'NATAGPUAN KA NA BA NI HESUS' -- The tract given to the attenders of the Joint-Bible-Study held last Dec.13

‘Sa ating panahon ngayon, mas maraming naniniwala na si Hesus ang naliligaw… kaysa tayong mga makasalanan.’

ISANG MENSAHE PARA SA MGA TAGA-CUBAO:

Si Ermin Garcia, na kilala nating isang kalye dito sa Cubao, ay isang manunulat noong dekada ’60 na pinaslang sa kanyang opisina sa Dagupan ng dalawang armadong lalaki. Siya’y binalaan ng huwag magsulat patungkol sa isang korapsyon na kaugnay sa isang pulitiko, bago pa tumama ang tatlong bala sa kanyang katawan. Sa isang gawain upang parangalan ang kanyang pagkamatay, binasa ang kanyang mensahe: ‘Maikli ang buhay. Huwag sayangin sa isang makasariling kababawan.’ (‘Life is short. Don’t waste it in selfish mediocrity.’)

Ito rin, kaibigan, ang mensahe sa atin ngayon lalo na kung ang isyu ay patungkol sa maka-Diyos na bagay. Maaring ikaw ay hindi naniniwalang walang Diyos, tulad ng pagkakamali ng iba. Maaring hindi ka naniniwala na ang kasaysayan ni Hesus ay isang alamat lamang, tulad ng ibang mga nagpaparatang sa Kanya. Sa madaling-salita, ikaw ang taong naniniwalang may Diyos, naniniwalang si Hesus ay totoong ipinanganak sa isang sabsaban, ngunit may usapin kang hindi pa rin maipagkasundo sa iyong isip.

Kung hinahanap mo ang akin ring hinahanap, at sinasaliksik mo ang akin ring sinasaliksik, at ‘di mo alam kung saan ka pupunta at lalapit, magkasundo tayo sa isang realidad: kailangan natin ng isang gabay na mapag-kakatiwalaan.

Mayaman sa kasaysayan ang ating sinilangang bayan. Dumating sa atin ang iba’t-ibang bansa at relihiyon, kasabay ang pagpasok ng modernong buhay sa isang makabagong panahon. Ngunit sa kabila nito, dapat nating malaman na mayroon pa ring aklat na laging bago sa kanyang mensaheng hatid sa bawat isa. Ito ay ang Biblia – ang salita ng Diyos na walang pagkakamali. Mula rito ay nagkaroon ng tunay na Cristiyanismo at tunay na gabay sa paksa natin. Kung pareho tayong magpapakababa, narito ang sagot sa pinaka-importante nating tanong at solusyon sa pinakamalaki nating problema:

Paano tayo mapapatawad ng Diyos sa ating kasalanan gayong Siya ay isang Hukom na matuwid at may mataas na pamantayan sa tao?

‘Problema ba yan,’ sabi ng iba. ‘Hindi yan ang isyu sa akin.’ Isipin mo ito sandali. Kung mayroong isang babae na may 10 pilak at lalaking may 100 tupa at ama na may 2 anak at isa sa mga iyon ay nawala, anong gagawin nila? Kung may 3 kang anak at dalawang araw ng hindi pa umuuwi sa bahay ang isa, maghahanap ka ba? Parang ganyan ang problema natin sa harapan ng Diyos. Tayo ay naliligaw. Sa halimbawa ng Biblia sa paksang ito, ipinakita na ang isang pilak, ang isang tupa at ang isang nawawalang anak ay importante, na siyang naglalarawan ng tunay nating kalagayan. Kaya’t bilang salamin ng ating pagkaligaw, hindi anghel o taong nilalang ang kailangan natin. Kundi si Hesus. Tayo’y nagkanya-kanya ng daan sa ating paglayo sa Diyos (Isaias 53:6). Ito ang ‘kasalanan’: isang kondisyon, isang kalagayan, o puede rin nating sabihin, isang situasyon. Naliligaw at tumalikod.

