Resolution 1 – Jonathan Edwards

“Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved, so to do, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.”

- Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Hendrickson: Peabody, 2000), 1.lxii.

The Cause of this Undeserved Election – Dort 1.10

But the cause of this undeserved election is exclusively the good pleasure of God. This does not involve his choosing certain human qualities or actions from among all those possible as a condition of salvation, but rather involves his adopting certain particular persons from among the common mass of sinners as his own possession. As Scripture says, “When the children were not yet born, and had done nothing either good or bad…, she” (Rebecca)” was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”" (Rom. 9:11-13). Also, “All who were appointed for eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

- The Canons of the Synod of Dort, 1.10

Why am I posting this?

Rational Righteousness Imputed

The biblical doctrine of justification–being made righteous before God by the imputed righteousness of Christ–is unpopular to many.  However, it is the very core of orthodox Christian religion.  The unpopular importance of this doctrine creates in me a certain joy when I read or hear pastors give pause to show the simple clarity of justification.

I came across an author doing just that as I read this morning from Thomas Boston’s works.  In expounding the Christian’s union to Christ, he gives the following application:

“There is a solid rational ground for the doctrine of our justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ.  Let profane men deride it as a putative or imaginary righteousness and justification, to make way for their own works; and let the corrupters of the Protestant doctrine set up faith, repentance, and new obedience, as our evangelical righteousness, upon which we are justified, as the fulfilling of the gospel-law; we need no other righteousness for justification but Christ’s.  For a believer is by faith united to Christ.  Having this union with him, we have a communion with him in his righteousness, which is ours, since we are one with him, and being ours, must be imputed to us, or reckoned ours on the most solid ground.  Christ is the believer’s Surety by his own voluntary act, the debtor’s consent by faith, the Judge’s approbation in the world.  What then is more rational than that this righteousness be imputed to the believer, and thereupon justified?” [1]

__________

[1] Thomas Boston, The Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston (1853; repr., Tentmaker Publications: Stokes-on-Trent, 2002), 1:553.

Spiritual Depression

Sorry for the lack of significant posting recently. I’ve been busy planning for our annual Bible Conference which begins tonight and runs through the weekend. Dr. Derek Thomas will be with us speaking over four sessions on the topic of spiritual depression.

Even though Derek is a good friend from my time serving in Jackson, I’ve never heard his stuff on spiritual depression. I’m anxiously awaiting his teaching on this crucial and personal topic.

Be in prayer for our church. We have been on our knees for the past week and half asking God to bless this conference to his glory. We want to see non-Christians come and hear the gospel. We want to see our own congregation grow in their knowledge of Scripture, God, and their own hearts. We want God to bless Derek’s preaching with spiritual power. We want Christ to be exalted and proclaimed as the only hope for the darkness of the soul.

I’ll keep you posted as I am able. I’ll also put links to the audio when it is available.

Foremost Benefactors of The Human Race

“Paul passed a stranger and pilgrim through this world, hardly observed by the mighty and the wise of his age.  And yet how infinitely more noble, beneficial, and enduring was his life and work than the dazzling march of military conquerors, who, prompted by ambition, absorbed millions of treasure and myriads of lives, only to die at last in a drunken fit at Babylon, or of a broken heart on the rocks of St. Helena!  Their empires have long since crumbled to dust, but St. Paul still remains one of the foremost benefactors of the human race, and the pulses of his mighty heart are beating with stronger force than ever throughout the Christian world.”

-  Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (Hendrickson: Peabody, 2002), 1.331.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a – The Will of God

I preached from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a last night. In these two and a half verses Paul is making a transition and preparing the stage for what is to come.

Up to this point, Paul has been recounting to the Thessalonians what has happened in his journey since he left Thessalonica.  His emphasis was on his abiding love for the young Thessalonian church.  The end of chapter three records Timothy’s return from Thessalonica bringing with him a report about the state of the Thessalonian church.

In chapter 4, Paul begins to respond to some of the issues that Timothy tells him about.  He is most notably going to address sexual immorality, brotherly love, eschatology, and some scattered topics on morality.  But before any of this, Paul wants to briefly cover God’s will for these new believers–their sanctification.

I didn’t want to prematurely cover Paul’s exhortations without giving a sermon on the doctrine of sanctification.  That is what this sermon is for.

My sermon outline was as follows

1. The increase of sanctification
2. The authority of sanctification
3. The will of God in sanctification

Under the last point I specifically addressed a definition of sanctification as well as answered the perennial question, “Is sanctification my work or God’s work?”

