Soli Deo Gloria

Twixt Gleams of Joy and Clouds of Doubt

Posted by Jay on January 19, 2012 5 comments

Every once in a while you come across an old hymn that is rarely sung in church and you wonder why it isn’t. In God’s providence and perfect timing, I remember sitting in church not too long ago and my pastor quoted a few lines from an old, obscure hymn and I immediately related to it. The glorious truths that the hymn points to bring us to Scripture over and over as we relate to the promises of comfort alongside the promises of suffering and trial. (Philippians 1:29) It’s that wonderful picture of our Shepherd in Psalm 23 walking along with us in the dark valley discipling and comforting us at the same time.

The lyrics to this hymn below by John Campbell Shairp are some of my favorites. I must admit that I printed out a small copy of them and they are taped to the front inside cover of my Bible. This hymn really describes the reality of the Christian walk and our need to remember that it’s not my grasp of Christ that matters most to my comfort but His grasp of me. What glorious truth!

‘Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt
Our feelings come and go;
Our best estate is tossed about
In ceaseless ebb and flow.
No mood of feeling, form of thought
Is constant for a day;
But thou, 0 Lord, thou changest not:
The same thou art alway.

I grasp thy strength, make it mine own,
My heart with peace is blest;
I lose my hold, and then comes down
Darkness, and cold unrest.
Let me no more my comfort draw
From my frail hold of thee,
In this alone rejoice with awe—-
Thy mighty grasp of me.

Out of that weak, unquiet drift
That comes but to depart,
To that pure heaven my spirit lift
Where thou unchanging art.
Lay hold of me with thy strong grasp,
Let thy almighty arm
In its embrace my weakness clasp,
And I shall fear no harm.

Thy purpose of eternal good
Let me but surely know;
On this I’ll lean—let changing mood
And feeling come or go—
Glad when thy sunshine fills my soul,
Not lorn when clouds o’ercast,
Since thou within thy sure control
Of love dost hold me fast .

—John Campbell Shairp

The Birds of the Air

Posted by Jay on January 16, 2012 4 comments

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26

I am a worrier. I make no bones about it. It’s a besetting sin that I have struggled with most of my life. Anxious thoughts and the feeling of impending doom has plagued me for as long as I can remember. When the Lord graciously saved me a little over five years ago, the darkness lifted but remnants of sinful anxiety remain in the flesh. I’m convinced that most all believers struggle with what the Puritan’s titled ‘besetting sins’. It may be different for you, but for me it’s anxiety and fear.

The verse above from Jesus’ great sermon on the mount has given me great comfort over the years. Like other examples of our Lord’s teachings, He uses a lesser to greater analogy. If God so cares for those little birds how much more will He care for His adopted children who are in Christ? It’s about right thinking theologically which leads to practical living.

My anxiety can stem from ridiculous scenarios I create in my mind to worry about the mundane things of this life. My anxiety can also stem from my sin. But at it’s absolute core, anxiety (no matter the cause) is sinful for a believer. Anxious thoughts and worry is tantamount to telling God, “I don’t believe You and I don’t trust You.” That stings. But the reality is if we didn’t have the sinful tendencies as redeemed children of God then there would be no need for the Lord to tell us not to worry. We still battle the sinful flesh. It’s one of the reasons that for the believer, death is that final step in sanctification that finally and fully releases us from sin. In a way only understood by Christians, death is the doorway to glorification and the removal of this body of sin and death to a new glorified body free from sin. I can’t wait! But until then, the battle rages on. We are called to mortify the flesh. We are called to fight the good fight and set aside the sin that so easily entangles us. (Hebrews 12:1) We do this by walking by the Spirit. And that begins by taking the very sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

You may deal with anxiety as I do. You may deal with it so severely that you feel crippled by it. (Believe me, I’ve been there.) What our Lord tells us is to trust Him. Realize that the very One who spoke and brought all things into existence from nothing is Your heavenly Father. He will work all things out for good for those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) That may mean experiencing His Father discipline as His children. We must realize that our Father’s concern is not foremost for our happiness but our holiness and conformity to the image of His Son.

