Christ Alone Our Righteousness----Lest We Be Swallowed Up

Some Gospel fuel for your upcoming week from the great Belgic Confession. Preach it to yourself every day:


.......We believe that Jesus Christ is a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, made such by an oath, and that he presented himself in our name before his Father, to appease his wrath with full satisfaction by offering himself on the tree of the cross and pouring out his precious blood for the cleansing of our sins, as the prophets had predicted.

For it is written that "the chastisement of our peace" was placed on the Son of God and that "we are healed by his wounds." He was "led to death as a lamb"; he was "numbered among sinners" and condemned as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, though Pilate had declared that he was innocent.

So he paid back what he had not stolen, and he suffered, the "just for the unjust," in both his body and his soul, in such a way that when he senses the horrible punishment required by our sins his sweat became like "big drops of blood falling on the ground." He cried, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" And he endured all this for the forgiveness of our sins.

Therefore we rightly say with Paul that we "know nothing but Jesus and him crucified"; we consider all things as "dung for the excellence of the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." We find all comforts in his wounds and have no need to seek or invent any other means to reconcile ourselves with God than this one and only sacrifice, once made, which renders believers perfect forever. This is also why the angel of God called him Jesus, that is, "Savior", because he would save his people from their sins.

(Isa. 53:4-12; Ps. 69:4; 1 Pet. 3:18; Luke 22:44; Matt. 27:46; 1 Cor. 2:2; Phil. 3:8; Matt. 1:21)



We believe that for us to acquire the true knowledge of this great mystery the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith that embraces Jesus Christ, with all his merits, and makes him its own, and no longer looks for anything apart from him. For it must necessarily follow that either all that is required for our salvation is not in Christ or, if all is in him, then he who has Christ by faith has his salvation entirely. Therefore, to say that Christ is not enough but that something else is needed as well is a most enormous blasphemy against God, for it then would follow that Jesus Christ is only half a Savior. And therefore we justly say with Paul that we are justified "by faith alone" or by faith "apart from works."

However, we do not mean, properly speaking, that it is faith itself that justifies us, for faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness. But Jesus Christ is our righteousness in making available to us all his merits and all the holy works he has done for us and in our place. And faith is the instrument that keeps us in communion with him and with all his benefits. When those benefits are made ours they are more than enough to absolve us of our sins.

(Rom. 3:28)



We believe that our blessedness lies in the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus Christ, and that in it our righteousness before God is contained, as David and Paul teach us when they declare that man blessed to whom God grants righteousness apart from works.

And the same apostle says that we are justified "freely" or "by grace" through redemption in Jesus Christ. And therefore we cling to this foundation, which is firm forever, giving all glory to God, humbling ourselves, and recognizing ourselves as we are; not claiming a thing for ourselves or our merits and leaning and resting on the sole obedience of Christ crucified, which is ours when we believe in him.

That is enough to cover all our sins and to make us confident, freeing the conscience from the fear, dread, and terror of God’s approach, without doing what our first father, Adam, did, who trembled as he tried to cover himself with fig leaves. In fact, if we had to appear before God relying, no matter how little, on ourselves or some other creature, then, alas, we would be swallowed up.......

(Ps. 32:1; Rom. 4:6; Rom. 3:24; Ps. 143:2)

Pause

Today I pause in my 15 Reasons Why I Believe the Bible Is God's Word series. The reason? I have to finish preparing three talks for tomorrow's parenting seminar (20 couples are coming!). I've got to finish prep for Sunday's sermon. And I've got to get ready for our More of God prayer time this evening and a TFC family meeting Sunday evening.

So the plate is a little full.

But don't let that stop you from pausing and reviewing where we've been in this series so far. I'd love to hear from you about your thoughts to date. Which (if any) of these reasons given have helped you the most? Which do you think might be most helpful in witnessing? Which seems the weakest, and why?

Take a moment and share a thouught or two. I'd love the conversation!

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: Its Universal Message

In the ancient world various people groups believed that there were many gods, and a different god for every tribe, land, sea, planetary sphere, etc. There was no one God over all, but a bunch of side-by-side, often competing gods vying for their territory and space.

We hear whispered echoes of such belief today whenever people tie their faith to their ethnicity or nationality or culture or heritage. Is it possible that we might even hear those whispers in the popular mantras: "I like to think of God like..." and "That view of God may be true for you, but this one is true for me?" People seem to believe that there cannot be any one God for all people.

I'm guessing that one reason for this history of religious thought is that people simply cannot imagine a God big and great and sufficient enough to be one size fits all. Who can conceive of One Person who can transcend every culture, cross every divide, appeal to every type of person, meet the truest needs of every human?

Friends: what man cannot imagine, the Bible reveals. Another reason why I believe the Bible is God's Word is this: the remarkable universal relevance of the Bible’s message and morals which transcends all times and cultures, suggests a single universal Mind behind it all.

The Bible addresses universal human needs like the forgiveness of sin, relationship with God, purpose for life, an abiding Moral Law, and an imperative of love for all peoples that transcends every ethnic, social, and geographical dividing line.

And it does this in such a way as to respect the cultures that exist. It even promises that in the end, various people who have been redeemed by Christ will carry the glory of their cultures into heaven (Revelation 5:9, 10; 21:23-26). God's heaven will be the ultimate multi-cultural event.

The message of the Bible, which is a message of a God who made all humans out of one Man and one Woman, is a message that calls all ethnicites back to God through repentance from sin and faith in Christ. And when they come back to God through Christ they will find an equal standing upon which they may love and worship God in ways consistent with their own cultures and styles.

They do not need to become white or black or rich or poor or Asian or American or free or slave or old or young to belong to Christ and worship God. They simply need to be a humble sinners who know they need a Savior.

The Bible speaks to all without distinction, and what it says can be believed and lived by all without distinction! Its message is universal, because its Author is universal. In it the God Who made everything talks to everybody.

Another pillar under my faith.

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: Genuine Unpolished Records

We live in a world of talking heads. Watch any news channel and so-called experts line up--people you only see from the shoulders up--to spew their rehearsed viewpoints on every topic under heaven.

What is rare is to hear someone say something that is truly original, unexpected, genuine; something akin to the unvarnished, unpolished, unspun truth. Listen to the various voices and what you hear is rehearsed talking points, all pre-packaged, pre-planned, pre-scripted.

When a political party wants to get its message out it rallies its best talking heads, gives them a few things to say, tells them not to wander from those points, locks them into a few "facts", and makes sure they're all on the same page.

