Been a While
I have had no time to post. However, I was reminded that I had a blog when someone mentioned I should start one. Here’s some food for thought:
How can we go into the world beckoning man out of their sin when we secretly love our own?
The Common Root of Unbelief in the Brothers of Jesus and the Jewish Crowds
David Platt on the Doctrine of Hell
by Jonathan Parnell | February 17, 2012
The doctrine of hell is important — and extremely unpopular.
In this episode of Theology Refresh, David Platt talks about the priority of God’s word as we approach this doctrine and faithfully serve the gospel in light of its reality.
Platt explains that hell is the manifestation that our sin against an infinitely holy God warrants infinitely eternal punishment. Moreover, when we minimize the reality of hell, we actually malign the mercy of God — because central to the fact of hell is that it is escapable. Jesus has endured the wrath of God on our behalf so that all who trust in him will be delivered from God’s wrath and brought into fellowship with him forever.
Stream or download the 13-minute audio.
Recommended resources on the doctrine of hell:
- Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, multiple authors.
- Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment, Robert Peterson
- Whatever Happened to Hell?, John Blanchard
- What Is Hell?, Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson
- Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we made up, Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle
WORSHIP IS KILLING ME
I was 23 years old, and already a few years into a fog of doubt and confusion that was slowly suffocating me. I was not unaware of my situation, but my diagnosis was way off the mark. To be sure, I knew that I had “lost my faith,” but I didn’t understand why.
THE…
Let’s Be Rich Toward God
Sex, Marriage & Fairytales
Jefferson Bethke, the writer and creator of Why I hate religion but love Jesus has come out with another video - Sex, Marriage & Fairytales - which addresses some of the most pervasive problems in the church and it comes just in time for the release of Mark Driscoll’s new #1 New York Times Best Seller, Real Marriage.
"You say it is heresy to speak of the Holy Scriptures in English. You call me a heretic because I have translated the Bible into the common tongue of the people. Do you know whom you blaspheme? Did not the Holy Ghost give the Word of God at first in the mother-tongue of the nations to whom it was addressed? Why do you speak against the Holy Ghost? You say that the Church of God is in danger from this book. How can that be? Is it not from the Bible only that we learn that God has set up such a society as a Church on the earth? Is it not the Bible that gives all her authority to the Church? Is it not from the Bible that we learn who is the Builder and Sovereign of the Church, what are the laws by which she is to be governed, and the rights and privileges of her members? Without the Bible, what charter has the Church to show for all these? It is you who place the Church in jeopardy by hiding the Divine warrant, the missive royal of her King, for the authority she wields and the faith she enjoins"
— John Wycliffe (via jtmoody)
HE>I
Check these guys out. love their movement and have been watching it grow over the last two years. I also decided to do some fan art of my own.
Receiving Spiritual Enlightenment
By John MacArthur at GTY.org
“I pray that … you may know what is the hope of [God’s] calling” (Eph. 1:18).
In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul proclaims the blessings of our salvation. In verse 18 he prays that we will comprehend those great truths, which he summarizes in the phrase “the hope of His calling.” “Calling” here refers to God’s effectual calling—the calling that redeems the soul. Scripture speaks of two kinds of calling: the gospel or general call and the effectual or specific call. The gospel call is given by men and is a universal call to repent and trust Christ for salvation (e.g., Matt. 28:19; Acts 17:30-31). It goes out to all sinners but not all who hear it respond in faith.
The effectual call is given by God only to the elect. By it He speaks to the soul, grants saving faith, and ushers elect sinners into salvation (John 6:37-44, 65;Acts 2:39). All who receive it respond in faith.
The hope that your effectual calling instills is grounded in God’s promises and Christ’s accomplishments (1 Pet. 1:3), and is characterized by confidently expecting yet patiently waiting for those promises to be fulfilled. It is your hope of final glorification and of sharing God’s glory when Christ returns (Col. 3:4). It is a source of strength and stability amid the trials of life (1 Pet. 3:14-15). Consequently it should fill you with joy (Rom. 5:2) and motivate you to godly living (1 John 3:3).
As you face this new day, do so with the confidence that you are one of God’s elect. He called you to Himself and will hold you there no matter what circumstances you face. Nothing can separate you from His love (Rom. 8:38- 39)!
Suggestions for Prayer:
- Thank God for the security of your salvation.
- Ask Him to impress on your heart the blessings and responsibilities of your calling.
- Live today in anticipation of Christ’s imminent return.
For Further Study:
Joshua’s call to lead Israel was not a call to salvation,but it illustrates some important principles for spiritual leadership. You might not see yourself as a spiritual leader, but you are important to those who look to you as an example of Christian character. Read Joshua 1:1-9 then answer these questions: 1. What were the circumstances of Joshua’s call (vv. 1-2)? 2. What promises did God make to him (vv. 3-6)? 3. What did God require of him (vv. 7-9)?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187,www.crossway.com.
