“Tremendous words written in the book of a most merciful God!”

The nature of our fallen nature is that it will be less clear to ourselves than to anyone else. J.C. Ryle puts it into perspective here…

‘Concerning the guilt, vileness and offensiveness of sin in the sight of God, my words will be few. I say “few” advisedly. I do not think, in the nature of things, that mortal man can at all realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin in the sight of that holy and perfect One with whom we have to do. On the one hand, God is that eternal Being who “charges His angels with folly” and in whose sight the very “heavens are not clean.” He is One who reads thoughts and motives as well as actions and requires “truth in the inward parts” (Job 4:18; 15:15; Ps. 51:6). We, on the other hand—poor blind creatures, here today and gone tomorrow, born in sin, surrounded by sinners, living in a constant atmosphere of weakness, infirmity and imperfection—can form none but the most inadequate conceptions of the hideousness of evil. We have no line to fathom it and no measure by which to gauge it. The blind man can see no difference between a masterpiece of Titian or Raphael and the queen’s head on a village signboard. The deaf man cannot distinguish between a penny whistle and a cathedral organ. The very animals whose smell is most offensive to us have no idea that they are offensive and are not offensive to one another. Fallen men and women, I believe, can have no just idea what a vile thing sin is in the sight of that God whose handiwork is absolutely perfect—perfect whether we look through telescope or microscope; perfect in the formation of a mighty planet like Jupiter, with his satellites, keeping time to a second as he rolls round the sun; perfect in the formation of the smallest insect that crawls over a foot of ground. But let us nevertheless settle it firmly in our minds that sin is “the abominable thing that God hates”; that God “is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and cannot look upon that which is evil”; that the least transgression of God’s law makes us “guilty of all”; that “the soul that sins shall die”; that “the wages of sin is death”; that God will “judge the secrets of men”; that there is a worm that never dies and a fire that is not quenched; that “the wicked shall be turned into hell” and “shall go away into everlasting punishment”; and that “nothing that defiles shall in any wise enter” heaven (Jer. 44:4; Hab. 1:13; James 2:10; Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 2:16; Mark 9:44; Ps. 9:17; Matt. 25:46; Rev. 21:27). These are indeed tremendous words, when we consider that they are written in the book of a most merciful God!‘

J.C. Ryle, Holiness, 7.

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Political discourse of empty posturing, extreme slogans, and, above all, entertainment.

I was gonna post this directly on facebook, but my parents are on facebook and might disown me for denouncing their favorite pundits.  Hopefully they don’t link through to my blog…  Although the tenor of this post is a little too irenic for me, Mr Trueman gives a pretty good assessment of the current status of political debate.  Talk amongst yourselves…

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John Newton on Christian Growth Part III: The Full Corn in the Ear

This concludes John Newton’s three part series of letters on Christian growth.  I hope to return to it many times over the years.  Enjoy!

John Newton’s Letters

C; or, The full corn in the ear

“First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear”. Mark 4:28

Dear Sir,

By way of distinction, I assigned to ‘A’ the characteristic of desire, to ‘B’ that of conflict. I can think of no single word more descriptive of the state of ‘C’ than contemplation. His eminence, in comparison of ‘A’, does not consist in the sensible warmth and fervency of his affections: in this respect many of the most exemplary believers have looked back with a kind of regret upon the time of their espousals, when, though their judgments were but imperfectly formed, and their views of Gospel truths were very indistinct, they felt a fervor of spirit, the remembrance of which is both humbling and refreshing; and yet they cannot recall the same sensations. Nor is he properly distinguished from ‘B’ by a consciousness of his acceptance in the Beloved, and an ability of calling God his Father; for this I have supposed ‘B’ has attained to.

Though, as there is a growth in every grace, ‘C’, having had his views of the Gospel, and of the Lord’s faithfulness and mercy, confirmed by a longer experience, his assurance is of course more stable and more simple, than when he first saw himself safe from all condemnation. Neither has ‘C’, properly speaking, any more strength or stock of grace inherent in himself than ‘B’, or even than ‘A’. He is in the same state of absolute dependence, as incapable of performing spiritual acts, or of resisting temptations by his own power, as he was at the first day of his setting out. Yet in a sense he is much stronger, because he has a more feeling and constant sense of his own weakness. The Lord has been long teaching him this lesson by a train of various dispensations; and through grace he can say, that he has not suffered so many things in vain.