What you cannot have in today's political spin game is someone saying something that is off topic, off script, and in any way even apparently out of sinc with the party's other yapping mouths. The facade of credibility is maintained by a contrived, artifical, polished agreement between all those representing a point of view.

The trouble with all this--at least for a thinking person--is that it has all the look and feel of intellectual fraud. Truth does not have to be contrived or polished; just spoken.

This is another reason why I believe the Bible is the Word of God: the diverse styles, accounts, and records of the Bible are remarkably consistent even though they do not bear the marks of human editing to remove apparent error or contradiction, or of human polishing to buff up its claims, legendize its heroes or give it an artificial sacred look.

For example, read the biblical accounts of the resurrection and you will not detect polished attempts to line up all the details. The accounts even have appearance of contradiction (not real contradictions, but simply separate details given by different witnesses).

Read the histories of Israel and the early church and you will not find legendized accounts of heroic, larger than life, can-do-no-wrong super-saints. Instead you'll find real humans who along with their great feats for God committed great sins against God!

Read the poetry and worship songs of the Bible where you might expect to find soaring expressions of astonishing faith and holy worship, and what do you discover? You will find soaring expressions of faith and holy worship. But you will also find shocking expressions of doubt and fear and near depression and even anger against God.

Read the deep writings of the great theologians of the Bible, those whose job, presumably, is to make truth about God clear for all to understand, and what do you find? You will find much that is clear and plain and easily explained. But you will also find mysteries which the writers tell you simply to accept whether one understands them or not (e.g.-the Trinity or the siamese truths of the sovereignty of God and moral responsibility of man). They make no attempt to explain the mysterious or paradoxical; they simply charge the reader to believe.

Make no mistake: the Bible is beautiful, deep, profound, grand, fathomless. But it is also down-to-earth, gritty, unpolished, unspun, genuine, real.

One thing for sure: it is not is contrived. No one met in a back room somewhere and gave the writers of Scripture their talking points and told them to stay on script. What really happened was that God gave them truth to write and told them to write it without concern for artificial points of agreement or appearance of polish. He told them just to write what He said and they saw.

It's like God said: "Tell it like it is. I don't care about whether people appreciate or can reconcile everything you say or not. I want truth-writers, not talking heads. The truth will speak for itself, vindicate itself, and set men free."

Ladies and gentlemen: in many ways, the Bible is not pretty. Neither is it polite, polished, or politically correct. Some see this as excuse to believe it is not true. For my part, I see it as reason to believe that it is.

What do you think?

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: God's Preserving Hand

Another reason why I believe the Bible is God's Word is this: The Bible has been preserved supernaturally against internal corruption (i.e. the integrity/reliability of its text has been maintained for thousands of years), and against external attack (no matter how hard people have tried to destroy it, it still exists today). This attests to its divine Authorship and a divine intervention to preserve it for all time.

To the often asked question: "How do you know that the Bible is the same now as was written by its original authors thousands of years ago?", the answer is in fact quite plain and simple. We have thousands of ancient manuscripts of the Bible (in whole or in part) which can be compared to each other and to what we have today. When these are compared the accuracy of the preserved text is proven.

Let me give you one example. The discovery between 1947 and 1956 of the Dead Sea Scrolls (which include copies of the Old Testament Scriptures written around 100-150 B.C.),has made it possible to compare the text of the Hebrew Bible then with the earliest copies previously discovered, the Masoretic Text (980AD).

A careful comparison analysis shows that the Hebrew text suffered no meaningful corruption or change over that 1,000-1,100 year span! Apart from a letter or word here or there the text is exactly the same. Such comparisons of all the ancient biblical texts reveal astonishing accuracy, an accuracy that lays to rest any serious doubts about the reliability of our Bible today.

What we read in our Bible in 2010 is a careful and accurate record of what the original authors wrote. That claim is not so much a matter of religious faith as it is of established scientific fact. The agreement of today's Bible with ancient manuscripts is so thorough, so substantial, so nearly 100% (right down to the letters of the text) that we can have have absolute certainty that what we read now is what was written then. The text of Scripture has been preserved remarkably from internal corruption.

It has also been preserved from external attack. No book in all of history has faced such sustained attack as the Bible has. People and even nations have tried to undermine and destroy it. Yet today, the Bible is more available and more widely read than at any time in history.

All this leads to another conclusion: the Bible must have been written and preserved by no one less than God. How else does one explain such remarkable preservation of a text written ages ago, a preservation, I might add, accomplished without the benefit of copying machines and modern technologies? For centuries the 1, 000+ pages of the Bible were preserved without internal corruption, by hand, not machine! It defies human explanation.

And how else does one explain the astonishing ongoing existence of a Book so pervasively despised and so often attacked? The best answer? This is the hand of God.

God had something to do with this.

I suppose natural human explanations can be suggested, but in my mind they would have all the markings of a desperation to deny the supernatural! Friends, God wrote this Book, and then preserved it so that humans may hear from Him throughout all generations.

Any other explanation requires more faith than I can muster. When it comes to the inspiration and preservation of the Bible, to paraphrase one author: "I don't have enough faith to be an unbeliever."

No More Play-Acting

When I was a boy we'd often hear sermons about the importance of "witnessing." I was made to understand that "winning people to Christ" was my job, and that the world was filled folks who were on their way to hell.

Once, after what must have been a particularly urgent challenge, I resolved to "witness" to someone in my public school the next day. I was only 10 or 11 yrs old and uneasy about trying this, but convinced it was my duty.

I found a school mate the next day and began telling him that he must ask Jesus into his heart, and that if he didn't, he would go to hell where there was eternal fire.

But it didn't ring true, and I knew it. It all seemed so unnatural and ridiculous, even unbelievable to me. The boy was bewildered, and I suddenly felt foolish. As the boy tried to make sense out of my words a little voice in my own head was saying, "wait a minute Pete... do you even believe what your telling this kid?"

Sunday morning's message revealed a better way. There is something wrong about "insisting" on evangelism, or "strategizing" over how to evangelize, or trying to discover "techniques" for effective evangelism.

What I took away Sunday morning was this: Evangelize we must! Yes! There is good news for those who are dead in sin. Repent they must! But effective evangelism requires only this: A love for Jesus Christ, a love for sinners, and the filling of the Spirit of God.

