Matt Carter from The Austin Stone reading the Sermon on the Mount while standing in front of the Sea of Galilee.
I watched in awe. Well worth your 20 minutes. It’ll change your life.
HT: JT
Charles Haddon Spurgeon:
Travelers are always delighted to see the footprints of others on the barren shore ahead, and we love to see the evidence of fellow pilgrims while passing through the valley of tears. These pilgrims may dig the well, but strangely enough, it gets filled from the top, not the bottom. We may use the well, but the blessing does not spring from it, for it is heaven that fills it with rain. A warhorse may be prepared for battle, but safety is of the Lord. The means may be connected to the end, but the means does not produce the end. As in [Psalm 84:6], the rain fills the pools so that they become useful reservoirs for the water. The labor to dig the wells was important, but it would have been useless without God’s divine work in sending the rain.
Charles H. Spurgeon:
Lord, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). I don’t know what to do and am at my wits’ end. Nevertheless, I will wait until You divide the waters before me or drive back my foes. Even if I must wait many days, I will wait with “my heart… steadfast, O God” (Ps. 57:7), on You alone. My spirit waits for You with the full conviction that You will still be my joy and “my salvation” (Ps. 27:1), “my refuge… [and my] strong tower” (Ps. 61:3).
This thought that Calvinism somehow inhibits evangelism seems to running rampant throughout the Southern Baptist Convention, her churches, and through many seminaries. In a recent post, Joe Thorn tackles the notion that Calvinism is the enemy of evangelism.
As a Calvinist I would have to intentionally ignore the great examples of men who were strongly Reformed in theology and consequently passionate evangelists. John Calvin, The Puritans, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, William Carey, Charles Spurgeon, et al. serve as wonderful examples of men who were not preaching Christ to the lost in spite of their Reformed theology, but were emboldened by their theology to preach the gospel precisely, widely, and earnestly.
In fact, he goes on to references several older posts where he explains how his Reformed theology actually embolden his evangelism.
Man’s total depravity moves me to preach Jesus Christ because I know that there is no hope for a man to find his way to God, accidentally or intentionally, on his own. There is no hope of him believing the truth apart from the preaching of the Gospel. Because people are dead in their sins, and are unwilling to come to Christ apart from the Father’s drawing, I know that their salvation hinges on God’s sovereign work. I know that he uses the preaching of the Gospel as the means of awaking the dead.
The doctrine of election encourages me to share the Gospel, because I am assured that God has chosen a people for himself. Like Jesus, the prophets and the Apostles, I preach indiscriminately to all, trusting that all who were predestined to eternal life will believe, if not now, later.
Particular redemption compels me to tell others about Jesus because not a drop of Christ’s blood was wasted. Because Jesus has purchased people from every tribe, tongue and nation we understand that God has sent us where we are, and is sending others around the world to preach Christ crucified with the awareness that He is building his church. Christ has accomplished redemption for his people, and it only awaits application.
The doctrine of effectual grace pushes me out of my study and into the community with the Gospel because I know that, although I may fail to persuade someone, God will not. Because a leopard cannot change his spots, nor man his nature, I am relieved to know that God will cause a man to be born again. So I tell as many as I am able the good news that we have in Jesus, with the hope that God will open hearts to respond to the word.
Read the full post here.
Is doctrine really that important? Why do we need to study theology? All we need to do in order to be saved, is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins.
This question was posed by the professor on our first day of class last week. His question, which I thought was rather insightful, was, “How much doctrine is implied in that statement?”
- Humanity needs salvation?
- What do we need to be saved from?
- What do we need to be saved to?
- How are we saved?
- What is salvation?
- Do we have to do something for salvation?
- Or is it salvation something we receive?
- Did someone else do it for us?
- Is belief all that is required for salvation?
- How does what we believe impact what we are?
- Is that it? We believe and move on?
- What does it mean “to believe?”
- Did Jesus really exist?
- How do we know that Jesus is the Son of God?
- Is Jesus the only Son of God?
- Is Jesus the only way for salvation?
- Who is God?
- How did we figure out who God is?
- If Jesus is the Son, who is the Father?
- What is He like?
- If there’s a Son, and a Father, who else is God?
- Did Jesus really die on the cross?
- How could someone’s death impact anyone else’s life?
- Why would Jesus die for our sins?
Obviously, this list is far from exhaustive, but the point is that when we make any statement concerning God, the Bible, or salvation, we assume doctrine. We can’t get away from it.
That’s why it’s important for everyone – not just pastors – to study doctrine.
Here are some books that are accessible to any believer to help you study and understand theology.
- Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
- Doctrine by Mark Driscoll
- Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
- The Christian Faith by Michael Horton
- Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
Apart from the Bible, what book has most helped you develop an understanding of theology?