With this summary work done on the doctrine of sanctification I’m ready to cover in the coming weeks the more specific topics of sexual immorality and brotherly love.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a – The Will of God

Not on the basis of foreseen faith – Dort 1.9

This same election took place, not on the basis of foreseen faith, of the obedience of faith, of holiness, or of any other good quality and disposition, as though it were based on a prerequisite cause or condition in the person to be chosen, but rather for the purpose of faith, of the obedience of faith, of holiness, and so on. Accordingly, election is the source of each of the benefits of salvation. Faith, holiness, and the other saving gifts, and at last eternal life itself, flow forth from election as its fruits and effects. As the apostle says, “He chose us” (not because we were, but) “so that we should be holy and blameless before him in love” (Eph. 1:4).

- The Canons of the Synod of Dort, 1.9

Why am I posting this?

John Piper, the author of Romans?

Overheard at my breakfast table this morning:

Me: This morning we are going to talk about Romans 12:10.  Do you boys remember who wrote the book of Romans?

My 3-year-old without hesitation: John Piper.

My 5-year-old after a moment of thought: Paul.

Hmm, maybe I’m reading too much John Piper.

Don’t Pity Jesus

{I wrote this last year on Good Friday}

Today is Good Friday. It is the day that Christians traditionally reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is common for churches to hold Good Friday services in which they read portions from the crucifixion narratives in the gospels.

There is no question that most observances of Good Friday are designed to create an emotional response to the suffering of our Lord. But what is the appropriate emotion?

Emotion itself is not a bad thing. It is a very good thing. No matter what you say you believe, if you have no affection for Christ you have no right to call yourself a Christian. Even the demons believe right theology, they just hate it. So, if emotion is not bad and is necessary, then what kind of emotions should be cultivated as we consider the cross?

First, let me address the only “positive” emotion a non-Christian may have when they consider the Cross. That emotion is pity. I call this emotion “positive” because it connotes reverence for the thing pitied. Pity, as my Shorter OED tells me, is “tenderness and concern aroused by the suffering or misfortune of another; compassion, sympathy.” Applied to the Cross, we get something along the lines of,

Poor Jesus. He was such a great guy. A powerful teacher. He loved folks. He wasn’t very strong. He didn’t have an army. He didn’t have political aspiration. He wasn’t leading an insurrection. He was just a great guy who got murdered. Poor Jesus.

Pitying Jesus–it is one of the silliest emotions one could have when considering the Cross. Yet it is very common within and without the church.

Why is this silly? For two reasons, for who Jesus is and for what Jesus did.

To pity Jesus on the Cross is misunderstand who Jesus was. Here we interject the reasoning of C.S. Lewis. Jesus did not leave the option for thinking of him as a good teacher or a great guy. He made outrageous claims about his own divinity. He presented the concept of a Kingdom that was poised on world conquest. He set a high standard for any who would follow him: death and suffering. Given these truths and many more like them we are left only to think of Jesus in one of three ways.

1. He is a liar of the caliber of a demon from hell.
2. He is a lunatic of the caliber of a man who calls himself a poached egg.
3. He is who he said he was, the very Son of God.

If you choose option one or two, then pity is the last thing you should think when you consider the Cross.

If you conclude Jesus to be a liar, then his death should be met with the rich satisfaction of judgment righteously administered. To quote my home state’s motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis. Thus always to tyrants. Jesus got what he deserved for deceiving the poor, the persecuted, and the naive.

If you conclude Jesus to be a lunatic, then his death should be met with the sorrow of tragedy. “If only he had a good psychiatrist. If he had only been alive today. There are medicines that could have helped him. A leather couch was the place for him not a Cross.”

If however you conclude Jesus to be both truthful and in his right mind, then you have only to accept him on his terms, the Incarnate God come to offer himself as a ransom to redeem lost sinners.

That brings us to the second reason that pity is a silly response to the Cross: what Jesus did on the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus Christ took upon himself the sins of all his people and received in his body the judgment for those sins. On the Cross, God the Father judged sin to the full extent of the law: infinite death. On the Cross, death lots its sting. On the Cross, Satan was conquered and bound. On the Cross, eternal life was gloriously secured for those whom God set his love on before the foundation of the world. The Cross was the culminating event of history. The Cross is the most vivid picture of the horror of sin as well as the abounding power and limitless love of God.

So given this view of the Cross, what are some good emotions to feel on Good Friday?