In other words, the whole thing has got to be real. You do not "strategize" your way to a love for the lost. It's there or it isn't. We must be constrained by the love of Christ, as St. Paul was. You don't strategize about how to be filled with the Spirit. He will fill us as He chooses.

Brothers and sisters may the Lord Himself equip us for the work of evangelism by giving us a love for the lost and the fullness of His Spirit. Play-acting doesn't work.

Do We In Fact Believe It?

I read these thoughts from Francis Schaeffer last night concerning the significance of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God:

Does inerrancy make a difference? Overwhelmingly; the difference is that with the Bible being what it is, God’s Word and so absolute, God’s objective truth, we do not need to be, and we should not be, caught in the ever-changing fallen cultures which surround us. Those who do not hold the inerrancy of Scripture do not have this high privilege. To some extent, they are at the mercy of the fallen, changing culture. And Scripture is thus bent to conform to the changing world spirit of the day, and they therefore have no solid authority upon which to judge and to resist the views and values of that changing, shifting world spirit.

We, however, must be careful before the Lord. If we say we believe the Bible to be the inerrant and authoritative “Thus saith the Lord,” we do not face the howling winds of change which surround us with confusion and terror. And yet, the other side of the coin is that if this is the “Thus saith the Lord,” we must live under it. And without that, we don’t understand what we have said when we say we stand for an inerrant Scripture.

I would ask again, Does inerrancy really make a difference — in the way we live our lives across the whole spectrum of human existence? Sadly we must say that we evangelicals who truly hold to the full authority of Scripture have not always done well in this respect. I have said that inerrancy is the watershed of the evangelical world. But it is not just a theological debating point. It is the obeying of the Scripture which is the watershed! It is believing and applying it to our lives which demonstrate whether we in fact believe it. (The Great Evangelical Disaster, by Francis A. Schaeffer, Crossway Books, 1984)

As we reflect on Tim's current excellent, hugely important foundational FreeTruth series on why we have good and sufficient reasons to believe that the Bible is what it claims to be--the Word of God, I deeply hope that we will all purpose to thoroughly absorb and apply what he is saying. I hope that we will make these thoughts our thoughts, to both strengthen our own confidence in the Bible as the very Word of God written, and to help us as we interact with our non-Christian friends and acquaintances, giving them objective reasons for the hope that we have in the Savior, and why they should embrace Him as their Treasure too (1 Pet. 3:15).

And as we do so I pray that for both you and I the implications of the full truthfulness and absolute authority of the Bible as that which is Theopneustos--breathed out by God, will, across the whole spectrum of our lives, in all the details of our lives--in thought, word, and deed--be such that it will truly function with absolute authority over our lives (2 Tim. 3:16-17). May we tremble before God's Word (Is. 66:2)--indeed tremble at the prospect of dishonoring God through disbelieving or disobeying His Word at any point. May it make that kind of a difference.

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: It Authenticates Itself

A quick question for you: If you want to convince someone that there is a bright shiny warm sun, what would be your best approach? Think about it now. You can do this. In fact it's so easy a caveman could do it.

If you want to convince someone that the sun exists, simply tell them to look up. Don't waste too much time building a case, laying out the cosmic facts, citing scientific references and scholars, or reasoning from the history of human thought on the subject. Just tell them to look up and see it for themselves.

You see: the sun verifies itself. By simply shining the sun self-authenticates. It demonstrates its own existence, glory, and brilliant attributes simply by being what it is and doing what it does. The sun proves the sun.

Why do I believe the Bible is God's Word? Simply because it proves itself to be God's Word. The unity, majesty, beauty, real-life relevance, and transforming power of the Bible give to it a self-authenticating quality. It proves itself to be the Word of God just by what it is and does. The Bible proves the Bible.

The more I read and study the Bible (something I literally have been privileged to do for about 35,000 hours of my life), the more I find that it doesn't need so much to be proven as it needs simply to be read. That is to say: if you want to know the Bible is the Word of God, all you really need is an open Bible and open eyes with an open mind. The Bible itself will do the rest, as the Holy Spirit makes it shine into your heart.

Much like the sun proves itself to be the sun simply by shining, the Bible proves itself to be the Word of God simply by being (Psalm 119:130). It's brilliance is too glorious, its truth too compelling, its power too transforming, its effects too deep and satisfying for it to be anything but the Word of God.

This self-authenticating witness of the Word is confirmed further by the internal witness of the Holy Spirit within those who read the Bible with reverent and open hearts. This is what the Westminster Confession had in mind:

We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent [agreement] of all the parts, the scope [goal] of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.

All that is to say that as the Holy Spirit gives light through the shining truth of God's Word, the need for other arguments diminishes. God authenticates His own Word by the illuminating light and power of that Word for the enlightenment and transforming good of those who read it.

If you're still having doubts can I plead (not too strong of a word, for everything of meaning hinges on your willingness) to do something?

Pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see and a willingness to look. From that point on the Bible will speak for itself.

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: It Tells One Single Story

I remember as a late teenager reading authors much older than me who described the wonders and beauties of the Bible, and thinking: "Somehow I believe what they're saying is true, but I have not yet fully seen those beauties with my own eyes." Well, now I'm one of those old guys. Please hear me when I say: what I once had only heard of, I now have seen. The Bible is a wondrously beautiful Word from God, unsurpassed in its stunning riches and awesome sweetness. It is unrivalled among all the writings on earth.

One facet of its beauty that never ceases to amaze me is the sixth reason why I believe the Bible is the Word of God: the message of the Bible is a unified whole which, despite God’s use of 40+ human instruments, presents from start to finish a single story line of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration/recreation .

The idea that some have that the Bible is no more than a collection of loosely connected religious musings penned by various people cannot be further from the truth. The Bible tells one story, sings one song, heralds one message. It's a story of how God made Man to live in Paradise, how that Paradise was lost, how a Redeemer-Deliverer-King would (and has) come to rescue Man and re-create that Paradise, and how that Paradise will be fully restored for all who belong to God by faith.

It is no accident that Genesis begins the Bible with an account of Paradise first made, and Revelation 20-22 concludes the Bible with a description of Paradise restored. That is the story line of the Bible, and everything between Genesis and Revelation is the record of how God gets it done.

More than forty writers over 1, 500 years were moved by God to author the various parts of the Bible, and as they wrote they were moved to tell this same story. Through historical narratives, exquisite poems, personal letters, epic sagas, war stories, love songs, detailed geneologies, stunning metaphors, spell-binding images, soaring prophecies, and down-to-earth parables, the writers of Scripture, despite all their varied personalities and styles, were nonetheless single-minded in what they wrote.

