John Newton: Two Things

"My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things--

That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior." via GOG

Tim Keller: Weakness

"The kingdom of God begins with weakness, relinquishment, giving up our rights to our own life; it begins with admitting that we need a Savior."

Michael Williams: Jesus is the Picture on the Puzzle Box

"The picture of Christ in the Old Testament can be obscured by veritable whiteout conditions of chronological, sacrificial, architectural, geographic, and genealogical details, so that all that can be made out after spending some time in the snowstorm is a mound of white where the car used to be. 

To an admittedly lesser degree, the problem exists for the New Testament as well. Names of apostles and disciples, travelogues, letters to forgotten churches in obscure locales regarding confusing theological issues—all of this can seem like so many different shaped jigsaw pieces without a picture on the box to help us to put it all together... [There is a picture given to us to help us piece the puzzle together], and it is a picture of Jesus." via Challies

Anthony Hoekema: Righteous in Christ

"God sees us, not as we are in our sin, but as we are in Christ - impeccably righteous."

John Calvin: Righteousness

I found this to be both succinct and profound:

“Everyone who would obtain the righteousness of God must renounce his own.”

For a great example of this, check out what Paul teaches us here.

Gospel

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Gen 1:1

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. - Gen 1:31

But from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes….she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. - Gen 3:3-4, 6

Therefore…through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. - Rom 5:12

The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand,who seek after God.  They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. - Psalm 14:2-3

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Rom 5:8

He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:5-6

He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. - John 1:11-13

This Jesus, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.  But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. - Acts 2:23-24

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -2 Cor. 5:21

For whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved. - Rom 10:13

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. - 1 Cor 15:22 via MP

Martin Luther: Freedom

“He [Christ] died for me. He made His righteousness mine and made my sin His own; and if He made my sin His own, then I do not have it, and I am free.” 

12 Stones: Infected

I'm in a rock mood tonight. Sometimes you just need to hear someone scream into a mic about the infection of sin and how it ruins everything. HT: CFG

Free Kindle Book: The Transforming Power of the Gospel

Right now you can get another free kindle book by Jerry Bridges entitled The Transforming Power of the Gospel from Amazon.

Grab it here.

Hat tip to Adam Parker at Bring the Books (great blog BTW).

Update: The price is now 4.99.

Voddie Baucham: The Line of Christ

This is good preaching.

Martin Luther: True Self Esteem

"God doesn't love us because we are valuable. We are valuable because he loves us." 

Michael Horton: Revelation

"Human beings do not discover God; God reveals himself. God is never the revealed object without being the revealed subject."

A.W. Pink: The New Birth

"The new birth is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears due to a temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or “joining the church.” The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf but is the inception and reception of a new life. It is no mere reformation but a complete transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle, the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting.

Here then is the first thing, in time, which God does in His own elect. He lays hold of those who are spiritually dead and quickens them into newness of life. He takes up one who was shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, and conforms him to the image of His Son. He seizes a captive of the Devil and makes him a member of the household of faith. He picks up a beggar and makes him joint-heir with Christ. He comes to one who is full of enmity against Him and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him. He stoops to one who by nature is a rebel and works in him both to will and to do of His own good pleasure. By His irresistible power He transforms a sinner into a saint, an enemy into a friend, a slave of the Devil into a child of God." via Tim Challies

Tchividjian: Real Change

"Real change happens only as we continuously rediscover the gospel. The progress of the Christian life is “not our movement toward the goal; it’s the movement of the goal on us.” Sanctification involves God’s attack on our unbelief—our self-centered refusal to believe that God’s approval of us in Christ is full and final. It happens as we daily receive and rest in our unconditional justification. As G. C. Berkouwer said, “The heart of sanctification is the life which feeds on justification.”

The Second Adam

As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.  For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:18-19

What is the Heart of the Gospel?

I agree with MacArthur - 2 Cor. 5:21 is (IMO) the greatest gospel verse in all the Bible. The truth found within this short verse is absolutely life changing.