Preaching from Ephesians 1:7, John Calvin said, God puts our sins out of his remembrance and drowns them in the depths of the sea, and, moreover, receives the payment that was offered him in the person of his only Son. This is the gift of redemption that comes from God through the God-Man Jesus Christ. […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (5/24/09)What does it mean when the Bible says, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Rom. 9:13)? Can God really hate people? (We know it is righteous to hate sin.) If so, how is that hatred righteous (as it must be for God to be God)? And what specifically did it mean when Paul quoted […]
Read More Does God hate?For all the questions that may be raised about the doctrine of divine, unconditional election, what is particularly striking about Ephesians 1:4 is its clarity and simplicity. That God was the one doing the choosing is unmistakable. That man is incapable of offering anything meritorious for his salvation, is also clear. God chose before the […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (5/3/09)In preparation for yesterday’s message on Ephesians 1:4 (and the one or two that will follow it), I have not only done a fair bit of reading, but have also listened to a number of sermons that have benefited me. The ones I have linked below have been the greatest help to me. [Aside: I […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/26/09)C. J. Mahaney, Living the Cross Centered Life: Not only will He leave nothing in that cup of wrath for us to drink…but today you and I find ourselves with another cup in our hands. It’s the cup of salvation. From this precious new cup we find ourselves drinking and drinking — drinking consistently, drinking […]
Read More Today’s Quote – God’s Wrath (Mahaney)When God waits for a thousand years to accomplish a purpose of His own, He does not wait a long time. He waits only for “one day.” That is, His purposes are not compromised by a delay of a thousand years, nor are they enhanced by the delay. In fact, what are a thousand years […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (2/15/09)George Whitfield: Was there any fitness foreseen in us, except a fitness for damnation? I believe not. No, God chose us from eternity, he called us in time, and I am persuaded will keep us from falling finally, till time shall be no more. Consider the gospel in this view and it appears a consistent […]
Read More Today’s Quote (11/3/08)John Piper, Pleasures of God: God elects, predestines, and secures for one great ultimate purpose — that the glory of his grace might be praised forever and ever with white-hot affection. This is why God delights in election. It is the great first work of free grace that takes away the final refuge of human […]
Read More Today’s Quote (11/2/08)Thomas Watson: Let us then ascribe the whole work of grace to the pleasure of God’s Will. God did not choose us because we were worthy, but by choosing us, He makes us worthy.
Read More Today’s Quote (11/1/08)John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied: Truly God is love. Love is not something adventitious; it is not something that God may choose to be or choose not to be. He is love, and that necessarily, inherently, and eternally. As God is spirit, as he is light, so he is love. Yet it belongs to […]
Read More Today’s Quote (10/5/08)Stephen Nichols, The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World: Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes I hated the righteous […]
Read More Today’s Quote (9/29/08)Thabiti Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member?: With a group of mature Christian church members and friends, use the following questions [for self-examination of your conversion] to consider and cite evidence of God’s grace among you and, if necessary, identify areas where grace is needed. Do we walk in the light or in the […]
Read More Today’s Quote (9/18/08)Thabiti Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member?: Conversion is the radical turn from an enslaved life of pursuing sin to a free life of pursuing and worshipping God. Conversion is a change of life, not merely a decision. This change is not a matter of moral rectitude, self help, or mere behavior modification. It […]
Read More Today’s Quote (9/17/08)A few years ago I came across the first addendum of sins that the Roman Catholic church added to its official list of sins compiled at the Council of Trent in 1545. Some of the new offenses? Failing to vote. Drunken driving. Forging checks. Charging unjust rents. Paying unfair salaries. Wasting resources (like pampering pets). […]
Read More A few more thoughts about sin and salvationSince Sunday morning, I’ve been thinking more about my message and the implications of sin and salvation on our spiritual life. I’ve even listened to the sermon again myself. Did I say what I wanted to say, the way I wanted to say it? I was intentional in attempting to front-load the sermon with a […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/20/08)
