'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 .