Think about what Jesus is telling believers in this passage. When you are worrying, anxious or fearful simply stop and look out the window at the little birds flying about. They neither store nor reap. They simply rest in the care of God. God feeds them. They don’t run about anxious and fearful of where their next meal will come from. Jesus’ point is if God provides for those little birds how much more will He provide for His adopted children. How much more will He provide for the elect whom He has given to His Son. We are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. In Christ, we are adopted into the kingdom and we now, by the Spirit, call God who resides in unapproachable light “Father”. This is enough to bring us to our knees. What glorious grace and love. As John writes in 1 John 3:1, “See ywhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”

This my friend is the cure for anxiety. It is only available to true believers – to those in Christ. Yes, we will battle sin until we die or until Christ returns. But we are to fight the good fight and renew our minds on the truths of God’s Word and His promises. Biblical theology produces doxology and right thinking – which in turn produces practical living. I admit that I so often forget these great promises. I am thankful for the Church and for wonderful godly friends and family who remind me of these truths and exhort and rebuke me when needed.

Marvel at the love of Christ to His family. Cast all of your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Obey His loving command to look at the little birds and be reminded of how much your Father loves you in Christ Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria

Jesus the Very Thought of Thee

Posted by Jay on January 13, 2012 1 comment

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name,
O Savior of mankind!

O Hope of every contrite heart,
O Joy of all the meek,
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah, this
Nor tongue nor pen can show;
The love of Jesus, what it is
None but His loved ones know.

O Jesus! light of all below!
Thou fount of life and fire!
Surpassing all the joys we know,
And all we can desire.

No other source have we but Thee,
Soul-thirst to satisfy.
Exhaustless spring! the waters free!
All other streams are dry.

Jesus, our only Joy be Thou,
As Thou our Prize wilt be;
Jesus, be Thou our Glory now,
And through eternity.

Listen to this Hymn

- Jesus the Very Thought of Thee (Bernard of Clairvaux)

Justification by Christ Alone

Posted by Jay on January 6, 2012 1 comment

Enjoy this outstanding lecture by the late John Gerstner as he compares the Biblical understanding of justification by faith alone to the Roman Catholic heresy and the modern day easy-believism.

Gospel-Centered Sanctification

Posted by Jay on January 2, 2012 9 comments

We just finished up another episode of Puritan Voices last week and our focus was on the importance of the gospel in the believer’s life. Much of our emphasis really came down to sanctification and how the believer should “preach the gospel to themselves” on a constant basis and through this we can achieve true sanctification. Over the last year or so, I’ve followed authors who promote this idea of “gospel-centered sanctification” but the more I really look deeply into this teaching it seems to improperly promote a resting faith in both justification and sanctification without the call to the believer to pursue sanctification through an active faith as a result of regeneration. Are we straying from the Biblical truths that our holiness and sanctification stems from our union with Christ (John 15) through a real change in our heart and dispositions? There are clear imperatives in Scripture to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Gospel-centered sanctification teachings seem to fall short in handling those imperatives. Have we forgotten that Christ is the vine and we are the branches and apart from Him we can do absolutely nothing? I believe so and therefore we must be very careful in how we proclaim what is commonly called gospel-centered sanctification. It has some validity to be sure. We as Christians should preach the glorious gospel to ourselves but neglecting the reality of regeneration is not being faithful to what Scripture teaches as a whole with regard to progressive sanctification, in my humble opinion.

I’ve been an advocate of this teaching for quite some time, but after really looking deeper into what Scripture says I believe it to have shortcomings with regards to the right understanding of faith’s role in progressive sanctification and a neglect to recognize Christ Himself and our union with Him as the core of our sanctification and not resting faith. (Faith is essential in sanctification. I’m not denying that. But’s it’s important to realize the type of faith being discussed.) For example, it’s important to recognize that justifying faith is resting faith [in Christ], and sanctifying faith is active faith. The Christian life is one of constant rest, and constant labor. (James 2; 1 John 3:3-9)

Don’t get me wrong. I commend those who rightly proclaim the joy and necessity for believers to preach the gospel to themselves. I need to preach the gospel to myself constantly! There is great truth in this gospel-centered focus and it is where the Church needs to be. But, we must not neglect the full counsel of Scripture and the duality of a faith that rests and a faith that acts. Both must be proclaimed in a healthy balance. Like the old hymn writer put it, “trust [passive faith] and obey [active faith] for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.”