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The Nature of Temptation: Proverbs 1:8-32

Proverbs 1:8-31:  The Nature of Temptation

Last week we began looking at proverbs, and the purpose of that book.  We concluded that wisdom is not simply street smarts, but the skill and the ability to navigate life in all its complexity.  The purpose of the book of Proverbs, as we talked about last week, is to impart this kind of wisdom.

We normally think of Proverbs as a random collection of wise sayings, last week showed that there is a reason for this gathering of texts.  As we continue through the first nine chapters of proverbs; the program of this book is laid out in more and more detail.

The author uses several devices in the first nine chapters of Proverbs.  One of the most distinctive is by writing speeches from a father to his son.  In the first of these discourses, the father begins to talk to his son about the nature of temptation.  He lays out a temptation which would have been common to the young man, and that is the temptation to join a gang.  The father puts his voice behind this gang and delivers the speech that they will give in order to entice the son.  He says, “If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit.” (Proverbs 1:11-12 ESV)  Does that sound enticing to you?  Of course it doesn’t!

The father and mother in this text know what their son will be facing in life, and they are attempting to give him a glimpse behind the scenes.  They know that temptation will never present itself honestly, so they attempt to paint a more accurate picture of what the son will be enticed to.

1:11-14 paints a picture of a gang

Comprised of young (maybe privileged) men

They waylay the innocent

They murder without cause

They entice with easy money, power, excitement, and camaraderie

When you get to the end of that account, you wonder “who would even be tempted by this.”  For some, joining a gang for organized crime is a temptation.  Probably not for us.  Either way, that’s not the point:  vs. 19 says, “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain.  It takes away the life of its possessors.”

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John Newton on Christian Growth Part II: Grace in the Ear

No, the title of this letter does not mean that grace comes through the ear.  Since the English in the 18th Century didn’t speak American, we sometimes have these little misunderstandings.  This refers to grace, in the believer, in the bud.  That is, the stage in spiritual growth when we have not yet attained maturity.  This is a sort of spiritual adolescents.  According to Newton, it is a common experience for a believer to go through a season of dryness, anguish, and guilt after their conversion.  The young Christian is zealous and flighty.  The maturing Christian is beginning to see just how deep his own sin runs.  Contrary to what one might think, as the Christian grows he does not simply grow in more and more peace and joy.  Rather, the maturing Christian deepens in his sense of dependence on God.  It is very telling that in this letter, more than the letter on the new Christian and the letter on the mature Christian, John Newton uses the first person.  Most of us exist in the place of weakness and dependence.  This letter is a great encouragement to the struggling believer.  Make sure you read it all the way through!

B; or, Grace in the Ear

“First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28

Dear Sir,
The manner of the Lord’s work in the hearts of his people is not easily traced; though the fact is certain, and the evidence demonstrable from Scripture. In attempting to explain it, we can only speak in general, and are at a loss to form such a description as shall take in the immense variety of cases which occur in the experience of believers. I have already attempted such a general delineation of a young convert, under the character of ‘A’, and am now to speak of him by the name of ‘B’.

This state I suppose to commence, when the soul, after an interchange of hopes and fears, according to the different frames it passes through, is brought to rest in Jesus, by a spiritual apprehension of his complete suitableness and sufficiency, as the wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption of all who trust in him, and is enabled by an appropriating faith to say, “He is mine, and I am is.” There are various degrees of this persuasion; it is of a growing nature, and is capable of increase so long as we remain in this world. I call it [i]assurance[/i], when it arises from a simple view of the grace and glory of the Savior, independent of our sensible frames and feelings, so as to enable us to answer all objections, from unbelief and Satan, with the Apostle’s words, “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died; yes rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Rom. 8:34. This, in my judgment, does not belong to the essence of faith, so that ‘B’ should be deemed more truly a believer than ‘A’, but to the establishment of faith. And now that faith is stronger, it has more to grapple with.