Bakit pa nga ba sinabi ni Hesus na ‘sapagkat ang Anak ng Tao ay dumating upang hanapin at iligtas ang nawala’ (Lukas 19:10), kung wala namang makitang problema sa atin? At bakit pa sinabi ni Hesus, ‘gayundin, sinasabi ko sa inyo, may kagalakan sa harapan ng mga anghel ng Diyos dahil sa isang makasalanang nagsisisi’ (Lukas 15:10), kung mabuti naman ang ating espiritual na kalagayan? Hindi natin nakikita na malayo tayo sa Panginoon sa simpleng kadahilanan na tayo ay makasalanan. Mabuti ang pagkalikha sa atin ngunit dahil sa kasalanan, tayo ay naligaw. Hindi na natin namamalayang may kapahamakang naghihintay.

Kaya’t ang sagot ay si Hesus, kaibigan. Si Hesus lamang! Ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa pamamagitan Niya ang dahilan ng pagpapatawad sa mga hindi karapat-dapat, sa mga makasalanan. Hindi para sa mga matutuwid na, hindi para sa mga walang kailangan ng Kanyang buong tulong! Nakakatakot, kung nakasandal ka sa iyong mga mabubuting gawa para mapatawad ng Diyos! Nakakatakot, kung nilabag mo ang Kanyang Sampung Utos at inaakala mong ayos lang ang buhay, tuloy-tuloy hanggang langit! Sa pananampalataya lamang sa alok ni Hesus, mapapanumbalik ka sa Diyos ng may pagsisisi. Ano ang manampalataya? Ito ay ang pagbibigay ng buong pagtitiwala kay Hesus at sa Kanyang ginawang sakripisyo sa Krus.

‘Hindi lamang basta naawa sa atin ang Diyos mula sa langit. Bagkus, bumaba siya sa mundo, naging tao, namatay, at nabuhay muli. Ngunit ang tanong, kaibigan, kailangan mo ba Siya?’

Sabi ng marami, ‘hindi ba’t maraming daan patungo sa Diyos?’ Alalahanin mong Siya lang, ‘sapagkat ang Anak ng Tao ay dumating upang hanapin at iligtas ang nawala’ (Lukas 19:10). ‘Hindi ba’t sapat na ang isa o ilang Cristiyanong seremonya para mahugasan sa aking kasalanan?’ Hindi kaibigan, sapagkat ‘sinasabi ko sa inyo, may kagalakan sa harapan ng mga anghel ng Diyos dahil sa isang makasalanang nagsisisi’ (Lukas 15:10). ‘Ngunit hindi ako kasing-sama ng iba!’, pero bakit ‘noon, ang mga maniningil ng buwis at mga makasalanan ay lumalapit sa kanya (Hesus) upang makinig’ (Lukas 15:1). ‘Ngunit mas ginaganap ko naman ang aking mga tungkulin sa simbahan kaysa sa iba’ pero nagsalaysay rin si Hesus ‘sa ilan na nagtitiwala sa kanilang sarili, na sila’y matuwid at hinahamak ang iba’ (Lukas 18:9).

Lahat tayo ay naliligaw sa ating mga pagmamatuwid. Tayong lahat ay nawawala dahil sa ating mga kalikuan. Kaya bumalik tayo sa tunay na ugat ng Cristiyanismo – si HesusCristo. Ang paggawa ng mabuti, ang pag-iwas sa masama ay bunga ng isang tunay na pananampalataya kay Hesus. Tulad ng Kanyang sinabi, magiging tulad tayo ng isang ‘mabuting lupa na pagkatapos marinig ang salita, ay iningatan ito sa isang tapat at mabuting puso at nagbubunga na may pagtitiyaga’ (Lukas 8:15).

Naliligaw ka rin ba?

Tandaan na wala tayong kontribusyon upang mapawalang-sala. Wala tayong maidadagdag sa kabayaran ng ating mga utang. Maraming mabubuting tao sa mundo at hindi yan ikinakaila. Ngunit sila man ay hindi papasa sa pamantayan ng Diyos sapagkat napakataas nito. ‘Ni hindi tayo parte ng solusyon, kabilang tayo sa problema.

