Happy Reformation Sunday!

HT: Matthew Robbins

"Do you still feel shame over your old life? Don’t! That old you is dead. Christ killed that person on the Cross." - Matt Chandler

The First Thing to Teach a New Convert

John MacArthur, Answering the Key Questions About the Doctrine of Election (Interview): 
“It probably ought to be the first thing you teach a young believer. Now that you’ve come to Christ, this is what I want you to know, you were saved by the sovereign grace of God who stepped into your life in the midst of your death and blindness and gave you life and sight and picked you up and brought you into His Kingdom. Sheer grace has done this for you. 
That, I think, is the first thing you should say to a new convert. This is, if in fact, you are faithful to the confession you have made, if in fact your love for Christ and desire to honor, to worship and to obey Him continues to grow, this will be an ongoing evidence that God has wrought a miracle in your life. And because of that, you need to know, this is really important, that you should live a life of gratitude for a work has been done in you which you did not deserve and did not earn.” via RT

J. Gresham Machen: Give me the Gospel, Not Exhortations.

What good does it do me to tell me that the type of religion presented in the Bible is a very fine type of religion and that the thing for me to do is just to start practicing that type of religion now? ... I will tell you, my friend. It does not one tiniest little bit of good.... 

What I need first of all is not exhortation but a gospel, not directions for saving myself but knowledge of how God has saved me.  Have you any good news for me?  That is the question that I ask of you.  I know your exhortations will not help me.  But if anything has been done to save me, will you not tell me the facts?                           

Mark Galli: Freedom in Grace

To receive ... grace is to know freedom from the colorless expectations of a merely moral life, with its predictable and dreary consequences, and to know instead the extraordinary liberty of the children of God.

A Man of Sorrows

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...  (Isaiah 53:3)

Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38)

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears… (Hebrews 5:7)

Going through a hard time? He's been there.

Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Sovereignty of God

For many Christians today the idea of submitting their lifestyle and their core beliefs to Scripture as the final authority seems both obvious and traditional; however, subjection to Scripture alone has not always been fiercely advocated by the church’s leadership and therefore has not always been the common practice of many Christians. The Roman Catholic Church, leading up to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, had attached near-ultimate authority to itself and its leadership thereby usurping the authority of the sacred Scriptures. Since the church, in their opinion, had canonized the Holy Bible, the Bible was therefore to be in subjection to the church. Those in authority within the church were the mediators (priests) between God and the sinner. They had the final say in all manners of doctrine and faith, not Scripture. Unsurprisingly, that kind of power led to massive corruption.

Similarly, the modern Protestant understanding that eternal life comes by “grace through faith in Christ” would, at first glance, appear to many believers to be a common orthodox belief built upon two thousand years of strong biblical exposition; but that simply is not the case. Sadly, the pre-Reformation gospel had been diluted and polluted to the point that it was unrecognizable from what Jesus Christ taught/lived/was, and what Paul the apostle carefully and forcefully exposited in his Epistles. Over the centuries, “theologians and churchmen had heaped up layer upon layer of extra biblical teaching and practice obscuring the church’s true treasure of the gospel.”[1] Christianity had turned into a list of “to do’s” as opposed to an acknowledgement of what has already been “done” by Jesus Christ. The church was in trouble.

Fortunately, in the sixteenth century God raised up several key thinkers, scholars, theologians, lay people, and preachers who were bold enough to speak out against the established church in defense of Scriptural authority and gospel clarity. By God’s grace, the church underwent a reformation of epic proportions - the effects of which are still being felt nearly five hundred years later. One of the key figures in the Reformation was an ornery monk named Martin Luther. This post will explore Luther’s life, theology, and legacy as well as the Lutheran Reformation that he initiated. In the end, it will hopefully be revealed through the lens of church history, that God is fully in control. The plans of God will not be frustrated. He will perfect his bride (the church) even if that means utilizing the quirky character traits of flawed men such as Martin Luther. Though Luther will be the primary focus of this post, God will be shown to be the protagonist of the Reformation story. Luther, as important a figure as he was, was merely a character actor on history’s grand stage – Jehovah God was and still is the headlining star.

  

The Message of the Cross in a Superficial World

I read somewhere that this generation is the most entertained generation in all of history. Even America's most impoverished communities have access to high speed internet, iPhones, iPads, Streaming Movies, OnDemand TV, a steady barrage of slick commercials, and XBox live with Turtle Beach headsets.

We are inundated with sensation, with sexuality, and with sales pitches.

Yet, we are bored, we are empty, and we are seeking for more. When the distractions fade in the darkest night our souls are revealed to be restless.

There is a longing for significance... for something meaningful... something bigger than ourselves.

Inside all of us is a desire to be a part of something epic. 

We want our lives to count. 

We want to live in the context of a story that is bigger than ourselves and our day to day grind.

There is a hole in our heart that no amount of earthly sensation can satisfy.

Before it is too late some of us will, like Solomon in Ecclesiastes (a man who had everything that you and I dream of), realize, by God’s grace, the shallowness and emptiness of what society is offering.

The reality is that shiny objects become dull. Today’s hottest gadgets become obsolete tomorrow. Beauty fades. Health deteriorates. Clothes go out of style. Friends betray you. Markets crash. Houses lose value. Loved ones pass away. Cancer spreads. Hair falls out. Smooth skin wrinkles. 

