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  Bible reading for weekend December 3 -- 5  Dec 3 -- Nahum 1 and Luke 17 Dec 4 -- Nahum 2 and Luke 18 Dec 5 -- Nahum 3 and Luke 19 ================ "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness." (Nahum 1:7-8)  TIME'S UP FOR NINEVEH (Nah 1-3). The prophecy of Nahum is God's word to the people of Nineveh, part two. Jonah was part one, chronicling a city-wide repentance of Assyrians in the capital about a hundred years earlier. The closing bookend is Nahum, and the Assyrian empire is big, powerful, and aggressive. Notice the references to chariots (2:3-4, 13; 3:2). The Assyrians were a militarily advanced culture, and cruel in their warfare. Whatever spiritual receptivity they had at the time of Jonah was gone by the time of Nahum. Nahum may not have actually visited Nineveh, for it seems the book was w...

  Bible reading for weekend June 11-- 13 Jun 11 -- Isaiah 43 and Revelation 13 Jun 12 -- Isaiah 44 and Revelation 14 Jun 13 -- Isaiah 45 and Revelation 15 ================    "...that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:6) MAGNIFICENT MONOTHEISM (ch 43). These chapters in Isaiah are breath-taking. He is the only God (cf Deut 6:4). "I am he" (vv 10, 13, 25) reflects the divine name, "I am who I am" (Exod 3:14). "There is none besides me" (45:6, 21). There is no other god. Therefore, those who trust and obey him need fear no thing, nothing (vv 1, 5; 44:2). God's people are created for his glory (vv 7, 21). Israel shall return from exile, and here specifically, the return from Babylonian captivity is in view (v 14). Because he is the only God he also is the only one who can deal with our sins and forgive us (v 25; cf 44:22). WHO IS LIKE G...

Bible reading for weekend Aug 15.  I Samuel 5-8. "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 7:3) PAINFUL JUDGMENT (ch 5-7). The ark of the covenant was captured in battle by the Philistines. But they soon regretted this. Like God did to Egypt, so now he judges the Philistines and their gods. Dagon, the speechless and impotent deity, is toppled before the ark. The people experience painful tumors (the word can also be translated as "sores" or "hemorrhoids", ouch). A plague of mice also was involved. The Lord is vindicating his own name and reputation. The ark miraculously finds its way back to Israel, since nursing cows do not leave their calves behind (6:7-12). This time is also an occasion for the people of Israel to re-dedicate themselves to the ...

Bible reading for March 4:  Exodus 15; Luke 18. "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?"  (Exodus 15:11) Singing God's praise (Ex 15:1-21). This, the first of Israel's hymns, is a victory song , not unlike the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."  It celebrated a military victory, but it was God's victory alone.  "The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name" (15:3). God fights for his people and defeats his enemies.  Many people find this militaristic conception of God to be totally unworthy of him. I suppose some might think that God merely loves his enemies to death...   But this world is a violent world, filled with many forces -- physical and spiritual -- who oppose God, goodness, and justice. With holy violence the Lord will defend his name and will defend his people.  God indeed is extremely patient and longsuffering.  However, a quick reading of the...

"...we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."  (Galatians 2:16 ESV) Because of the fundamental nature of faith... it is natural to find that in the New Testament faith, as the reception of a free gift, is placed in sharpest contrast with any intrusion of human merit; it is natural to find that faith is sharply contrasted with works.  The contrast is really implied by the New Testament throughout, and in one book, the Epistle to the Galatians, it forms the express subject of the argument.  That book from beginning to end is a mighty polemic in defense of the doctrine of justification by faith alone; and as such it has rightly been called the Magna Charta of Christian liberty. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the world was lying in darkness...

I have been studying Romans 8:1-4 and thinking through the Apostle Paul's teaching on the spiritual life.  In the past, and now again, I have been helped by Francis Schaeffer's insights into the Christian life. B elow are some excerpts, first from True Spirituality , and then from his Letters ... "Justification is once for all. At one moment my guilt is declared gone forever, but this [ spiritual life ] is not once for all. This is a moment-by- moment thing—a moment-by-moment being dead to all else and alive to God, a moment-by-moment stepping back by faith into the present world as though we had been raised from the dead." "If we are to bring forth fruit in the Christian life, or rather, if Christ is to bring forth this fruit through us by the agency of the Holy Spirit, there must be a constant act of faith, of thinking, 'Upon the basis of your promises I am looking for you to fulfill them, O my Jesus Christ; bring forth your fruit through me into this...

