my burg

"The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is not a problem of physics but of ethics. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man."   ( Albert Einstein)

This week   I'm posting some of my favorite one-line quotes ...   “Man’s nature [ or, heart ] is a perpetual factory of idols."  (John Calvin) “The road to the promised land runs past Sinai."   (C. S. Lewis) “When a man truly sees himself, he knows nobody can say anything about him that is too bad.”  (Martyn Lloyd-Jones) "With God there are no little people."  (Francis Schaeffer) "Christianity is the only religion whose God bears the scars of evil.”   (Os Guinness) "Grace is glory begun.  Glory is grace perfected."  (Jonathan Edwards) "This is not the best of all possible worlds, but the best way to the best of all possible worlds." (Norm Geisler) “He who marries the spirit of the age is likely to be a widower in the next.”  (Soren Kierkegaard) "Christian doctrine lies at the very roots of faith."  (J. Gresham Machen) "We are immortal till our work is done."  (George Whitefield) "We have...

Here are some quotes from three works by J. Gresham Machen (1881--1937)...  From The Origin of Paul's Religion (1921)... 16th cent. Russian icon of the Apostle Paul "What is really most significant in the Pauline Epistles therefore, is the complete absence of any defense of the Pauline doctrine of Christ , the complete absence, indeed, of any systematic presentation of that doctrine. The Pauline view of Christ is everywhere presupposed , but nowhere defended. The phenomenon is very strange if the modern naturalistic account of Jesus be correct. According to that account, the historical Jesus, a great and good man, came after His death to be regarded as a divine Redeemer; one conception of Jesus gave place to a very different conception." "Yet the surprising thing is that the mighty transition has left not the slightest trace in the primary sources of information. The chief witness to the transcendent conception of Jesus as divine Redeemer is quite unco...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."   (Matthew 28:19 ESV) "As the Father is God, so is the Son,  And as the Son is God, so is the Holy Spirit;  And the Three are likewise One God when seen together.  Each is God because they are of the same essence,  And they are One God because of the single principle of Deity. And when I see the Three together, I see only one torch,  And I cannot divide or share out the Undivided Light." ~ Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 329--390)  [Cited by Nick Needham in Daily Readings – The Early Church Fathers ] Image above: an icon of the three Cappadocians -- Gregory of Nyssa, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nazianzus.   Continuing this Sunday: "Highlights in Church History", a summer adult class, meeting first hour (9:45 am) in the fellowship hall.  Topics include Council of Nicaea, Chalcedon, the gre...

"It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for." "Last year we said, 'Things can't go on like this', and they didn't, they got worse." "This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer."   "There is nothing so stupid as the educated man if you get him off the thing he was educated in."    "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects."   "We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others."   ~ Will Rogers (1879--1935) 

Burk & Amber Parsons Twitter is my main social media venue because I can receive short (140 characters short) insights from a variety of people.  I have enjoyed reading the tweets of Burk Parsons, who is editor of Tabletalk magazine and serves as co-pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida. He also has the distinction of being one of the founding members of the Backstreet Boys.  See Challies' interview with Parsons here .   Here are a few recent tweets from the quotable @BurkParsons...  "Theology is not simply the pursuit of knowledge about God, it's the pursuit of God himself."   "Beware of those who teach theology without using the Bible."   "W e can't do theology without doing careful exegesis."   "Pastors, if we focus on our sermon, our people get a sermon, but if we focus on Christ, our people get Christ."   "Seeking first God's kingdom is the antidote to worrying about tomorrow because i...

“What is the local church? It’s the institution which Jesus created and authorized to pronounce the gospel of the kingdom, to affirm gospel professors, to oversee their discipleship, and to expose impostors. All this means, we don’t ‘join’ churches like we join clubs. We submit to them.”  (Jonathan Leeman, "What Is The Local Church?" ) “No man who is full of himself can ever truly preach the Christ who emptied himself.”  (J. Sidlow Baxter) “Jesus redefined all authority as servant-authority. Any exercise of power can only be done in service to the Other, not to please oneself. Jesus is the one who did not come to be served, as the world’s authority figures expect to be, but to serve, to the point of giving his life... [He] clearly states his position on the meaning of authority and headship: In the world, rulers and high officials exercise their authority by ‘lording it’ over others. Not so with you. Those tasked with leadership must be the slaves of all, following their mast...