1. Sorrow over your sin. The Cross is a mirror for your sin. The Cross is the only place to estimate sin rightly. What does God think of your transgressions? How bad is the smallest of your lies? What should have been required of you for the most inconsequential of sins? See the Cross. See their the holy judgment of God on display. See there what it cost to redeem you from your sins. See there the immense gulf between a holy God and sinful man. See there God’s hatred and holy war on all things opposed to his rule. See there your sin and weep.
2. Wonder over the power of God in defeating sin. If we have rightly seen our sin then how shall we not cry out in dismay, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Who is able to dwell on God’s holy mountain? Who is able to open the seals of the scroll? Who is powerful enough to conquer sin, death, and hell?” See the Cross. See there the raging power of God on display. See there, Jesus Christ waging the most determinative battle ever fought. See there holy exertions and strivings against the horrors of hell and the sewage of sin. See there the amazing power of God. Power enough to redeem a people for his own possession.
3. Amazement over God’s love displayed for you in the Cross. Many will preach this weekend on the last words of Jesus on the Cross, and rightly so. There are however the unspoken words of the Cross, “This is for you, dear Christian.” If we are Christians, we cannot contemplate an impersonal Cross. It is not an event that happened on a Israeli countryside some 2,000 years ago. It is an event ineffably etched into the very heart of our being. The sufferings of the Cross! The mental anguish! The physical anguish! The spiritual anguish! Jesus procured nothing for himself there but everything for his dearly loved sheep. There my sins were judged and satisfied for. Joe Holland was crucified there with Jesus Christ. It is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me. We must stand amazed and the inestimable gift given to us, wrapped in the darkness of Good Friday.
4. If you are not a Christian, you should feel abject terror at what awaits you for your sins. If you do not believe in Jesus Christ as the only savior for lost sinners then the Cross should anger and terrify you. What you see in the Cross will be required of you when Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead. Only you are no infinite person who can bear an infinite penalty, instead you will suffer infinitely for your aggravated provoking of an Almighty God.  Run to Christ.  His offer is open and free.  Run to Christ with your sins and for the first time see the Cross for what it truly is–the only hope for sinners.

Good Friday may bring many emotions into your heart, but please, don’t pity Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 – The Best News

Timothy returns.  There in Corinth he sits down with Paul and Silas.  You can imagine Paul’s anxiety as he waits for Timothy’s report on the health of the church plant in Thessalonica.

Then…rejoicing.

The report is better than expected.  The Thessalonians are healthily growing in the soil of affliction.  Timothy notes their faith and love.  He encourages Paul that they long to see him as much as he longs to return.  It is the best news that Paul could have expected.

This news lead Paul to a four fold response.

• He is comforted in his affliction
• He is enlivened
• He is abundantly thankful to God
• He prays for the Thessalonian church

I organized my sermon around these themes of report and response.  My intention was to show the health of the Thessalonian church, the love of Paul, and the connection between these two themes.

I knew going into chapter 4 that we would switch from narrative to moral exhortation.  I wanted this sermon to serve as a culmination and summary for the first half of the book with the major theme being the exaltation of Christ through his work in establishing churches with an eye to his second coming.

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 – The Best News

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 – An Enemy and a Friend

Sorry I’m tardy in posting my Sunday sermon.  My senior pastor was out of town on vacation so I was privileged to preach twice on Sunday — once in the morning and once in the evening.  The second sermon will be in the post following this one.

I continue to work my way through 1 Thessalonians.  It is an unusual letter of Paul’s in that over half the letter is concerned with retelling Paul’s visit and departure from Thessalonica.  We don’t hear any kind of deep doctrine or exhortation until chapter 4.  This is due in part to the intensely personal nature of the letter.  1 Thessalonians is replete with familial language showing the uniquely intimate bond that Paul shared with the fledgling church in Macedonia.

The passage at hand is one in which Paul explains his delay in returning to Thessalonica.  That delay has a name — Satan.  The Bible does not give us any other option but to believe in a real, personal, and active devil.  This prince of fallen angels accomplishes the task of maintaining the separation between Paul and the Thessalonians presumably in order that Satan may further tempt the Thessalonians to deny the faith (3:5).

Because of this Satanic oppression Paul sends Timothy to Thessalonica in his stead.  Timothy’s job is to establish and exhort the church before he returns to Paul to report on the state of the church in Thessalonica.

I organized my sermon around the two personalities of Satan and Timothy.  I spent time talking about the schemes of Satan for the overthrow of the church.  Then I turned to the value of a good minister — pictured in Timothy — who builds up and exhorts the church.  I tried to combine these two points into the ongoing theme of 1 Thessalonians — the return of Jesus Christ.

It is in the return of Christ that we see the triumph of the church over Satan.  Our hope rests in the fact that Jesus is coming back for us to finish his conquest over sin, death, and the devil.