‘Hindi hinahanap ni Hesus ang mga naghahanap sa Kanya, kung paanong hindi Niya tinutulungan ang makasalanang nakikipag-tulungan sa Kanya! Sapagkat, ‘Wala ni isang humahanap sa Diyos,’ wala ni isa (Roma 4:11).

Biyaya ang mapatawad, kaibigan. Hindi sa ating kaparaanan o kasipagan bagkus ang matagpuan ni Hesus ay isang gawa ng Diyos. ’Nagsasaliksik ka ba? May pag-asa pa ba? Sabi ng marami, ‘Marami akong oras para diyan.’ Tama sila. Maraming nakalaang oras para isang taong naliligaw, ngunit hindi sapat para matagpuan at makilala si Hesus. ‘Maikli ang buhay. Huwag sayangin sa isang makasariling kababawan.’ Kailangan natin ng isang mensahe na magsasabi sa atin ‘wala ng akong oras’, ngunit salamat sa Diyos ‘ang Anak ng Tao ay dumating upang hanapin at iligtas ang nawala’ (Lukas 19:10).

CUBAO

REFORMED

BAPTIST

CHURCH

CUBAO REFORMED BAPTIST CHURCH

21, 23 Harvard St.,

Cubao, Quezon City,

438-4681; 911-0626

Sunday School – 9:00-10:00

Morning Service – 10:30-12:00

Afternoon Service – 4:00-5:30

Prayer Meeting – 6:30-8:00

Website: www.cubaorbc.org

Words that we can't & should not forget... (1)

"What was the propitiatory sacrifice? It was neither an animal, nor a vegetable, nor a mineral. It was not a thing at all, but a person. And the person God offered was not somebody else, whether a human person or an angel or even his Son considered as somebody distinct from or external to himself. No, he offered himself. In giving his Son, he was giving himself."

-- John Stott, The Cross of Christ, p.174

Job’s Redeemer is My Redeemer -- the message given at a worship service on CRBC

Job 19:25 – “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.”

James 5:10-11 – “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Read 1:1-2. He is blessed not only materially but also of knowing the Lord. Job is a man who has been faithful in ordering his life according to the book of Proverbs, v.8, ‘a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil’. But in one-day, Job’s property & children have been taken away from him, v.13-19. This is to test if Job only fear God because of his possessions and blessings, v.9-10. But why?

You have heard of the perseverance of Job

Job did no sin. Not that he’s perfect, but that he has been a faithful servant worthy of Satan’s consideration. Listen to what he did after the things that he cherished have been taken away, 1:20-22. The issue for Job is why? Why am I being punished unjustly before a just God?

While Job is suffering, his friend, Bildad, counts him among the ‘unrighteous’ and the ‘wicked’; that he ‘have sinned’, that he ‘forget God’; that ‘God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers.’ That Job’s suffering lies in a particular sin. (chapt..8, 18).

But for Job, this suffering is a learning experience from the Lord.

1. I know that my Redeemer lives

The redeemer is a kinsman, the closest relative in a household. He is to redeem the blood of the murdered victim (for justice); to redeem from bondage (Abram/Lot); to buy back family possessions & to take a kinsman’s widow (Boaz).

For Job it is the Lord who shall be his Redeemer. His kinsman-Redeemer! Wait a minute. Is he saying that the Lord is one of his relative? Not yet. But that the Lord shall answer for his debts, his slavery, his suffering and misery.

No more is this kinsman-picture of God perfectly presented than when the Son of God became man. In spite of the ugly side of Christian suffering, the gospel shines. For consider the suffering of Jesus: Psalm 22 says that ‘you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel’ in the context of ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?’ And ‘he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… like a lamb that is lead to the slaughter… although there was no deceit in his mouth’ (Isaiah 53:4,7,9). ‘He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God (Heb.2:14-18). ‘I am the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore (Rev.1:18).’ There is a gospel according to Job!

2. I know that my Redeemer stands

Job is illustrating a courtroom set-up. For God to stand is for Him to rise up in righteous judgment after many witnesses have lined up against the accused. And Job maybe inferring to Bildad in chapter eighteen. But the Redeemer shall be His vindicator in clearing his name before men, and expecting to see God in this life and in the resurrection. Bildad was wrong to say that Job was totally at fault and needed to repent before he could be restored.’