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."  (Romans 5:1-2 ESV) As Paul continues his letter to the Romans, chapter 5 opens with a panorama of the many blessings he gives us in his Son, Jesus Christ.  Being united to Christ through faith not only justifies us, but reconciles us to God and gives us every good thing in Him.  (Compare Romans 8:28-30.)  Here are eight...  Eight jewels of reconciliation from Romans 5:1-11... 1)  Peace :   God is not against us (5:1, 10)       2)   Grace :   we have free access and a secure position before God (5:2a)      3)  Hope :   our glorious future gives us joy and confidence now (5:2b, 4)     4)   Character :   we have a new way to look...

It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26 ESV) "At the heart of the gospel is a double imputation. My sin is imputed to Jesus. His righteousness is imputed to me. And in this two-fold transaction we see that God -- who does not negotiate sin, who doesn't compromise his own integrity with our salvation, but rather punishes sin fully and really, after it has been imputed to Jesus -- retains his own righteousness, and so he is both just and the justifier, as the Apostle tells us here. So, my sin goes to Jesus; his righteousness comes to me, in the sight of God... This is the article upon which the church stands or falls." ~ R. C. Sproul, "The Protestant View of Justification" in the series, "Luther and the Reformation" 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.   (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)  While going over 1 Corinthians 6 in my daily Bible reading, I was impressed with the reasons the Apostle Paul gives for the pursuit of holiness. He points  out two big problems in the church at Corinth: legal conflicts among the people (1 Cor 6:1-8), and sexual immorality (6:12-18)  The Corinthian believers needed to pursue meekness, forgiveness, and reconciliation with one another, and in the second case, sexual purity.   Here are 8 reasons to pursue holy character : We should so live as to be good examples before unbelievers (6:6) We belong to a kingdom where unrighteousness does not belong, and such character will be judged (6:9-10) We have a new identity in Christ -- cleansed, sanctified, justified (6:11) We are to pursue things whic...

"Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5 ESV)   This is a summary statement of the principle of justification by faith in Christ.  God does not wait for someone to become morally righteous before he declares him or her justified, that is, righteous in his sight.  He justifies the ungodly -- while still ungodly -- by their trust in him. They are united by faith to the Righteous One, Jesus Christ, who covers them with his righteousness  (Jer. 23:6; 33:16; 2 Cor. 5:21). T his means we may come freely to the One offering himself freely to us. If we try to earn this gift, it is proof that we do not think we are as hopeless as we are, nor do we think he is as gracious as he is.   Two quotes from Martyn Lloyd-Jones are helpful here...     To make it quite practical I have a very si...

"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin."  (Romans 6:6-7 ESV) Here's Francis Schaeffer on dying to self... We are to be willing to say no to ourselves, we are to be willing to say no to things, in order that the command to love God and men may have real meaning... We do not come to true spirituality or the true Christian life merely by keeping a list, but neither do we come to it merely by rejecting the list and then shrugging our shoulders and living a looser life… As I have said, Romans chapter 6 begins with many strong negatives, and though we may want to rush on to the second half of verse 4 ("As Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we may walk in newness of life"), actually we are in peril if we ignore the element of "dying." "Buried with him in baptism," ...

This from John MacArthur, quoted in David Kingston's sermon this Sunday.  In justification, the sinner stands before God as the accused and is declared righteous. In redemption, the sinner stands before God as the slave and is granted freedom by ransom. In forgiveness, the sinner stands before God as a debtor, and the debt having been paid is forgotten. In reconciliation, the sinner stands before God as an enemy, and is led to peace as a friend. In sonship, the sinner stands before God as a stranger and is adopted as a son.