Daniel B. Wallace is the Director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) and Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the senior New Testament editor for the NET Bible and has traveled around the world preserving Greek New Testament manuscripts with CSNTM.
Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the author of over 20 books including the bestselling Misquoting Jesus: The Story of Who Changed the Bible and Why. He has appeared on CNN, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.
If you are interested in the New Testament and its reliability, this is sure to be an event you will not want to miss. I’m not settled on whether or not I’ll be able to go (who wants to buy me a ticket?), but I’d love to hear from someone who went.
For more information on the debate and to purchase tickets, visit www.smudebate.com.
HT: Denny Burk
Charles Spurgeon:
It is very pretty, is it not, to read of Luther and his brave deeds? Of course, everybody admires Luther! Yes, yes. But you do not want anyone else to do the same today.
When you go to the Zoological Gardens you all admire the bear. But how would you like a bear at home, or a bear wandering loose about the street? You tell me that it would be unbearable and no doubt you are right.
So, we admire a man who was firm in the faith, say four hundred years ago. The past ages are a sort of bear-pit or iron cage for him. But such a man today is a nuisance and must be put down. Call him a narrow-minded bigot, or give him a worse name if you can think of one.
Yet imagine that in those ages past, Luther, Zwingle, Calvin and their compeers had said, “The world is out of order. But if we try to set it right we shall only make a great row and get ourselves into disgrace. Let us go to our chambers, put on our night-caps and sleep over the bad times and perhaps when we wake up things will have grown better.” Such conduct on their part would have entailed upon us a heritage of error.
Age after age would have gone down into the infernal deeps and the infectious bogs of error would have swallowed all. These men loved the faith and the name of Jesus too well to see them trampled on. Note what we owe them and let us pay to our sons the debt we owe our fathers. It is today as it was in the Reformers’ days. Decision is needed. Here is the day for the man—where is the man for the day? We who have had the Gospel passed to us by martyr’s hands dare not trifle with it—nor sit by and hear it denied by traitors who pretend to love it but inwardly abhor every line of it.
HT: Travis Allen
Cruciform Press‘s July release, Licensed to Kill by Brian G. Hedges, is one of those books that makes you incredibly uncomfortable as you read it. But that is the nature of any text on the mortification of sin – you have to deal with your sin – and that single reality is the very strength of this book.
Everything in me wanted to read this little book quickly, and yet as I slowed down and allowed the book to speak of sin at a much more intimate level – to not deal with “sin” as a general failure and offense to God, but to speak of my sin and my offenses – the book became less academic in it’s presentation and more significantly more personal. And that gets uncomfortable in a hurry, because dealing with my sin is so much more than just about behavior.
If we want to kill sin, we must aim at the right target. That target is not merely bad behavior but the sinful desires of the heart that produce the behavior.
While many books and teachings hope to deal with sin at a completely behavioral level, Licensed to Kill seeks to put the sin to death that lurks down deep in our heart’s desires – in my heart’s desires. And that differentiating point sets this book apart from those merely seeking outward change.
Our affections, then, are to be set on Christ himself. We are empowered for holiness when we fill our minds and hearts with the glories of who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and all that he has purchased for us.
As Christians, the manner in which we pursue sanctification matters. While at times it seems that our options are limited to legalism or licentiousness, this book opens up a dramatically more powerful (and more profound) course of action.
We can kill sin only when we cultivate the virtues of Christ and the graces of the Spirit in sin’s place.
Next time you’re ready to get uncomfortable and allow yourself to search your heart’s desires in the pursuit of holiness, I highly recommend you grab this book and hang on. Don’t put it down when it gets uncomfortable – that’s when you know it’s working.
Licensed to Kill – A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin
Published by Cruciform Press
Those who are anti-religious are complaining that he’s obliterating the line between church and state.
Christians are excited that someone in public office would be willing to stand out on such an overtly Christian limb. (He read directly from Joel! That’s not covert at all.)
Texans are just proud of Texas (that’s just how Texans are).
I can only pray that this guy enters the presidential election. If he’s sincere in what he says in this video, then he’s one candidate I would gladly cast my vote for.
Is it too soon to start with Perry 2012?
HT: Denny Burk
Here’s the promo they ran for the event which eventually drew over 30,000 attendees.
Today I’m honored to guest post for my good friend Michael Perkins.
Be awesome! Take the jump over to Untitled and add your thoughts to the conversation.
Thanks!
UPDATE: After reading the post, some may have wondered what my family uses for family worship. In the past, we’ve read The Jesus Storybook Bible (which I couldn’t give a higher recommendation), and we’re currently using Big Truths for Young Hearts.