Forte is Italian which refers to loud volume in music (also fortissimo), while fort is used in military building for defense in warfare. Both came from the Latin word fortis that means strong. However strong our present life is, we should never think that we are invincible. Did Job ever expect Satan would take his property and children? And when Bildad accused him of wickedness, to whom did he get fortress? He only appeal to his Redeemer who shall clear him ‘on the earth.’ He didn’t doubt that the Lord is righteous and merciful, what he struggled with is: why a just God punishing me unjustly.

3. I know my Redeemer He is

Sixty years ago, after the victory of the Allied powers in the Battle of Berlin, the Soviet army occupied Eastern Germany with fierce vengeance & payback. They have raped & ravaged women of every age & status, that no more than two million victims had undergone abortion. One of those who suffer published a diary, but in fear that it might bring dishonor to her own nation, went to print her book as nameless or as anonymous. Only in 2003 was her name disclosed: Marta Hillers, who died in 2001 at the age of 90.

In comparison to Job, he requested that his suffering be written with the person who suffers. (Job 19:23-24). Because he has a holy, intimate attachment to his Lord, he could to us ‘I know that he is my Redeemer. I really don’t understand much, but one thing I know – that I am his and He is mine. It doesn’t matter much to me if my skin is destroyed. For I shall see my God.’ Job is exalting the grandeur of the Redeemer!

Suffering is a reality. It will bring a person to feel isolated & cut-off from the normal way of life. But under this difficult testing of faith, you are not alone; that behind trials, you are not alone; that before hard-times, you are not alone. That in whatever afflictions you go through, day-in & day-out, you have someone with you, someone answering. Who is that someone? It is the Lord. The Lord is your Redeemer. You have a Redeemer. Now, there are many who may fill the emptiness of your condition. The world has many things to say about suffering. Our friends and families have been with us from the start. But they will surely fail us someday. Just as Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu failed Job, those around us may not lessen the pain. Job confessed that though the mournful days of his misery were far from over, the Lord will not fail him. God’s loving affection will not back-out.

So is the world in a wrong direction?

It is learning experience that the world in which we live – filled with misery & poverty, crime & cancer, homelessness & broken-homes – is in the sovereign hand of the Lord (Ps.25:4). Yet it is important that we know Him; that we have this conviction that the Lord is on our side. While many people have faith in faith, we are taught in the Scriptures to know the Lord. We have ‘redemption that is in Christ Jesus’ and ‘His Spirit helps us in our infirmities.’ While we must distinguish between faith & assurance, let us continue resting in His promises. So, the cry of faith, the groans of faith, the confidence of faith is that Oh, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful! My Redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth!

If Preaching is theology on fire, & Missions is theology on the move, Suffering is theology put to test.

The "dry" intellectualist and the "wet" sentimentalist - a myth

Prof.Michael Horton has this to say about the present sloth-stricken, dumb-down, anti-intellectualism of our age.

"Whenever people clamor for the practical and prefer to speak about the horizontal dimension--for instance, relationships and success--they are saying that they love God less than they love themselves. They are more interested in using God as a means to their own selfish ends than in glorifying God and enjoying him forever. And yet, there are others who so pride themselves on knowing all the correct doctrines that the doctrines become the object of their worship rather than the divine person these doctrines are meant to describe. Both settle for less and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. Some take doctrine, others take life, we are told. But that is quite impossible. Show me a person who is content with a merely intellectual religion and I will show you an unfulfilled and pitiful man or woman. Equally, if I should meet a person who is quite happy to be occupied only with happy, joyful, pleasant feelings or energetic and zealous activities, it is easy to predict that such a person will end up resenting those feelings and despising those activities in due time. Both the "dry" intellectualist and the "wet" sentimentalist are lazy; both fail to love God well. You see, even if God did heal everybody and make everybody rich, this kind of religion would still be wrong--not because people would be demanding too much, but because they would be settling for too little! God wants to open the heavens of his spiritual riches in Christ and give us our inheritance as his children. He wants to tell us who he is and how he saved us from his wrath, and there we are asking him if he's got any candy in his pockets!"