"The Reformation, what's with that?"   Sometimes when people ask about this, I'll draw a little sketch on a piece of paper or napkin.  It's my seven-minute overview of what happened following Luther's posting of his 95 theses (points to debate) on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg on the eve of All Saints Day, 1517.  This is a very rough generalization indeed... First key issue: authority .  The foundation.  How do we know we are right about what we believe about being right with God?  The Roman Catholic church held that it was the Scriptures, but with a caveat:  specifically, the Scriptures as interpreted and applied by the authority of the Church.  So, to the authority base of the Bible was added the magisterium , that is, what the church, tradition, councils, and Popes officially ruled.  It was the "Bible-plus."  The Reformers said, no (or nay), the councils and traditions and church rulers are very important,...

"Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5 ESV) What wonderful, freeing, life-giving words these are!  God does not justify the godly, or declare that the good are righteous, but rather, the ungodly.  Through faith we are not made good (though that happens over time, sure enough) but rather we are declared -- by virtue of Christ's precious blood -- to be righteous.  Now and always.  This I believe is an unchanging foundation for the believer to stand upon in his approach to God.  It is also an unending fountain of joy for the Christian. Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes this truth very practical... To make it quite practical I have a very simple test. After I have explained the way of Christ to somebody I say “Now, are you ready to say that you are a Christian?” And they hesitate. And then I say, ...

"Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. Many… have a theoretical commitment to this doctrine, but in their day-to-day existence they rely on their sanctification for justification… drawing their assurance of acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience.  "Few know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand upon Luther’s platform: you are accepted , looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in that quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude…  "Much that we have interpreted as a defect of sanctification in church people is really an outgrowth of their loss of bearing with respect to justificati...

“Luther taught that every time you insist that I am a sinner, just so often do you call me to remember the benefit of Christ my Redeemer, upon whose shoulders, and not upon mine, lie all my sins. So, when you say that I am a sinner, you do not terrify, but comfort me immeasurably.”   --Thomas Oden, The Justification Reader (Eerdmans, 2002)

Reading again (and profiting again!) from Francis Schaeffer's True Spirituality .  Schaeffer, like Keller today, does such a great job integrating justification by faith with an active faith of sanctification.   Some recent highlights... Only one is self-sufficient in himself, and he is God. But now as Christians we are introduced to the great reality: our calling is to be creatures in this high, tremendous, and glorious way, not because we must be, but by choice.  ...the scriptural teaching [about faith] is not mere resignation. I am a creature, it is true, but I have a calling to be the creature glorified. I must be the creature, but I do not have to be the creature like the clod in the field, the cabbage that is rotting in the field as the snows melt. I am called to be a creature by choice, on the basis of Christ’s finished work, by faith: the creature glorified. Justification is once for all. At one moment my guilt is declared gone forever, but this [spir...

This week's study in gravitate was "The Blessings of Justification," from Romans 5:1-11.  Romans chapters 5-8 deal with the life we now have because of our union with Christ.  Through him, and what he has accomplished on  our behalf, we are declared righteous, and now have a new life.  “The righteous by faith shall live. ” This salvation from God  encompasses not just the past and present, but also the future... 1) Peace :  God is not against me. (5:1, 10, 11) Though we were once enemies, now God is reconciled to us through Christ ( cf 2 Cor 5:17-21).  2) Grace :  we have free access and a secure position before God (5:2a) By the work of his Son we have free, unhindered  access, and warm welcome before God.  (See also Hebrews 4:14-16 for an application of this truth.)  We have a "standing" in grace...  we are ever in the need of, and ever the recipients of, his undeserved, bountiful generosity.  I do not beg...

Dr. Rod Rosenbladt on "The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church" from Faith Lutheran Church on Vimeo .

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; 'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. (Nicholaus von Zinzendorf, tr. by John Wesley) "This is Christianity: not your little goodness and mine; not what I am doing and what I am not doing.  Not how much better I am than somebody else; not how much better I am than I once was.  No, your forget it all and look to Him.  You see His perfect spotless righteousness and you know that if you believe in Him it is given to you and you are clothed with it. ... "How can men and women have peace when they are striving, only to find how unworthy they are?  It is impossible.  But the moment they believe this blessed truth of the kingdom of God and in Christ as God's way of righteousness, then everything is changed immediately. 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.'  It is an end of all my futile struggles."  (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Kingdom of...