This unity is not just observable in the big themes and story line of the Bible; it is found in the details as well. God's Word presents one moral law, one way of salvation, one view of God, one way to do family, and one model for relationships, for communication, for love, for integrity, for work, for social justice, for how men and women are to relate in complementary roles, and for a whole lot more.

Look ladies and gentlemen: I defy you to put 40 people in a room and tell them to tell one story about the meaning of life and to make sure that they get not only all the big ideas the same, but all the details too. Good luck!

Yet over 15 centuries, three and a half dozen very different men of incredibly diverse peronalities, cultures, and times were called of God to write His story. This they did with a unified voice. Such oneness of thought suggests powerfully a Unifying Mind behind it all.

Fifteen hundred years. Forty writers. Dozens of styles. Thousands of details. Hundreds of sub-plots.

One Book. One Story. One message. One Author. One Mind inspiring it all. One God.

Another reason why I believe.

Why I Believe the Bible Is the Word of God: It Simply Works

I'm presenting the reasons for my faith in the Bible as God's Word with the conviction that the stronger the foundations for one's faith are, the stronger one's faith will be. And the stronger one's faith is, the more sanctified for and satisfied in God that one will be. My aim is our greater holiness and gladness in God. May God grant me my heart's desire!

The fifth reason I believe the Bible is the Word of God is because the teachings of the Bible work for all of life. Consider with me that the validity of a truth claim is based in part on the workability, liveability, and real-world feasibility of that claim. Does that claim fit into and work in the real world?

Ravi Zacharias loves to sound this note in his defense of the faith, noting how in contrast to pantheism (which is the basic philosophy behind Hinduism, Buddhism, and their various New Age offspring), Christianity (embodied in the teachings and truth claims of the Bible) actually can be lived; it works in the real world.

Part of what pantheism teaches is that the material world really does not exist; that none of what we think we see and touch is real. Everything is illusion. My senses are deceiving me into thinking that there is a real key board in front of me at which my fingers are pecking away. Actually, even my senses are not real. What we think we see and feel and smell and taste is not really there. And the thought that we actually do see and feel and smell and taste is an illusion as well.

The point that Mr. Zacharias so ably articulates is that pantheism cannot possibly be true simply because it cannot possibly be lived in the real world. No pantheist can be a consistent pantheist. It just won't work.

How does Mr. Zacaharias prove this? To paraphrase, he reminds us that every pantheist knows, as he approaches an intersection on his bicycle at the same time as a tractor trailer, that he'd better stop. He knows that, contrary to his faith that that truck is not really there, it really is. And if he should be so fooled as to think it's not really there he will soon find himself to be really dead.

This means that the claims of pantheism/Hinduism, however esoteric and appealing they may be at one level, just don't work at the real life level. Unless a New Ager chooses to let tractor trailers hit him, he simply cannot live what he believes. And if he does so choose, all that results is human road kill.

Folks, it's all well and good to claim that something is true, but if it cannot be lived, and if it simply does not work, it cannot possibly be true.

I would argue that the Bible works. It can be lived consistently (with the help of God), and when it is lived consistently, it works. Its teachings, laws, and various work, health, relationship, and lifestyle paradigms all interface with real life in the real world and lead to real benefits and positive consequences for those who do them.

Those who live by God's precepts in God's Word usually live better and often live longer (Ephesians 6:1-3), simply because they are made wiser by them (Psalm 19:7-11; 119:98-104). Generally speaking, unless God has occasional reasons to make it otherwise, bodies stay healthier, hearts become happier, marriages grow stronger and last longer, pleasures become purer and sweeter, relationships bond deeper, any and all work becomes more satisfying and productive, material needs are more consistently provided, and even deep trials and extreme suffering are more purposeful and peace-filled, when the Bible is learned and practiced in life.

What this suggests strongly is that the Bible has all the marks of being a Creator’s Manual for doing life on planet earth. Whoever wrote this Book gets it. He knows the real world and how to live in it. And even when He tells us things that are counter-intuitive (such as "if you would save your life, lose it"), the advice proves both do-able and true.

So here's another reason for my faith in the Bible. It's a reliable and effective guidebook for life on God's earth. It's an infallible Manual that points to an omniscient Manufacturer.

God has not only made our planet; He's told us how to live on it. And what He has said works.

Why I Believe the Bible Is the Word of God: It Tells the Truth about Us

Returning to my series presenting "Reasons to Believe the Bible", I find that what it says about us provides compellingly precise insight that suggests a Mind which knows the subject intimately and infallibly; that is to say, the Mind of God.

The Bible is compelling because of how nuanced to perfection its presentation of human nature is. Contrary to those who teach on the one hand that humans are no more than highly evolved primates, and on the other that they are “basically good, tabula rasa innocents”, the Bible describes humanity’s unique dignity (as image-bearers of God, Genesis 1:26, 27) and inherited depravity (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 51:3-5) with nuanced balance and unapologetic honesty.

Philisophical materialists, evolutionists, and others of similar mind, would say to us that Man is animal, and no more; a random collection of chemical actions and reactions accidentally borne along by an endless, meaningless stream of randomness. As such he is essentially nothing other than matter, devoid of any true value, or unique dignity.

The Bible says otherwise by telling us from the outset that we are "made in the image of God", and as such are possessive of great dignity, yes, even glory and honor (Psalm 8:4-8). In his intellectual, moral, spiritual, relational, aesthetic, and dominion gifts, Man stands alone in glory and honor over the natural world. What the natural order tells us, the Bible first declared!

But alongside this heralded dignity of man the Bible presents a mourned depravity of Man. Man, though gloriously gifted, is also ingloriously depraved. He's a fiend, a cruel tyrant, a selfish taker, a gutless compromiser, a lazy fool. Someone has quipped that the Bible doctrine of man's depravity is the most easily proven doctrine in the entire Bible. All one has to do to prove it is to read the news, study history, watch a child's natural instincts to be selfish and mean, or simply look into a morality mirror.

Someone else has said that the naive notions of man's enlightenment, and grand nobility, once popular in the late 1800's, ran shipwreck in the 1,900's against the jagged rocks of the atrocities of Nazi Germany, Stalin's Russia, the segregated south, and endless news of wars and fightings and divorces and child abuse and the rest.

This, my friends, is what the Bible has been saying all along. Man is a grand reflection of God who somehow has become a moral monster as well. All other world views err by denying one side or the other of the paradox called Man.