The Most Untameable Part of the Body... TONGUE!

Ptr. Sinclair Ferguson (First Presbyterian Church) had enumerated these following summary statements on the godly use of tongue in a recent conference at Bethlehem Baptist Church, and I have to say that it is very humbling to read such exhortations knowing that we fail on many points and rejoice that there is such an exact, Gospel-oriented solution to this grande problem of our petite tongue. Full messages could be read and heard and downloaded on DesiringGod website in audio and video for free. Read on.

"James 1:5 To ask God for wisdom to speak and with a single mind
James 1:9-10 To boast only in exaltation in Christ, & humiliation in world
James 1:13 To set a watch over my mouth
James 1:19 To be constantly quick to hear, slow to speak
James 2:1-4 To learn the gospel way of speaking to poor and the rich
James 2:12 To speak always in the consciousness of the final judgment
James 2:16 To never stand on anyone’s face with my words
James 3:14 To never claim as reality something I do not experience
James 4:1 To resist quarrelsome words in order to mortify a quarrelsome heart
James 4:11 To never speak evil of another
James 4:13 To never boast in what I will accomplish
James 4:15 To always speak as one subject to the providences of God
James 5:9 To never grumble, knowing that the Judge is at the door
James 5:12 To never allow anything but total integrity in my speech
James 5:13 To speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer
James 5:14 To sing praises to God whenever I am cheerful
James 5:14 To ask for the prayers of others when I am sick
James 5:15 To confess it freely whenever I have failed
James 5:15 To pray with and for one another when I am together with others
James 5:19 To speak words of restoration when I see another wander"

'No Condemnation Now I Dread'

The Sacrifice Has Been Accepted
"If the LORD were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these thing" (Judges 13:23).

This is a sort of promise deduced by logic. It is an inference fairly drawn from ascertained facts. It was not likely that the LORD had revealed to Manoah and his wife that a son would be born to them and yet had it in His heart to destroy them. The wife reasoned well, and we shall do well if we follow her line of argument. The Father has accepted the great sacrifice of Calvary and has declared Himself well pleased therewith; how can He now be pleased to kill us! Why a substitute if the sinner must still perish? The accepted sacrifice of Jesus puts an end to fear. The LORD has shown us our election, our adoption, our union to Christ, our marriage to the Well-beloved: how can He now destroy us? The promises are loaded with blessings, which necessitate our being preserved unto eternal life. It is not possible for the LORD to cast us away and yet fulfill His covenant. The past assures us, and the future reassures us. We shall not die but live, for we have seen Jesus, and in Him we have seen the Father by the illumination of the Holy Ghost. Because of this life-giving sight we must live forever.


Faith's Checkbook/Spurgeon

The Means of Grace are in 'our' hands...

The means of grace are in my hand
The blessing is at God’s command
Who must the work fulfill;
And though I read, and watch and pray,
Yet here the Lord directs my way
And worketh all things still.

I cannot speak a proper word,
Nor think aright, but from the Lord
Preparing heart and tongue;
In Nature I can see no good,
But all my good proceeds from God,
And does to grace belong.

I see it now, and do confess
My utter need of Jesus’ grace,
And of His Spirit’s light;
I beg his kind and daily care;
O Lord, my heart and tongue prepare
To think and speak aright.

Prepare my heart to love thee well,
And love Thy truth which doth excel,
And love thy children dear;
Instruct me how to live by faith,
And feel the virtue of Thy death,
And find Thy presence near.

