this is in their confession that God is Trinity.
- What does Trinity mean?
‣ That the God who encounters us in Jesus is the God who is Father, Son and Spirit –
the three in One.
- Why is this understanding of God so important and what does it mean for our
understanding of missional?
‣ As Christians we confess that from all eternity God is not a solitary ONE but a social
fellowship of love.
‣ From all eternity God has been involved in giving, receiving and sharing in a
fellowship of love as Father, Son and Spirit.
‣ This means it is God’s very nature to give, receive and share love – this continual
acting in love means that God is, from eternity, going out toward the other.
Therefore, our God is a missionary God.


3. The outworking of God’s love as Trinity is to create.
- Creation is the outworking of God’s giving, receiving and sharing of love. This is where
we say that God is, therefore, in His very nature, a missionary.
- We see this in the text we read at the beginning where Jesus makes it clear to his
disciples that he has been sent by the Father for the sake of the world (See John 20:21).

4. The church is the sign, instrument and witness of God’s mission in the world.
- This is seen in the second part of the text we have read where Jesus tells his disciples
that as the Father has sent him, so he sends them (John 20:21).
- The church’s nature and character is to be a sent or missional church.

Sending the Church
1. The church is the expression of God’s mission in the world
- The Father sends the son.
- The Son sends the Spirit.
- The Father, Son and Spirit – send the church for the world
2. The local church is, therefore, the local expression of God’s mission for the world.
- Each local church is called into life to be in its very nature God’s missionary people in
that place.
- This means that mission is not just a:
‣ Program
‣ Project
‣ Line item in the budget
‣ Something a few do on behalf of the rest somewhere else
‣ One among many different activities.
For the rest of his outline see http://www.allelon.org/pdf/johnfranke.pdf
He spoke this at a recent conference @ Biblical Seminary "Missional Christianity...the Church Beyond Boundaries"

Introduction to The Gospel Coalition

Here is a hearty video depicting the necessity of the Gospel as the center of church, relationship and life.

Mark Dever -- Three Things For Church Planters/Theologians


by Michael Mckinley
As promised, here are some notes from Mark Dever's first talk to church planters the other day.
Three Things Church Planters Need to Know


1. The Church is God's Idea-- Matthew 16:18, Jesus founded the church-- Faithfulness involves less creativity and more repetition. We don't want to say new things, we want to repeat the things that God has said.-- Christ bought the church with his blood (Acts 20:28), he identifies with his church (Acts 9).


2. The Church is to Reflect God's Character-- We are about something so much bigger than we think when we meet with church.-- God has always been interested in a corporate collection of people. For example, much of the fruit of the Spirit can't be exhibited in isolation. Things like kindness and love are tough to manifest in isolation.


3. The Church Displays Jesus' Character -- John 13:34-35, the church should make Jesus known in its conduct and character-- Biblical life change is the best advertisement for the church.
Ultimately, when we read the end of the Bible we can have confidence that the church wins!


Fight Club: Lesson 4 - Hospitable

In an individualistic society hospitality has often been looked at as an inconvenience. However, Paul instructs Timothy that it is essential to involve others in your life by showing them hospitality. Hospitality can be a tangible expression of love, care, evangelism and discipleship. Phillip Ryken notes, “Overseers are to have open homes as well as open hearts. Literally, they are to show “love for strangers”.[1] Thus, whether in the home or in the church the overseer much respond to strangers with warmth and care.

Discuss: How do I respond to visitors at my door and at church? What are some practical strategies to engage strangers for Christ whether in the home or at church?

Hospitality will inevitably put more strain on the home. It will put more responsibility on your wife and it could even put your children at risk. The home must be a haven from strangers who could potentially harm your children and wife but it must also be a place where evangelism or discipleship can be done even around the kitchen table. Ryken writes,

“One of the great evils of contemporary culture is the fragmentation of the family. As Christians, we need to find our primary identity as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. One of the best ways to establish these family ties is around the dinner table.” [2]

It is important to involve visitors in your “family time”. This allows them to be evangelized or disciple and encouraged as your family exemplifies a normal routine that is saturated with Gospel teaching.

On the other hand, the overseer must be careful to protect his family from predators who walk into the church with little concern for their soul and the people they encounter. Their concern is to take advantage of the innocent and consequently shake the faith of the church. The overseer must care for his people by protecting them from the wolves while at the same time caring for lost sheep. He must be a man of discernment.

Discuss: What are some basic things I could do to help my wife prepare for visitors? How might I protect them from wolves? What are some routine activities that my family should be doing even now?

Answer the following questions:

1. Do make it your aim to greet as many people as possible at church?

2. What have you done lately to meet the need of a fellow church member or a visitor?

3. Do you open up your home consistently in order to fellowship with people?

4. What are others means of hospitality that could be used to engage one another and the lost?

5. What are some contextualization problems that we could run into by fellowshipping with unbelievers?

6. Do you accept invitation to hospitality from others; even from the unbeliever?

Read: Dave Harvey, Am I Called? Discerning the Summons to Ministry. p.1-33


[1] Ryken, Phillip. 1 Timothy. (Phillipsburg, NJ: PandR Publishing, 2007) 114.