The Bible gets it right. Why? Because it comes from the One Who sees things deeply and as they really are. He knows us because He simply knows. And some of what He knows, He has chosen to tell us about, in a Book.

That's another reason why I believe.

Truth... Without Love

I squared off with a couple of Jehovah's witnesses last Thursday morning. A middle aged woman and a teenage girl came to our door asking if they could leave me two copies of AWAKE magazine, and follow up later.

I'm not sure why, but when this happens, I immediately move into a stiff and nervous debate mode. I confess, I completely lost sight of the fact that these two ladies are loved by God. Suddenly, I am the defender of the faith, the apologist. The love? Well, I don't know what happens to it, but it wasn't evident in those few moments when I bulldozed these two unsuspecting ladies. The fifteen year old girl was far more gentle than I was.

In the end, it probably didn't matter that I quoted four or five O.T. Messianic passages from memory, or that I pointed out how Charles Russell didn't know the Greek alphabet and yet spearheaded the New World Translation, or that one can't call oneself a Christian and depart from 2000 years of universally held Christology.

They soon walked away with the older woman saying, "well that's your opinion." I'm quite sure they did not feel cared for in any sense. I didn't even answer in kind when they told me to "have a nice day."

As I reflected on the scene later that day, I was sure that it would have been more fruitful for me to have gently stated my (orthodox) views about the deity of Christ. I could have humbly expressed that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a deep mystery, and then genuinely indicate my concern for them for standing outside the Tradition of the Church by embracing a heresy that was condemned by the Church about 17 centuries ago.

If we are going to try to be "wise as serpents" we must also try to be "gentle as doves."

So What?

In view of Tim's excellent and hugely important current series of posts showing us why we have good and sufficient reasons for believing that the Bible is truly the Word of God, I thought it good to respond by saying----- so what? That is, so what difference must this make in our lives in response to the reality that the Bible is indeed the very Word of the infinite-personal God?

I know of perhaps no better succinct description of what our response must be than how it is said in the great Westminster Confession of Faith, where in connection with how true saving faith ---that is, that genuine trust which accepts, receives, and rests upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life--- expresses itself, it says:

"...... a Christian believes to be true whatever is revealed in the Word, because of the authority of God himself speaking in it. He also responds differently to what each particular passage contains-----obeying the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come." (WCF Chapter 14, Section 2).

And so, 2 questions: Are you? Am I?

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: Scripture Agrees with Nature, God's Other Volume of Truth

I believe that there can be no real doubt about the existence of God. As has been said often, the fact that anything exists today means that something or someone has always existed.

It is absolute nonsense to suggest that something can be created out of nothing. So the fact that something (the universe) exists now means either that that thing has always existed or that something or someone else which has always existed brought that thing into existence. In short: either the universe is eternal or an Eternal Someone made it. There are no other rational options.

And since we know that the universe has not always existed (even secular scientists with their big bang theory acknowledge this), the only rational conclusion is that Something or Someone brought this universe into being. The universe has a Designer/Creator. Throughout history that Designer/Creator has been called "God" (at least in English).

But that leads of course to the question: which God is the right God? Another way of putting it is: how do we know which view of God--that found in the Bible, or that found in another "holy book" or in the imagination of any person--is the right view?

Here is how I arrive at Reason #3 for why I believe the Bible is the Word of God: the God revealed in nature (Romans 1:19, 20; Psalm 19:1, 2) and the God revealed in Scripture are a perfect match.

Since God made the world, the world will reflect His character and being. When an artist creates, what he creates reveals something about him, for the created thing flows out of the being, mind, and heart of the creator.

God's nature reveals God. We can call nature God's Self-Revelation: Volume One. But there's more. Christians believe that actually there are two volumes of God's self-revelation. Volume One is Nature; Volume Two is Scripture.

But for this Christian claim to be verified, Volumes One and Two must be entirely consistent, since God is a God who cannot contradict Himself. What He says in one revelation must agree with what He says in another or else He's a liar. So run the test. What do you find when you compare what is learned about God in nature and what is learned about God in Scripture? A perfect match.

Study Volume One and you'll discover that nature reveals a God who is a powerful, wise, brilliant, good, kind, generous, beauty-loving, eternal, dependable, majestic, transcendant, and yet a constantly-involved-in-His-creation Being. You'll also discover in nature's earthquakes and tsunamis and diseases that nature's God is no benign, passive, entirely-pleased-with-this-world, indulgent, or completely safe Wimp.

Nature reveals that God is all the wonderful things mentioned above, and that He is mad at something. Not all is right between God and his creation. Storms and calamities reveal that something has stirred the wrath of God.

Now study Volume Two and you'll discover that Scripture reveals a God that matches nature's God perfectly. He is all the wonderful things that nature reveals; He is all the terrifying things nature reveals. Nature and Scripture harmonize. Both reveal that God is astonishingly good, and that God is One with Whose wrath we dare not trifle.

This--along with many other factors gives me cause to believe the Bible is the Word of God that it claims to be. It matches what I see in God's creation. It conforms to the way things are in the real world. It echoes the song that nature sings. What I read in God's Word fits what I see in God's world.

Thus I believe. Here I stand.
How about you?

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: Prophecies Fulfilled

I believe the Bible is a wonderful Book given to us by God and preserved by His hand for millenia (something I'll consider more with you in a later blog). I'm reminded at this very moment about how amazing that preservation is in light of something that just happened: I just spent about 75 minutes typing out today's post, only to have it suddenly disappear into cyber-space. So much for the inspiration and preservation of human words! Now let me try again (something God never has to do).

A second reason why I believe the Bible is the Word of God is because it contains many predictive prophecies--prophecies of extra-ordinary specificity and significance--which have been fulfilled.

While I could never squeeze the list of these prophecies into this limited blogging space, I can at least give you a sampling. I can mention such remarkable predictions as the destruction of the city of Jerusalem which took place in 70AD, decades after Jesus had predicted it in Matthew 24:1-21. I could also cite a number of very specific predictions that were made about the destruction of various other ancient cities, predictions that included great detail about the how and when of those cities' destruction (see Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict). I could also mention the fact that even the recent restoration of the nation of Israel was predicted long ago.