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5 – An Enemy and a Friend

Prize the Gospel and Glory in His Cross

“Bless God for the gospel, that discovers unto us this infallible way of being delivered from condemnation and wrath, this sure way to peace and reconciliation with God, this precious balm for troubled conscience, and this effectual remedy for appeasing an angry God.  O prize the gospel, and the precious discoveries thereof, in which all blessings are contained; and accept of a slain Savior as your only Redeemer from sin and wrath, from hell and condemnation; and glory in his cross, and what he hath done for your redemption and deliverance.”

- Thomas Boston, The Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston (1853; repr., Tentmaker Publications: Stokes-on-Trent, 2002), 1:468.

Streams of the Mediator’s Blood

“Grace had never sailed to us, but in the streams of the Mediator’s blood.”

- Thomas Boston, The Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston (1853; repr., Tentmaker Publications: Stokes-on-Trent, 2002), 1:453.

Election is not – Dort 1.8

“This election is not of many kinds; it is one and the same election for all who were to be saved in the Old and the New Testament. For Scripture declares that there is a single good pleasure, purpose, and plan of God’s will, by which he chose us from eternity both to grace and to glory, both to salvation and to the way of salvation, which he prepared in advance for us to walk in.”

- The Canons of the Synod of Dort, 1.8

Why am I posting this?

Price and Power

Does Jesus free sinners from the power of sin? Or does he provide a way for sinners to be forgiven of their sins? The answer is both.  Jesus rescues us from the slavery to sin.  Jesus also pays the infinite debt we owe for sinning against a holy God.

Yet the question of priority and focus has been brought up in recent years. This question of emphasis has most often been broached in conversations about contextualization. Does a certain group–urban, suburban, or rural–or a certain worldview–modern or postmodern–need to hear the gospel couched in freedom-language as opposed to forgiveness-language.

I first heard the question asked and answered in a lecture given by Tim Keller on contextualization in ministry.  I then read Mark Driscoll ask this very question in the opening chapter of his book, Confessions of a Reformission Rev. Driscoll asked,

“Will you proclaim a gospel of forgiveness, fulfillment, or freedom? Traditional, contemporary, and emerging churches also differ in how they present the gospel. The traditional church generally proclaims a gospel of forgiveness… Though this gospel made sense to most people at one time, this sort of gospel seems judgmental, mean-spirited, naive, and narrowminded to the ever-growing number of people who do not understand the basic terms of Christianity… The emerging church proclaims the gospel of freedom.” [1]

To his credit, Driscoll does not just preach a gospel of freedom.  He also preaches forgiveness of sin in Christ alone. His sermons are replete with calls to repentance and warnings of eternal judgment. However, he asks a good question of emphasis.

It is my contention that we need to be as balanced as the Bible is balanced. To draw out some biblical emphases at the expense of others is dangerous ground.

But more importantly, what is at stake is the wonder of the person and work of Christ. Every generation and worldview has a mortal need of understanding how Jesus Christ provides both redemption and release, both the price and the power.  Everyone approaches God with a debt they cannot pay and shackles they cannot loose.

This need was clarified and beautified for me in the following quotes from Thomas Boston.

Talking about Christ’s payment of the debt owed by sinners, Boston says,

“They were fallen under the dominion of Satan, and liable to eternal death, and could not obtain their liberty by escape, or by mere force and power; for they were arrested and detained prisoners by order of divine justice: so that till God the Supreme Judge was satisfied, there could be no discharge.  Now, the Lord Jesus Christ hat procured their deliverance by his death and bloody sufferings.  Hence the apostle says in Colossians 1:14, ‘We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.’ No less than the precious blood of Christ, who was God and man in one person, could be a sufficient price for the redemption of poor captive sinners.” [2]

Then Boston turns to freedom that Christ has given us from the powers of sin and Satan, saying,

“By his death on the cross he spoiled the principalities and powers.  And he manifested this power in his ascension; for when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive.  And in the day of power he redeems his people from the slavery of sin and Satan, the curse of the law, from the sting of death, and the wrath of God; and puts them in possession of a full salvation.” [3]

In summary, Boston concludes,

“The former, viz. redeeming by price or purchase, Christ doth as a Priest, the latter as a Prophet and King.  Both were absolutely necessary: for without a ransom justice would not quit us nor let us go: and without overcoming or conquering power, the elect, while slaves to sin and Satan, will not quit their master, nor accept liberty.” [4]

Both aspects of Christ’s saving power are absolutely necessary.  I admit that I have never planted a church–much less in a metropolitan center.  However I do not see wisdom in preaching an imbalanced gospel for fear of withholding the full wonder of the love of Christ displayed in his freeing and forgiving grace.

__________

[1] Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformission Rev., (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2006), 23-25.

[2] Thomas Boston, The Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston (1853; repr., Tentmaker Publications: Stokes-on-Trent, 2002), 1:379.

[3] Ibid., 380.

[4] Ibid.