[2] Ryken, Phillip. 1 Timothy. (Phillipsburg, NJ: PandR Publishing, 2007) 115.

Re-imagining Success in Ministry: By Mark Dever

Abridged Excerpts from the Introduction to Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000). By Mark Dever

Author and theologian David Wells reported in his 1994 book God in the Wasteland that “[Seminary] students are dissatisfied with the current status of the church. They believe it has lost its vision, and they want more from it than it is giving them.” But dissatisfaction is not enough, as Wells himself agreed. We need something more. We need positively to recover what the church is to be. What is the church in her nature and essence? What is to distinguish and mark the church?

Christians have long talked of the “marks of the church.” The topic of the church did not become a center of widespread formal theological debate until the Reformation. Before the sixteenth century, the church was more assumed than discussed. It was thought of as the means of grace, a reality that existed as the presupposition of the rest of theology. With the advent of the radical criticisms of Martin Luther and others in the sixteenth century, however, discussion of the nature of the church itself became inevitable. As one scholar explains, “the Reformation made the gospel, not ecclesiastical organization, the test of the true church (Edmund Clowney, The Church [Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1995], 101).

In 1530 Melanchthon drew up the Augsburg Confession, which in Article VII stated that “this Church is the congregation of the saints in which the gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments are rightly administered. And for that true unity of the Church it is enough to have unity of belief concerning the teaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. In 1553 Thomas Cranmer produced the Forty-two Articles of the church of England in which he wrote that “The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached and the sacraments be duly administered.” John Calvin writes in his Institutes that “Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists.”

The Belgic Confession (1561), Article 29, said, “The marks by which the true Church is known are these: If the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein; if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin; in short, if all things are managed according to the pure Word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ acknowledged as the only Head of the Church.”
We can see in these two marks – gospel proclamation and observance of the sacraments – both the creation and the preservation of the church – the fountain of God’s truth and the lovely vessel to contain and display it. The church is generated by the right preaching of the Word; the church is contained and distinguished by the right administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Presumed in this latter mark is that church discipline is being practiced).
Certainly no church is perfect. But, thank God, many imperfect churches are healthy. Nevertheless, I fear that many more are not – even among those that would affirm the full deity of Christ and the full authority of Scripture. The nine marks, then, constitute a plan for recovering biblical preaching and church leadership at a time when too many congregations are languishing in a merely notional and nominal Christianity, with all the resulting pragmatism and pettiness. The purpose of too many churches has fallen from one of glorifying God simply to growing larger, assuming that that goal, however achieved, must glorify God.

In a society where Christianity is being widely and rapidly disowned, where evangelism is often considered inherently intolerant or even officially classified as a hate crime, we find our world changed. The culture to which we would conform in order to be relevant becomes so inextricably entwined with antagonism to the Gospel that to conform to it must mean a loss of the Gospel itself. In such a day, we must re-hear the Bible and re-imagine the concept of successful ministry not as necessarily immediately fruitful but as demonstrably faithful to God’s Word.
We need a new model for the church. Actually, the model we need is an old one. We need churches in which the key indicator of success is not evident results but persevering biblical faithfulness. This new (old) model of the church focuses on two basic needs in our churches: the preaching of the message and the leading of disciples. The first five “marks of a healthy church” (expositional preaching, biblical theology, a biblical understanding of the Gospel, a biblical understanding of conversion, and a biblical understanding of evangelism) all reflect the concern to preach rightly the Word of God. The last four marks (church membership, church discipline, a concern for discipleship and growth, and church leadership) address the problem of how to rightly administer the borders and markers of Christian identity, i.e., how to lead disciples.

The end and purpose of all this is the glory of God as we make Him known. Throughout history, God has desired to make Himself known (e.g., Ex 7:5; Deut 4:34-35; Ps 22:21-22; Isa 49:22-23; Ezek 20:34-38; John 17:26). He has created the world and has done all that He has done for His own praise. And it is right and good that He should do so. Mark Ross has put it this way:
“We are one of God’s chief pieces of evidence…. Paul’s great concern [in Eph 4:1-16] for the church is that the church manifest and display the glory of God, thus vindicating God’s character against all the slander of demonic realms, the slander that God is not worth living for…. God has entrusted to His church the glory of His own name.”

All who read these words – those who are church leaders and those who are not – are made in the image of God. We are to be walking pictures of the moral nature and righteous character of God, reflecting it around the universe for all to see – especially in our union with God through Christ. This, therefore, is what God calls us to and why He calls us to it. He calls us to join together with Him, and together in our congregations, not for our glory but for His own.