But we might do best simply to focus on the collection of predictions made about the coming of a great Savior-King-Messiah who was to enter the world to save humans from their sin. Among these are predictions about:

--His being born of a woman, and then experiencing near defeat by and then subsequent victory over Satan (Gen. 3:15)
--His being heralded by a predecessor in the wilderness (this proved to be John the Baptist, Isaiah 40:3 cf. Matthew 3:1, 2)
--His birthplace (Micah 5:2 cf. Matthew 2:1)
--His eternal pre-existence (Micah 5:2 cf. John 1:1, 2, 14; Colossians 1:17)
--His Divine identity—which was proven by His words and works (Isaiah 9:6; 7:14)
--His family line and bloodlines (Genesis 49:10 cf. Luke 3:23, 33; Isaiah 11:1 cf. Luke 3:23, 32)
--His miracle working powers (Isaih 35:1-6 cf. Matthew 9:35)
--His ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9 cf. Luke 19:35-37)
--His rejection by people and subsequent selection by God (Psalm 118:22 cf. 1 Peter 2:7)
--His manner of death: crucifixion (Psalm 22--is an exact description of a crucifixion, hundreds of years before that form of execution had even been invented)
--His being spat upon and smitten (Isaih 50:6 cf. Matthew 26:67)
--His death as a common criminal among criminals (Isaiah 53:12 cf. Matthew 27:38)
--His prayer for his killers (Isaiah 53:12 cf. Luke 23:34)
--His specfic sufferings at and on the cross: open mockery, public execution, nakedness, bones out of joint, desperate thirst, surrounding enemies, gambling over his clothes, pierced hands and feet; all these are predicted 1,000 years before they happened--in Psalm 22--and are fulfilled on the cross. You can check the Gospel records.
--His cry of forsakeness (Psalm 22:1 cf. Matthew 27:46)
--His resurrection (Isaiah 53:5, 12; Psalm 16:10, 11)

This is but a sampling of the predictions made about and fulfilled in the Messiah's coming. Objections are predictable. Someone will argue that the NT writers adapted their records to conform to these prophecies. But I challenge folks to think about this.

First, the New Testament writers never would have gotten away with such a fraud for the simple reason that these claims are too fantastic to be believed by so many first century people if there was not great evidence supporting them. Remember: there were thousands of people who met Jesus and listened to Jesus and knew about his life, who despised him. How is it that there were none who could debunk the Christian reports, especially since Christians became one of the more hated people groups in the Roman empire in subsequent decades? History shows that no one ever could disprove these claims. The best they could do was kill the ones making them.

Which brings us back to yesterday's point: It defies logic to claim that all these writers were lying (by tampering with the facts to make them look like fulfilled prophecies). Why? For this simple reason: while it is true that some might be willing to die for something they misguidedly believe to be true, only mad-men (which clearly these men were not) would be willing to die for something they absolutely know to be false.

So I leave you with a question. If you read a book in which there are hundreds of specific predictions of historical events--including dozens about the coming Messiah--all of which have come true, wouldn't you agree that there is reason to think that that book might have a Divine origin?

You tell me: who else knows the future in specific detail and dares to record his predictions?

Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: The Testimony of Jesus of Nazareth

In beginning my case for the Bible being the Word of God, I call as my first witness the testimony of Jesus.

I'm convinced the Bible is the Word of God because Jesus of Nazareth, an historical Man undeniably sent from and accredited by God through countless miracles (John 5:36; 9:30-33; Hebrews 2:3, 4), affirmed the inspiration, authority, and infallibility of the Scriptures as God’s Word (e.g.-Matthew 5:17, 18; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; 10:35). Before you dismiss this as circular reasoning, hear it out.

This evidence begins with the established historical fact that Jesus worked many miracles and did wondrous things, including predicting and causing His own resurrection. That He did such wonders is one of the more verifiable claims of ancient history.

First, almost all of the New Testament writers claimed to be eye-witnesses of the miracles and resurrection of Jesus, a claim for which all of them were later willing to die. It strains credulity to say that they all were hallucinating. It further defies logic to claim that they all were lying for this simple reason: while it is true that some might be willing to die for something they misguidedly believe to be true, only mad-men (which clearly these men were not) would be willing to die for something they absolutely know to be false.

Additional testimony regarding Jesus' miracles is found in the writings of the Jewish historian, Josephus, circa 60AD. While the historical integrity of some of Josephus' writings has been questioned, it is widely accepted that the following words bear all the marks of historical reliability:

“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man… he was one who performed surprising deeds… And he drew over many Jews and many of the Greeks… And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared” (Josephus, Antiquities 18:63, 64).

Additional evidence comes from an unlikely source and in a back-handed form. In about 300AD the accounts of Jesus’ wondrous deeds were still so indisputable even among His Jewish enemies, that in their Talmud it is recorded that Jesus was killed for “working magic”. This is not a reference to slight of hand card tricks but to supernatural powers. The records of His wonders had to be explained somehow by His enemies; calling Him a demonically controlled black-magic- working wizard was the best they could do.

Conclusion: indisputably, Jesus was a miracle worker sent from God. So the fact that He, as the most Divinely-authenticated miracle worker, and most celebrated spiritual teacher of all time claims that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God, provides the honest thinker with compelling testimony that the Bible is just that.

Food for thought.

15 Reasons Why I Believe the Bible is the Word of God: Introduction

Today marks the beginning of a series of blogs that I hope will help many grasp more fully the reasons for believing in the God of the Bible.

The longer I live the more I'm aware that faith that is not supported by reason and reasons, is not likely to endure the fires of trial and testing. Faith that is more a "blind leap into the dark" than it is a reverent, humble and careful commitment based on God-given evidence, confirmed by God in the soul, is not likely to be impassioned or fervent or devout.

For one to lay life down for what one believes (which is exactly that to which the Bible calls us), one has to be quite strongly convinced that what one believes is actually true! Only a fool would sacrifice anything, never mind everything, for something he or she only vaguely feels to be true.

The early Christians lived the lives they did--many leading to martyrdom--because they had seen, heard, and experienced compelling evidence that the claims of Christ and the Bible were true. Are you so convinced of the truth claims of the Bible as to lay your life down?

Over my next 15-16 blogging days, I hope to present numerous reasons why I believe the Bible is the Word of God. If these reasons hold up under scrutiny, then there is every reason for everyone of us to give up everything to follow the God of the Bible with all love, commitment, passion, and sacrifice.

Don't let this be an intellectual exercise alone. Let it be profoundly purposeful and practical. My goal reflects Elijah's in his famous world-view show-down with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18:20-39. In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah states what's at stake when considering the evidence for the God of the Bible. If He is God He is to be followed with all faith, love, and obedience. If He is not God, then pick whatever god you'd like or choose none at all. Whatever you do, don't go limping along between two opinions.