Prepare my tongue to pray and praise,
To speak of providential ways,
And heavenly truth unfold;
To strengthen well a feeble soul,
Correct the Wanton, rouse the dull,
And silence sinners bold.

by John Berridge, 1716—1793

David prays for two things -- (A devotion in one of CRBC's Prayer Meetings

Psalm 19:14 -- 'May the words of my mouth & the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, & my Redeemer'

This Psalm teaches us wisdom in two divisions. On the one hand it helps us to see the non-verbal design of nature in telling the glory of God and on the other, the written words of the Bible in revealing the Lord's will to His people. The verse that may help us understand the unity of Ps.19 is found in v.6c, where it is said of the sun that 'there is nothing hidden from its heat.’ And in gazing & hearing these two great voices as they speak, David realizes and senses his own inadequacy before God. Because not only that there's no skin hidden from the sun's heat, there is also no heart that is not weighed by the word of God. Whether it is from hidden faults, presumptuous sins, or great transgression, the Psalmist sense his unworthiness, his failings; brethren, our hearts are layed open before the Lord's scrutiny. Moreover, He uses the word of God to convince us that we are not righteous enough and that we are not righteous thoroughly. That's why he prays for two things:

First, that the Lord may accept his sacrifice, ‘May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight.' The word 'accept' is closely connected in the daily sacrifices of the temple like the lambs, goats & turtledoves commanded in the book of Leviticus. While Hosea in chapter 14 and verse 2 links it to the acceptable, repentant hearts: '...we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips', David prays here that his whole person be accepted by God even though he is unworthy.

Secondly, that the Lord may help and deliver him. The phrase 'My Rock’ is often used with warfare and military defenses, take for example the first lines of Psalm 18: ‘I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.’ It means that God shall fight for us, and He will give us the strength & grace to continue fighting sin. As for ‘My Redeemer' it is that the Lord as Deliverer shall pay for the ransom price against David's enemies. From the background of Old Testament motif of God’s redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage, so it is now being appealed by David and Christians that they have the Lord as their Deliverer from sin & guilt.

A controversial, mighty sinner after all

“Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world...Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner” (A Letter From Luther to Melanchthon Letter no. 99, 1 August 1521)

Sin boldly!!?? Here are the best explanations:

'Luther was prone to strong hyperbole. It's his style, and this statement is a perfect example. Luther doesn't write analytical theology. He writes profound verbose sentiment driving one to think deeply. The first thing to recognize is that the sentence is a statement of comparison. Luther's point is not to go out and commit multiple amounts of gleeful sin everyday, but rather to believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly despite the sin in our lives. Christians have a real savior. No amount of sin is too much to be atoned for by a perfect savior whose righteousness is imputed to the sinner who reaches out in faith.' -- by James Swan, 2005

'The idea was that God's grace is so powerful, it finally defeats sin altogether. We do not become paralyzed by the fact that we are still vulnerable to sin, but instead rejoice in God's power to overcome sin. Luther's quote was a result of the joy and spiritual liberation that came to him via the grace of God. Having struggled with a profound sense of sinful unworthiness for years, Luther finally understood that we are saved by grace alone and nothing we can produce on our own. Luther's opponents said that his doctrine of salvation by grace alone apart from our own righteous deeds was a "license to sin.' -- Lectionary Readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, 2002

The Christian & the Olympics

Eric Liddell's words are worth remembering: “God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure.”

"Faith doesn’t make defeat any easier, but it gives the Christian athlete a different perspective." - Stuart Weir, Director of Verité Sport


Soli Deo Gloria!

A 386AD sermon for a 2008AD audience

An excerpt from John Chrysostom's Homily Concerning Lowliness of Mind delivered at Antioch in 386AD.

"...For things which often we have not strength to perform successfully from our own exertions, these we shall have power to accomplish easily through prayers which are persevering. For always and without intermission it is a duty to pray, both for him who is in affliction, and him who is in dangers, and him who is in prosperity—for him who is in relief and much prosperity, that these may remain unmoved and without vicissitude, and may never change; and for him who is in affliction and his many dangers, that he may see some favourable change brought about to him, and be transported into a calm of consolation. Art thou in a calm? Then beseech God that this calm may continue settled to thee. Hast thou seen a storm risen up against thee? Beseech God earnestly to cause the billow to pass, and to make a calm out of the storm. Hast thou been heard? Be heartily thankful for this; because thou hast been heard. Hast thou not been heard? Persevere,in order that thou mayest be heard. For even if God at any time delay the giving, it is not in hatred and aversion;but from the desire by the deferring of the giving perpetually to retain thee with himself; just in the way also that affectionate fathers do;for they also adroitly manage the perpetual and assiduous attendance of children who are rather indolent by the delay of the giving. There is to thee no need of mediators in audience with God; nor of that much canvassing; nor of the fawning upon others; but even if thou be destitute, even if bereft of advocacy, alone, by thyself, having called on God for help, thou wilt in any case succeed. He is not so wont to assent when entreated by others on our behalf, as by ourselves who are in need; even if we be laden with ten thousand evil deeds. For if in the case of men, even if we have come into countless collisions with them, when both at dawn and at mid-day and in the evening we show ourselves to those who are aggrieved against us, by the unbroken continuance and the persistent meeting and interview we easily demolish their enmity—far more in the case of God would this be effected."