Some Sources to Check Out in Regard to the Debate.



And God be praised for men who remain steadfast upon His self-revelation.

One of my favorite articles in lieu of the debate on the Trinity.


Bruce Ware speaks on the issue of the roles and relationships of the Trinity. This is definitely worth listening to.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByConference/9/

Bruce Ware's book! A must have! It's geared for laymen.

Trinitarian Debate: Ware, Grudem vs. McCall, Yandell













Tonight Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware square off against Tom McCall and Keith Yandell to debate the question, "Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?"
The Henry Center will be doing a live webcast of the event.

Chapter 2: The Fear of the Lord

Prov. 1:7 Wisdom is living your life in congruence with the will of God by walking in grace with him. Wisdom begins with fearing God. God is to be considered most heavily! Unless God stands heavily in the center of one's life, he is an undisciplined fool. God in his perfect holiness and infinite power must be revered. God has fierce indignation against those who involve themselves in sexual immorality. He has caused death to many and pain to others.(1 Cor. 10:8)

That which opposes God is worldliness which is exemplified by the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions.(1 Jn. 2:15-17) Furthermore, those who seek to keep on sinning are not Christians. (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Jn. 3:9) Obviously, no Christian is perfect, yet he does not seek to make a practice of sinning. In fact, the Christian puts sin to death thanks to the empowering dynamic of the Holy Spirit.(1 Cor.5:9-11)

"The cold hard truth is that most guys' struggles are only known by their fellow Christian buddies and unless Christian dudes man up and stop arguing about stupid secondary theological issues and spend their energies holding one another accountable to get dominion over their underwear, then Christian friendship is nothing more than Christian fakery."

What to Say to the Depressed, Doubting, Skeptical, Confused, Angry

By John Piper October 7, 2008

If you care about people and risk talking to the depressed, the doubting, the skeptical, the confused, and the angry, you will soon run into a person who says to your counsel: I’ve tried that. Whatever you say, they will minimize it and say it doesn’t work. Do not be surprised at this response. This is what it means to be depressed, doubting, skeptical, confused, angry. It means that whatever they hear sounds useless.
So I want to offer some suggestions for what you say in a conversation that is about to be cut off like that.

1. Don't be offended.
First, resist the temptation to be offended. Don’t pout or take your ball and go home. That’s what you may feel like. They wanted to talk, and here they are throwing my suggestions back in my face with a dismissive attitude. Don’t leave. Not yet. “Love suffers long” (1 Corinthians 13:4, NKJV).
2. Listen.
Second, listen to their responses. Part of your power is not only what you say, but how they feel about the way you listen. If your truth produces empathetic ears, it will feel more compelling. This listening will be a witness. In 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Paul describes the kind of engagement that may set people free from sin and error. One feature is “patiently enduring evil.”
3. End with hope.
Third, when you have spoken all the experiential counsel you can think of, and they seem to have demeaned it all, don’t let them have the last word of despair. You leave the last word of hope. I suggest that you do it something like this. Say . . .

I know that you don’t feel very helped by what I have said. I think I understand some of what that’s like. I don’t mean to be offering a quick fix, as though your problems or doubts can be turned around that easily. But I have more hope than you do that God’s truth is powerful and will have its good effect in due time. May I share one more thing before you go?
I simply want to make sure you hear the best news in the world. Jesus said he spoke so that we would have peace (John 16:33). And Paul said that faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). You don’t feel this right now. But God says peace and faith come from hearing.
In other words, moving from not seeing and feeling the reality of Christ to seeing and feeling the reality of Christ happens through hearing news about Christ. Something happens. At one moment, you are not seeing him as beautiful and satisfying and compelling. Then in the next moment, you are. In the moments leading up to this experience, listening to God’s word seems empty and futile. That doesn’t put me off. If you doubt what I am saying, you are the very person who needs to hear what I am saying. So let me tell you this spectacular news. This comes from Colossians 2:13-15.
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Paul is talking about what God offers to everyone and what those who believe in Jesus experience. There are five mind-blowing things here:
1) God makes you spiritually alive.
2) God forgives all your sins.
3) He does this because he canceled the record of debts that stood against you. You owed God what you could never pay because of all your sins. And he cancelled the debt.
4) How could he do that? He set it aside by nailing it to the cross. But the nails that went into the cross didn’t go through parchment. They went through Jesus’ hands and feet. That’s the heart of everything I have to say to you. Christ became our substitute and bore our debt.
5) When that happened, the devil was disarmed. Why? Because the weapon of accusation was taken out of his hand. He always waved that record of debt in our face and God’s court. But now that’s canceled. The devil is disarmed. He can huff and puff, but he cannot damn you.

I leave you with this news. I will pray that the obstacles to peace-filled faith in your mind will be overcome by these truths. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Meditate on these verses. May the Lord give you light.
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