I believe this is the basic logic C.S. Lewis had in mind when he said said: "Christianity, if false, is not important. If Christianity is true, however, it is of infinite importance. What it cannot be is moderately important."

If the Bible really is the Word of God, moderation of faith and commitment becomes ludicrous. Nothing but impassioned zeal for the God and claims of the Bible is reasonable if in fact the God and claims of the Bible are true. So beware. If there are reasons to believe, there can be only one conclusion: there are reasons to lay your life down for the sake of the Biblical God and His truth.

Are you willing to run that risk?

The Kingdom of God!

Pastor Tim's preaching on Sunday makes it easy to blog on Monday!

This past Lord's Day served to remind my wife and I once again why we chose to be part of Trinity Fellowship over a year ago. We wanted good preaching! We wanted it for our children especially. I can assure you that our five teenage sons who sat through the service yesterday are NOT getting this anywhere else. And nothing they DO get outside stacks up against this kind of teaching. Public school teachers, coaches, friends, advertisers, internet, etc... every day they get an earful and eyeful of information. But compared to what they heard in church, it all falls short--in rhetoric, in substance, and in coherence. Our boys are bright--I'm pretty sure they'd agree.

Pastor Tim was answering the "big questions" yesterday. "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose in life?" Our boys heard a "lecture" in Theology, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Christian World-view all wrapped up in one passionately delivered sermon.

"The Kingdom of God is God's rule, through God's Son, in and with God's people, throughout God's world, for God's glory." Any questions!?

From the fall of Satan, to "cosmic treason" and "the first Adam", to the incarnation, to redemption, then on to talk of "kingdom outposts"--it was all clearly laid out, and all so very reasonable. God's kingdom, touching the "dust and dirt" of earth--his dust, his dirt, our labors, the proclamation of his kingdom--so much to think about, all neatly wrapped together to create a convincing world-view. As I said, nothing they're getting on the outside holds a candle to the truth they heard yesterday.

Thank you Tim! May you have the grace and strength, along with the other pastors, to continue the shepherding work that you all do so well.

Ezra 7:10

I would like to take the opportunity in my post this weekend to express deep gratitude for and give honor to Tim and the entire pastoral team of TFC, specifically for how they approach the Scriptures in their lives, both personally and ministerially.

The particular guide that I use in my devotions alongside the Bible (and the one I personally recommend) is For the Love of God, by D.A. Carson. This guide follows a reading schedule that takes one systematically through the entire Bible each year (one of the reasons why I recommend it), with a very helpful explanatory/applicatory comment each day on the Biblical text (the other reason why I recommend it). The reading from the Older Testament for January 7 was Ezra chapter 7, and the thoughts expressed for this day focused on one of my favorite verses of Sacred Scripture, Ezra 7:10: "For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."

One of the things that came to mind as I read Dr. Carson's observations was how Tim our senior pastor, along with those who serve with him in pastoral ministry at TFC, exemplify the pattern set down by Ezra as he served the people of God in his day.

Note what Dr. Carson writes:

The nature of Ezra’s task could easily be taken as a model of the privileges and responsibilities of all whose duty it is to teach the Word of God to the people of God: “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).

(1) Ezra devoted himself to the study of the Law. There is no long-range effective teaching of the Bible that is not accompanied by long hours of ongoing study of the Bible. Effectiveness in teaching the Bible is purchased at the price of much study, some of it lonely, all of it tiring. If you are not a student of the Word, you are not called to be a teacher of the Word.

(2) Ezra devoted himself to the observance of the Law. For some people, study is an end in itself, or perhaps a means to the end of teaching. But even though the subject matter is Scripture, for these people there is no personal commitment to living under its precepts--to ordering their marriage, their finances, their talk, their priorities, their values, by the Word of God. They do not constantly ask how the assumptions of their age and culture, assumptions that all of us pick up unawares, are challenged by Scripture. The study of Scripture, for such people, is an excellent intellectual discipline, but not a persistent call to worship; the Bible is to be mastered like a textbook, but it does not call the people of God to tremble; its truths are to be cherished, but it does not mediate the presence of God. Ezra avoided all these traps and devoted himself to observing what Scripture says.

(3) Ezra devoted himself to the teaching of the Law. He was not a hermit-scholar; he was a pastor-scholar. What he learned in study and obedience he also learned how to pass on. Whether in large, solemn assemblies, in family or clan settings, or in one-on-one studies, Ezra committed himself to teaching the Word of God to the people of God. It is difficult to imagine a higher calling." (For the Love of God - Volume Two: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Treasures of God's Word, by D.A. Carson, Crossway Books)

Simply put, our pastors reflect an Ezra 7:10 approach to life and ministry, and I wonder if we as a church fully appreciate and realize how God has blessed us with the pastors He has given to us? One only has to scan the ecclesiastical horizon to see the goodness of God toward us in the leaders He has given to care for and guard us.

Thank you Tim, Tim, Steve, and Scott for serving the church so well in how you carefully study, personally apply and teach God's sacred truth. We are in your debt.

Anniversary and More

Well folks, I confess that I shirked my blogging responsibilities--and nearly all other responsibilites yesterday--for a simple reason. Yesterday was Gayline's and my 32nd wedding anniversary. I took a prsonal day yesterday to pursue one major objective: to make sure my wife heard, saw, and sensed from me that I am one massively grateful, incredibly in love, deeply indebted husband.

32 years--and if God should will it and family patterns of life-expectancy hold true for us, we're likely to have 32 more! There's no one I'd rather do 60+ years with, and no one that could possibly be better for me; for my sanctification, my growth, my usefulness for the kingdom, and my simple, profound, everyday intoxicating joy. Thank you Gayline for being mine for life and for enduring all that it means to be wife to this man.

As for the "more" in today's title, it refers to an upcoming series of posts I'm hoping to start this coming Tuesday. I've planned a 15 part series entitled:
15 Reasons Why I Believe the Bible Is the Word of God.

Would you please pass the word regarding this friends? I'm convinced that one reason for the lukewarmness of many professed Christians and the agnosticism of many others inside and outside the church is a fundamental uncertainty about the Bible's true nature and identity. Not convinced that the Bible really is God's Word they remain uncommitted to, and unimpassioned about its message and truth.