There has to be more to all of this. 
Life must be bigger than macbooks, money, and hedonistic indulgences.

Augustine famously said: "Our Hearts are Restless Until They Rest in [Him]" i.e., God.
I know it sounds cliche, but I present to you Jesus Christ as the answer for what you are looking for. This is not based on some internal feeling that I experienced or because I know that He lives within my heart, but based upon the historical fact that He resurrected bodily from the grave. Truly, anyone who can defeat death demands our allegiance and proves that His message is indeed true.

Now, for those who are called, Jesus invites them into His story. It is the greatest story ever told - the story of redemption.

We don’t redeem, we don’t save, we aren’t the gospel, but we have the privilege of being Christ’s ambassadors. We proclaim the gospel. We tell our families, our friends, and our neighbors of what he has already accomplished. We have a mission. We have a purpose.

You will not find a more rewarding cause. 

There is no better way to spend your time than in service to the King. 

There is no greater pursuit than the pursuit of Jesus Christ. 

There is no greater message than the scandalous gospel of free grace to all who believe.
So, if you long to be a part of something bigger than yourself then join us as we worship and proclaim the good news of a God whose loves comes without conditions, whose grace knows no limit, and whose mercy endures forever.

Watch This...You'll Be Glad That You Did

R.C. Sproul: A God Who Is Bigger Than Life

"I know that life changes. We decay. We hurt. We die. Nothing in this life is for sure. That’s why you and I need a God who is bigger than life, certainly One who is bigger than death. We need a God who cannot be slain, a God who cannot die. Magic won’t do. Myths won’t work either. This God must be real."

Dane Ortlund: Defiant Grace

"The grace that comes to us in Jesus Christ is not measured. This grace refuses to allow itself to be tethered to our innate sense of fairness, reciprocity, and balancing of the scales. It is defiant…However much we may laud grace with our lips, our hearts are so thoroughly law-marinated that the Christian life must be, at core, one of continually bathing our hearts and minds in gospel grace. We are addicted to law. Conforming our lives to a moral framework, playing by the rules, meeting a minimum standard—this feels normal. And it is how we naturally medicate that deep sense of inadequacy within. The real question is not how to avoid becoming a Pharisee; the question is how to recover from being the Pharisee we already, from the womb, are.

Law feels safe. Grace feels risky. Rule-keeping breeds a sense of manageability; grace feels like moral vertigo....

It is time to enjoy grace anew. Not the decaffeinated grace that pats us on the hand, ignores our deepest rebellions, and doesn’t change us, but the high-octane grace that takes our conscience by the scruff of the neck and breathes new life into us with a pardon so scandalous that we cannot help but be changed. It’s time to blow aside the hazy cloud of condemnation that hangs over us throughout the day with the strong wind of gospel grace. “You are not under law but under grace” (Rom 6:14). Jesus is real, grace is defiant, life is short, risk is good. For many of us the time has come to abandon once and for all our play-it-safe, toe-dabbling Christianity and dive in. It is time, as Robert Farrar Capon put it, to get drunk on grace. Two hundred-proof, defiant grace." via Tullian (of course).

Gospel Power

Things like radical generosity and audacious faith are not produced when we focus on them, but when we focus on the gospel. Focusing on what we ought to do for God creates only frustration and exhaustion; focusing on what Jesus has done for us produces abundant fruit. Resting in what Jesus has done for us releases the revolutionary power of the gospel. -J.D. Greear

Tim Keller: What is the Bible Basically About?

Grace From Before the Dawn of Time

"Before all time; prior to all worlds; when there was nothing ‘outside of’ God Himself; when the Father, Son, and Spirit found eternal, absolute, and unimaginable blessing, pleasure, and joy in Their holy triunity — it was Their agreed purpose to create a world. That world would fall. But in unison — and at infinitely great cost — this glorious triune God planned to bring you (if you are a believer) grace and salvation.

This is deeper grace from before the dawn of time. It was pictured in the rituals, the leaders, and the experiences of the Old Testament saints, all of whom longed to see what we see. All this is now ours. Our salvation depends on God’s covenant, rooted in eternity, foreshadowed in the Mosaic liturgy, fulfilled in Christ, enduring forever." - Sinclair Ferguson via OFI

Book Recommendation: Living in God's Two Kingdoms

If you enjoy theology, then pick up David VanDrunen's Living in God's Two Kingdoms - you'll thank me later. It's truly a rich and rewarding read. The book is built upon a covenantal / Christological hermeneutic - which I love. David makes a Scripture-laden argument for Christians living out their lives in light of the already/not yet kingdom of Christ.

Unlike many celebrity Christian authors who simply throw a book together to meet a deadline or quota, VanDrunen's scholarship, work, and passion for his topic shine through nearly every page of this masterpiece. Four stars out of four.

Right now you can pick up the Kindle version on sale for $3.03 here.

Christ: The Fulfillment of ALL the Promises of God

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. - 2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV

Doug Wilson: You Must. You Can't. Jesus Did!

This is fantastic. HT: Matthew Robbins

What is Christianity?

Free Audio Book This Month

Throughout the month of October Christianaudio.com is offering the audio version of John Piper's book Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God for FREE!


Download it here.