I think the characteristic of the state of ‘A’ is desire, and of ‘B’ is conflict. Not that B’s desires have subsided, or that ‘A’ was a stranger to conflict; but as there was a sensible eagerness and keenness in A’s desires, which, perhaps, is seldom known to be equally strong afterwards,

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What is Wisdom? A Study in Words

Wisdom, in the book of Proverbs, is a multi-sided thing.  In order to communicate what wisdom is, the introduction uses several different synonyms to help draw out what exactly wisdom is.  For your study of this book, I thought I’d just provide some linguistic background so that as you study this book, you can understand exactly what is meant by the various words instruction, wisdom, learning, knowledge, etc.  When you’re studying specific passages of the Bible, it is often helpful to look at the specific words used and ask “why this word and not another.”  Use this guide to help understand exactly what the author/redactor meant when he was writing the introduction of Proverbs (vss. 1-7).

yd’ This is the verb for “to know.”  It’s noun form (da’at) is also used in the proverbs for “knowledge.”  Yd’ implies more than simple head knowledge or book smarts.  Rather, yd’ always implies some sort of relational connection with the object being known.  This is the word used throughout the Old Testament to refer to sexual intimacy.  It implies that wisdom is not simply an intellectual matter, but rather is a relational matter that deals with the whole life.

hokma The noun hokma refers to wisdom proper.  It, and its forms, refer to wisdom, the wise, and wise sayings.  Hokma is the most general term to refer to wisdom.  It refers to the skill of living well in the midst of the complicated nature of life.

musar         Musar is translated as instruction, teaching, and discipline.  This word too has a relational connotation to it.  It refers to coming under another’s leadership for the purpose of being trained in wisdom.  Moreover, this word carries with it a connotation of discipline and punishment.  It is most closely related to our word discipline or disciple. A disciple is one who comes under another’s authority to be trained by them. 

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Got Wisdom? Proverbs 1:1-7 Sunday June 6th

Got Wisdom?

Proverbs 1:1-7

We are starting a series today on the book of Proverbs.  I have one recommendation for how to get the most out of this series. Billy Graham has read 1 chapter from proverbs every night for countless years.  I strongly recommend you do the same.  There are 31 chapters in Proverbs.  If you read a chapter a night, you’ll read through the entire book in a month (don’t beat yourself up if you miss a few nights).  I strongly recommend this practice, and have begun it myself.

To get to the book, Proverbs is, chiefly, a book about Wisdom.  The question has to be asked, “What is wisdom?”  Most people agree about what wisdom is.  There is a sense that wisdom is something more than simple intelligence, book smarts, or general knowledge.  Rather, wisdom is more akin to street smarts.  It has to do with skillfully navigating all the complexities of life.  While most people agree on what the definition of wisdom is, we disagree widely as to what the content of wisdom is.

As you can expect, the book of proverbs seeks to answer that question along with some others.  Here in the introduction, the author/compiler of proverbs lays out his program for what he believes wisdom is.  In these first seven verses, we have several facets of wisdom:

First, wisdom is ‘knowledge’.

Second, wisdom is insight based upon that knowledge (to be able to apply it to life).

Third, wisdom is proper action based on that insight.

Let’s deal with the first.

Proverbs 1:2 states that the purpose of this book, (and it’s sayings) is so that the reader can “Know wisdom and insight.” Now, someone might say, “I know what you’re talking about, you’re talking about book smarts.  And, cause you are a pastor, and you only work a half a day a week, you have plenty of time to read books and get smarter.”  Well, first, trying to become smarter might be a hopeless endeavor for me.  Second, book smarts is not what I’m talking about here.  When Proverbs talks about “knowledge,” it has something very specific in mind.  This word here in the Hebrew “to know” is used elsewhere in the Bible.  Can you guess where?  Try Genesis 4:1

[Cain and Abel]

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The Beginning of Wisdom

This summer we will be studying the book of Proverbs.  In many ways, this book is problematic in the Old Testament.  For one, it has little or no connection to the main redemptive story line of the Old Testament (or the whole Bible for that matter).  Also, the book of Proverbs seems to depend heavily on some contemporary pagan sources.  Some have concluded that the book of Proverbs is not a theological book at all, but simply a collection of secular sayings intended simply to help one to live his life better.  This is problematic because we generally hold that all Scripture exists to witness to the person of Jesus.  Is Proverbs simply the one book that breaks this rule?  Is it simply advice for a better life, or better yet ethical teachings to become a good person?  Tremper Longman III handles this issue very well in his commentary.  He says,

The Fear of Yahweh

The conclusion of the preamble to the book states: The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and righteousness.  (1:7)  The position of this verse signals that the compiler intends to color our view of the teaching of the book as a whole…  The important thing to point out at this stage is that this statement claims that there is no “knowledge” (a near synonym of “wisdom,” which is actually used in the formula elsewhere) apart from a relationship with Yahweh that is characterized by fear.