Niebuhr's definition of liberal Protestantism may be applied to today's revisionist Christianity : “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.”   (Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America , 1937) The "love of God" can be used in the Bible in different ways : "God loves with a love of benevolence (John 3:16) and with a love of delight (Zeph 3:17)." (Thomas Manton) C. S. Lewis on applied science, which we could call "technology" : "There is something which unites magic and applied science [ =technology ] while separating both from the 'wisdom' of earlier ages.  For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue.  For magic and applied science alike the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men; the solution is a techni...

A few quotes on the lighter side of growing older ... "When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure sign you're getting old."  (Mark Twain) "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."  (Mark Twain) "The trick is growing up without growing old."  (Casey Stengel) "In youth we run into difficulties. In old age difficulties run into us." (Beverly Sills)  "You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.” (Dave Barry) "Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain.”  (Dave Barry) “It is a scientific fact that your body will not absorb cholesterol if you take it from someone else's plate.”   (Dave Barry) "The simple truth is that balding African-American men look cool when they shave t...

“For when death had entered into the human race through man’s disobedience , it was fitting that life should be restored through the obedience of man . When the sin which was the cause of our condemnation had its beginning from a woman , it was fitting for the author of our justice and salvation to be born of a woman . Since the devil, when he tempted man, conquered him by the tasting of a tree , it was fitting for him to be conquered by man’s bearing of suffering on a tree . And a good many other things, when we consider them carefully, show the inexpressible beauty of our redemption , thus accomplished.”  (Anselm of Canterbury, Cur Deus Homo )  “No matter how many strong enemies plot to overthrow the church, they do not have sufficient strength to prevail over God’s immutable decree by which he appointed his Son eternal King.”   (John Calvin, quoted by Eric Alexander in The Supremacy of Jesus Christ in John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine & Doxology ...

And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' Is anything too difficult for the LORD ? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."  (Genesis 18:13-14 NASB) "Faith looks beyond all the contrary circumstances to rest upon the character of the one who promised. Do not be misled by the popular delusion that faith stands by itself, that it is simply believing—anything! Faith must have a promise to rest upon. Anything else is presumption, gullibility, and folly. But when God has given a word, it is the Word of God, and it can be trusted, despite circumstance, feelings, or anything else. For is anything too difficult for the Lord? "Does it seem hard to you to be what God wants you to be? Is it hard to keep your evil nature in the place of death? It is not too hard for the Lord! Does it seem hard to you to be made sweet and gracious and forgiving a...

From Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die , by John Piper... #16 To Give Us a Clear Conscience "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our  conscience from dead works to serve the living God."  (Hebrews 9:14) Some things never change. The problem of a dirty conscience is as old as Adam and Eve. As soon as they sinned, their  conscience was defiled. Their sense of guilt was ruinous. It ruined their relationship with God—they hid from him. It  ruined their relation to each other—they blamed. It ruined their peace with themselves—for the first time they saw  themselves and felt shame. All through the Old Testament, conscience was an issue. But the animal sacrifices themselves could not cleanse the  conscience.  “Gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food  and drink and various washings, regulatio...

"When Life Doesn't Make Sense" (Genesis 37-50) "You are between a rock (God's promise) and a hard place (this world)." "It's impossible to be fair to every person." "Life's not fair, but it is just -- and God will work it out in eternity." "The irony is that they sought to destroy the dream, but actually were instrumental in fulfilling it."   "When God's name is conspicuously absent, his providence is conspicuously present." "The power of influence is greater than the power of position."   "Honesty is not the same thing as integrity.  Honesty can be compartmentalized, but integrity involves wholeness." "You cannot hang on to bitterness and unforgiveness, and experience joyfulness in life."   "The grace of God is sufficient to see me through my earthly pilgrimage." "Forgiveness will cost you.  It will cost you the right to get even,...