This series will aim to set a foundation for faith and for impassioned orthodoxy (straight and true doctrine) and orthopraxy (straight and true living) in this age of unbelief. Hope you will follow along and invite others to do so as well.
Thanks.

Accidentally on Purpose: On the Providence and Impartiality of God

First I want to thank Peter for his wonderful post yesterday. It spoke of God's impartial love for sinners. The Living God is no respecter of persons, loving all kinds with equal grace and astonishing mercy.

I had an experience Monday evening that brought this to mind. First of all, for one of the very few times in my whole life I drove off a new car parking lot with a brand new car Monday afternoon. Pretty cool how God provides. Later that day, Gayline and I were itching to take it out for a spin so we decided to drive up to the Jackson Outlet mall to look around. We got there in fine shape with a total of 42miles on my new wheels.

Having done our shopping and then made mention of that little "only 42 miles" detail to Gayline, I started down the drive to exit the mall, and then stopped to pull out onto Route 571, only to have the guy behind me fail to stop when I did. Sure enough he bounced off the back of my five hour old car, leaving a couple of ding marks to show for it.

When I got out I saw that the driver was a 18-ish year old Jewish young man, complete with distinguishing garb. He was mortified, and offered me money on the spot with great sorrow for what he had done. When I sat with Gayline in the car for a moment to think about what I should do, I noticed that I had John Piper's "Quest for Joy" tract in my dash compartment.

How did it get there? Just before I had driven out of my driveway I had to get something out of my other car. When I did, I "happened" to notice the tract, which I thought to pick up, just in case. There you have it: something remembered at the last minute before departure led to something seen at just the right time, led to a Spirit-led moment to pick up that something (the tract) and bring it along, led to timing that put me in that spot and be hit by that young man and be given that opportunity for Christ.

I took the tract, went back to the trembling young man, put my hand on his shoulder,and said: "Tell you what: all I ask from you is that you read this and we'll call it even."

He said, and I quote: "Wow!!"

And that was it. Or was it?

Driving home, Gayline and I reviewed the providence of God in making that whole thing happen. God wanted that young Jewish man, who probably has heard hardly one good thing ever said about Christ or Christians, to have a "wow" moment. Perhaps he will--at least for a few minutes--begin to wonder if maybe not all Christians are "Jew-haters" (pardon the phrase) after all. Maybe for one moment or two he will wonder if Jesus and His followers are really as evil as some of history might seem to suggest. Perhaps for one moment or two, this man might have his heart opened an inch to read, to think, to see Christ as being the Source of all joy that He really is.

I don't know what will come of it, but this I know: my God makes accidents happen on purpose and with purpose. That accident was no accident. God times everything according to His watch. And He is no respecter of persons. Jew, Gentile, drunk, or product of a Christian home: all kinds of us alike need Christ, and all kinds of us alike are loved by Christ.

Heaven will show the outcome. That's all I need to know.
How sweet it is to live such an adventure with such a God..

No Respecter of Persons

I work at America's Keswick with men who have lived through the worst things a human being can experience. They have known every kind of sin and the darkness of addiction. Some have spent years in prison. Many of these men shouldn't even be alive today because of the dangers they exposed themselves to. But when they find Jesus Christ the transformation is wonderful.

A while ago I was listening to one of these men give his testimony. Stack up this man's life against mine, reveal a bit of our past, and ask the man on the street to judge us-- there would be no contest. I have a family. This colony man wrecked his family. I've been faithful to my wife, he has cheated on his. I have been honest in my dealings, and my wife and children love me. This fellow has burned every bridge behind him, and destroyed relationships through selfishness, lust, lies, and deceit.

As I listened to this man tell his story before about 500 people that night, I was struck by something; it was the humble, yet eloquent and unashamed expression of deep love for the One who had so recently saved him. He had sought the Lord from the hellish pit he was in, and Jesus Christ had loved him and lifted this broken man. It was so real, and so very believable this simple expression of love for his savior.

And there I stood in the back of the Activity Center watching and listening. And then God spoke to me, and I understood that the Lord was well-pleased with that man--more well pleased than he was with me in that moment.

My past didn't matter. His past didn't matter. In that moment, he was far better off than me. God is the God of the present, and the simple truth was that my heart was lukewarm, but this man's was red-hot with love and gratitude.

"Truly I understand that God shows no partiality..." (Peter in Acts 10)

Brothers and Sisters, pray for me, that my little love will somehow be fanned into flames of love like I saw in that Colony of Mercy man that night. I cannot coast on my past, or expect special favor or status simply because I have a long history with the Lord. I do not want to be the Pharisee, or the older brother in Luke 15.

God, help us to seek you with new strength this year, to know you, and to love you personally and passionately.

The Preciousness of Time

As we enter into this new year I do so thinking about the spiritual disciplines and how I need to pursue them with greater effort over the coming days and months. Foundational to all the disciplines is the wise and careful use of time. Jonathan Edwards knew the importance of how we are to respond to the time given us by God, regarding which Donald Whitney has helpfully commented:

At the root of all discipline is the disciplined use of time. Without this one, there are no other disciplines. Edwards recognized this early on, and thus three of the very first of his famous Resolutions--in this case, numbers 5-7--were on the stewardship of time:

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

One of Edward's best-known and most soul-searching sermons is on this very subject. In December 1734 he preached on "The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It." Taking the words "redeeming the time" from Ephesians 5:16 as his text, Edwards reminded his listeners that time is the only brief preparation we have for all eternity. This time is short, it is passing, the remaining amount of it is uncertain, and whatever time is lost can never be regained. We will give an account to God of how we use our time, Edwards noted, and our precious time is so easily lost. In the most solemn section of the sermon, Edwards called his hearers to consider how people on their deathbed, and especially those in hell, long to have the time that we have at this moment, and how we ought to use our time as they would, if they had the opportunity." ("Pursuing a Passion for God Through Spiritual Disciplines: Learning from Jonathan Edwards," Donald S. Whitney; in--A God Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards, John Piper and Justin Taylor--General Editors, Crossway Books, pages 123-124)

Time is indeed precious. I am particularly struck by the observations made by Edwards that it is "the only brief preparation we have for all eternity", that "time is short, it is passing, the remaining amount of it is uncertain, and whatever time is lost can never be regained." Moreover, "we will give account to God of how we use our time", and that "our precious time is so easily lost."

How will we, how will I, use the time God gives us this new year? Pray that it will be redeemed well. The eternal implications of this for our lives are enormous.