Wisdom is not simply a matter of learning certain principles of life and applying them mechanistically. Wisdom begins with a relationship with God.  That this relationship is described as characterized by fear means that the sages understand their place in the universe.  While fear is not to be equated with terror, it is probably more than mere respect.  After all, people are totally dependent on Yahweh, who created and sustains them.  The sages understood this and therefore trembled in the presence of God.

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Sunday May 23rd, Happy Pentecost!

Happy Pentecost!

Today we celebrate one of the most important events in the entire Christian calendar.  The feast of Pentecost is just as important as Christmas and Easter.  Every year around Christmas, you see articles ‘dis-proving’ the virgin birth.  Every Easter, someone writes about how the crucifixion was cosmic child abuse and the resurrection is a myth.  Do you know what horrendous thing the unbelievers think about Pentecost?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!  Do you know why?  Because they don’t care.  In fact, if you are visiting today, you only really know what’s going on if you grew up in church.

If Pentecost is as important to the Christian faith as we say, why does our culture not think to even give Pentecost enough credit to try and discredit it?  Because it’s weird, and they don’t understand it.  We can understand the birth of a savior.  We can understand the death of a martyr.  We can understand resurrection as a principle.  For some reason, we cannot understand what it is we celebrate on Pentecost.

Why can’t our culture understand what happens on Pentecost?  For the simple reason that when we think of the term “The Holy Spirit” we tend to think of it in a way that is absolutely alien to that of the world of the First Century Church.

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A Smorgasbord of Parenting Resources

I recently asked a good friend and pastor whom I respect and admire tremendously what resources he used to parent his children, and he sent me this great list. I normally don’t post personal correspondences, but I thought this was just too helpful. So, I’ve removed all personal preferences. I hope that some of these resources may help some of you. Also, feel free to post things that have been helpful in your own parenting!”

1 – Tedd Tripp (not his brother Paul David) has written two books that he has also made into a dvd series.
• Shepherding your child’s heart – http://www.amazon.com/Shepherding-Childs-Heart-Tedd-Tripp/dp/0966378601/ref=pd_sim_b_5
• Instructing your child’s heart – http://www.amazon.com/Instructing-Childs-Heart-Tedd-Tripp/dp/0981540007/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Here are some youtube vids that would be helpful to watch:
•
•
We have both the books and the DVD series in our church library.

2 – Paul David Tripp has also written a book that is helpful. It is aimed at parenting teens but I think every young parent should read it so they can know where they should be going
• Age of Opportunity – http://www.amazon.com/Age-Opportunity-Biblical-Parenting-Resources/dp/0875526055/ref=pd_sim_b_6
• youtube link –

Also, this is the other book I was telling you about:

3 – Tim Kimmel has written Grace Based Parenting. Really good stuff.
• Grace Based Parenting – http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Based-Parenting-Dr-Tim-Kimmel/dp/0849905486
• youtube link –
• Video Series – http://www.familymatters.net/grace-based_parenting/Video_Study/index.asp (look at the video on this page. Kimmel is a little bit ‘marketing’ cheesy).

Now, GBP is not as reformed as I would like it. It is a little too “rock and roll” – in other words, Tim Kimmel is a bit cheesy. Watch the video above and you’ll see what I mean. But, that said, he has some really great things to say, especially in the area of practical application. For that reason, my wife liked Kimmel. It had the practical app – 1,2,3,s that she found helpful. It was Dobson-like in its practicality, but coming from a grace perspective.

So, we took Tripp’s stuff as our base line (that stuff is pure bedrock. Foundational, Biblical, reformed, grace, beautiful stuff). Then we used some of Kimmel’s stuff to fill in the blanks. We also prayerfully thought through how this worked for us. In other words, ultimately we are the parenting instruments that God is going to use. We are different than Tripp or Kimmel. We are unique. So what is the unique way that God would apply the truth of his Word to our particular lives. It wouldn’t look exactly the same as Tedd Tripp. For one thing, I don’t have a cool mustache like that. I mean, if I were a kid and my dad had that mustache, I’d do whatever he said. But, I don’t have that. So, we have to go with what God gives us.

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