“In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.”   (Dorothy L. Sayers)

Here are two helpful insights on marriage from some literary sources... "I knew couples who’d been married almost forever – forty, fifty, sixty years.  Seventy-two, in one case. They’d be tending each other’s illnesses, filling in each other’s faulty memories, dealing with the money troubles or the daughter’s suicide, or the grandson’s drug addiction. And I was beginning to suspect that it made no difference whether they’d married the right person. "Finally, you’re just with who you’re with. You’ve signed on with her, put in a half century with her, grown to know her as well as you know yourself or even better, and she’s become the right person. Or the only person, might be more to the point.  "I wish someone had told me that earlier. I’d have hung on then; I swear I would.” (From "A Patchwork Planet", by Anne Tyler) -------------     "I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even marry you becau...

For I am not ashamed of the gospel , for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16 ESV) Here's a good quote from "Of First Importance" blog, from Michael Horton, shared with the Gravitate study on Romans... “The gospel transforms us in heart, mind, will, and actions precisely because it is not itself a message about our transformation. Nothing that I am or that I feel, choose, or do qualifies as Good News. On my best days, my experience of transformation is weak, but the gospel is an announcement of a certain state of affairs that exists because of something in God, not something in me; something that God has done, not something that I have done; the love in God’s heart which he has shown in his Son, not the love in my heart that I exhibit in my relationships. Precisely as the Good News of a completed, sufficient, and perfect work of God in Christ accomplished for me and outside of me in hist...

Good quote from the Of First Importance blog : "In the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Christ, man’s sin was more than visible. Man’s disobedience to God, his rejection of truth, his cruelty, his lies, his hate, his greed, his vested interest, his oppression, his exploitation, his abuse of power, his deliberate choice of evil — all were there on the cross for everyone to see, hear, and feel. That is why the biblical statement that Jesus became the sin of the world is not some theological mumbo jumbo. It is a statement describing historical fact. It was not Jesus who was judged and condemned on that cross; it was human sin.” (Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Transformation , 2009)

Here's a beautiful exposition of gospel truth in exalted prose by French pastor and evangelist Jean Cauvin... If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is ‘of him.’  If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing.   If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion;  if purity, in his conception;  if gentleness, it appears in his birth. For by his birth he was made like us in all respects that he might learn to feel our pain.  If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion;  if acquittal, in his condemnation;  if remission of the curse, in his cross;  if satisfaction, in his sacrifice;  if purification, in his blood;  if reconciliation, in his descent into hell;  if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb;  if newness of life, in his resurrection;  if immortality, in the same;  if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; ...

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"  (John 1:29 NIV) “Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.”  (Horatius Bonar)  From Sunday's sermon by David Kingston: Before we end let us make sure we understand the implications of John’s statements. There are two major claims that we need to understand and make part of our lives.  There are probably some of you here this morning who are thinking “I would like to become a Christian, to know the forgiveness offered by Jesus. I can see the peace and joy in the lives of Christians that I know, and I want to have this same peace and joy. But how can I know this forgiveness? How can I stand before a holy God and know that my sins are forgiven?”  The apostle John gives us the answer in a nutshell right here at the beginning of the gospel by quoting John the Baptis...

"If a consciousness of the eternal were not implanted in man; if the basis of all that exists were but a confusedly fermenting element which, convulsed by obscure passions, Produced all, both the great and the insignificant; if under everything there lay a bottomless void never to be filled what else were life but despair? If it were thus, and if there were no sacred bonds between man and man; if one generation arose after another, as in the forest the leaves of one season succeed the leaves of another, or like the songs of birds which are taken up one after another; if the generations of man passed through the world like a ship passing through the sea and the wind over the desert—a fruitless and a vain thing; if eternal oblivion were ever greedily watching for its prey and there existed no power strong enough to wrest it from its clutches—how empty were life then, and how dismal!  "And therefore it is not thus; but, just as God created man and woman, he likewise called int...