The Truth that makes the Church sing

From the book, "Counted Righteous in Christ" by John Piper, pp.35-38

"... The imputed righteousness of Christ has been a great cause of joyful worship over the centuries and has informed many hymns and worship songs. The theme has cut across Calvinist-Arminian, Lutheran-Reformed, and Baptist-Presbyterian divides. As we look at some examples of hymns and worship songs, I admit that it is possible to put a different, newer meaning on some of these words, but they were not written with the newer meaning, and, as a people, we would be dishonest to treat them as if they carried the new meaning.

“AND CAN IT BE”
(CHARLES WESLEY)
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown through Christ my own.

“THE SOLID ROCK”
(EDWARD MOTE)
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
Dressed in his righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

“WE TRUST IN YOU, OUR SHIELD”
(EDITH CHERRY)
We trust in you, O Captain of salvation—
In your dear name, all other names above:
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
Our prince of glory and our king of love.

“O MYSTERY OF LOVE DIVINE”
(THOMAS GILL)
Our load of sin and misery
Didst thou, the Sinless, bear?
Thy spotless robe of purity
Do we the sinners wear?

“THY WORKS, NOT MINE, O CHRIST”
(ISAAC WATTS)
Thy righteousness, O Christ,
Alone can cover me:
No righteousness avails
Save that which is of thee.

“BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD”
(CHARITIE LEES SMITH BANCROFT)
Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am . . .

“I WILL GLORY IN MY REDEEMER”
(STEVE AND VIKKI COOK)
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death;
My only Savior before the holy Judge,
The Lamb Who is my righteousness.

“KNOWING YOU”
(GRAHAM KENDRICK)
Knowing you, Jesus,
Knowing you, there is no greater thing.
You’re my all, you’re the best,
You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord.

We may take John Wesley for an example to support our claim that these songs are built on the historic understanding of Christ’s imputed righteousness, rather than on more recent reinterpretations. Wesley himself was passionate about this doctrine, and probably more so than anywhere else in his sermon titled “The Lord Our Righteousness” (1765). He is defending himself against attacks that he did not believe this doctrine. Part of his defense is to refer to the hymns he has published. He translated Nicolaus L. Von Zinzendorf’s hymn “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness” and commented on it and the others he had published like this: “The whole hymn,” he says, “expresses the same sentiment, from the beginning to the end.” He goes on in this sermon to make clear what his hymns and essays mean: “To all believers the righteousness of Christ is imputed; to unbelievers it is not.” (emphasis mine)

From these few examples, we can see that the doctrine of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness has not been experienced as marginal or minor in the worship of Christ. It has been explosive with revival power, personal comfort, and deep, biblically-rooted joy in worship."

Q&A on Reformed Theology

I found this good interview on the basic inquiries on Reformed theology. Read on.

Reformed Theology and the Church: An Interview With Dr. Timothy George

Dr. Timothy George is a widely respected theologian and church historian. He serves as the Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Among Dr. George's many published works are Theology of the Reformers and John Calvin and the Church: A Prism of Reform. I conducted this interview in May 2000 and am happy to be able to make it available again.

Reformed Theology and the Church: An Interview With Dr. Timothy George (An excerpt)

May 4, 2000 Beeson Divinity School of Samford University Birmingham, Alabama

1. How would you define the term "reformed theology" to someone who attends church, but maybe does not possess a great deal of knowledge concerning church history or the nuances of Christian theology?

Well, there's nothing magical about the word "reformed," and I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about it. It's closely related to the Reformation, of course, and, in the Reformation, there was a recovery of the Holy Scriptures. There was a return to the theology of the early church and the Bible, particularly as related to God's grace and salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, on the basis of the Scriptures alone. Those were some of the distinctives of Luther and Calvin and Cramner - a whole array of Reformers in the 16th century. So when we talk about "reformed theology," we're really talking about Biblical theology - Biblical theology that has been refracted through or seen in the prism of the great debates of the 16th century, hence the word "reformed." There's nothing magical about that word and we don't mean to say anything other than sound Biblical teaching related to God and His grace and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. That's really what we mean by it.

Whose Charles is closer to the truth?

In the 19th century, the revivalist preacher Charles Finney wrote his infamous sermon entitled, 'Sinners bound to change their own hearts.' A hundred years later, Charles Spurgeon delivered a message (wittingly or unwittingly, i don't know) entitled, 'Sinners bound by the cords of sin'.

Our generation, although 'bound by the cords of sin', enjoys its complacent belief of its having the power to transform and untie its own sinful condition. Somewhere along the line, the cords is not that strong enough to bound us forever. Sin is just a habit they say or that the environment made us corrupt. But what Finney is telling us actually is the bad news and nowhere in our own nature could we gain the liberty that a child of God has. The good news is, that liberty is through 'the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'. The total amount paid for the ransom was 'the precious blood of Christ.' In Him only could we found the true freedom 'from the cords of sin.'


If you're curious about Finney's sermon: http://gospeltruth.net/1836SOIS/01sois_sinners_bound.htm
If you're anxious about the truth: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0915.htm

Things needed today, what do you think?

1) House-Fellowships

As I’ve been reading a biography of Jonathan Edwards, it led me to his book entitled ‘Narrative of Surprising Conversions’. I came across or maybe stumbled upon this sentences of which I had been meditating since our last quarterly church meeting; sentences that relate on matters of fellowships & acquaintances. Consider the following from Edwards and my notes at the end.

a) “In the fall of the year I proposed it to the young people, that they should agree among themselves to spend the evenings after lectures in social religion, and to that end divide themselves into several companies to meet in various parts of the town; which was accordingly done, and those meetings have been since continued, and the example imitated by elder people.”

b) “…All would eagerly lay hold of opportunities for their souls; and were wont very often to meet together in private houses, for religious purposes: and such meetings when appointed were greatly thronged.”

c) “…In former stirrings of this nature, the bulk of the young people have been greatly affected; but old men and little children have been so now. Many of the last have, of their own accord, formed themselves into religious societies, in different parts of the town.”

Three things are worth observing from these in relation to house-fellowships. First, Edwards called house-fellowships at his time social religion, private houses, or religious societies. Given the historical fact that Edwards was one of the staunchest practitioner of ‘the means of grace’ such as word & sacraments, prayer & discipline, he also saw to it that ‘a practical outworking’ of the means be met in various parts of the town. He proposed that gathering be at every age level, preferably at a house or any place conducive for such fellowships. Secondly, how to maximize spiritual inquiry, fellowships, etc, is to divide themselves into several companies. Since the number of people interested in religion have multiplied due to revivals, the need to meet for religious purposes had become fruitful and helpful. Its interesting also to note that this example of young people was imitated by elder people! And Edwards didn’t stay passive to wait for more revivals but encourage the flock to spend opportunity for their souls .

1 in a million.

There may have a million blogs in the world, and why add another one!

This blog recalls (and lingers) John Newton's line in his famous hymn, 'Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound', where in our own day, many have this kind of estrange-ness to grace, that if given the time to write their own perspective, they will say 'amazing grace, how strange the sound!' (for that will be the normal response by nice, loving people) never realizing the reality of a salvation to 'a wretched like me'. R.R. would like to contribute, maximize the internet, cooperate with the brethren, in spreading this grace that has been given by the Lord since Eden.

I would like to hear from you.. as you would read much from me, Lord willing. Good-reading & God bless.