I commend a most excellent article by Calvin Beisner on his critique of this particular element of Sonship Theology where he does an outstanding job of explaining the errors in this teaching as well as pointing us in the right direction. May God’s Word prevail and may we be kept by His power rightly diving the Word of truth!

Eager to get your thoughts on this topic.

Here’s the link to Calvin Beisner’s article in pdf format.

Here is an article by Joel Taylor that also focuses on this issue.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Sovereignty of God in the Sin of Believers

Posted by Jay on December 24, 2011 No comments

by John Piper

No temptation has overtaken you but what is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will make with the temptation also the escape so that you can endure. (I Cor. 10:13, my translation)

Would it be correct to argue from this text, as some do, that since believers do in fact sometimes succumb to temptation, it is solely due to their own self-determination and not at all due to God’s sovereign disposal of events? If this were a valid argument at least two things would follow which in my judgment are contrary to other New Testament teaching.

A Hellish Heaven

Posted by Jay on December 9, 2011 2 comments

“Heaven would be hell to me without Christ.” – Thomas Goodwin

This beautiful quote from the Puritan Thomas Goodwin also reminds me of a question John Piper asks in his book God is the Gospel: would you be happy in heaven if Christ were not there? Before the Lord saved me I was a professing believer and my desire for heavenly things was strictly carnal. I wanted the everlasting life and of course to escape hell. I wanted the golden streets and the pearly gates but I did not want God. I wanted to go to heaven, I just didn’t want God to be there. I was ashamed of Christ and I never spoke of Him to others. I’m so thankful that the Lord in His sovereign grace turned my heart of stone to a heart of flesh and granted me the gift of repentance and faith in His Son. He saved a man who for most of his life professed faith but possessed it not and was ashamed of the gospel and it’s Author. It’s only through being born from above by His power and grace that I can echo the words of Goodwin that heaven would truly be hell without Christ.

I know there are many people who believe they are seeking God. Through church attendance, morality, activities and even a head-knowledge of who Christ is (James 2:19), they believe they are heaven-bound. But Scripture speaks otherwise. Not a single person outside of Christ seeks God. Period. Paul tells us in Romans that people don’t seek God. (Romans 3:11) The reality is that people seek the things of God but they don’t seek Him. They want heaven and all God’s benefits but they simply don’t want Him. They truly could be happy in heaven if Christ were not there. This is why I laugh at so-called “seeker sensitive” churches that model their worship after and for unbelievers. Unbelievers and nominal Christians aren’t seeking God. They are seeking health, happiness and the American dream and in their minds God is often a way to get those things. Seeker sensitive churches simply feed this devilish lie. This is why false teachers like Joel Osteen pack their seats service after service with people who want everything God (and the world) has to offer except true salvation and the ultimate result of that salvation: God Himself. Salvation truly is a means to an end. And that end is unhindered communion for all eternity with God in Christ. John sums up heaven for us in five beautiful words: “we will see His face.” (Revelation 22:4)

The grand reality is that God must seek us before we will seek Him. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God causes our dead souls to be born from above and then and only then do we come to Him in repentance and faith. Paul describes regeneration as a miracle greater than that of the creation account. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Do you love Christ or do you love His benefits? One affection is the result of a transformed heart. The other is a natural desire of the fallen nature. If you do love Christ above all things, rejoice in His sovereign grace and be humbled that nothing inherently in you caused this regenerative miracle. (John 1:13) If you honestly can say that you’d be happy in heaven without Christ, cry out to the Lord Almighty to open your eyes to His glory in the face of Jesus Christ and embrace Him in repentance and faith. All who come to Him He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

Soli Deo Gloria

Tempted and Tried

Posted by Jay on December 9, 2011 No comments

I am working my way through an excellent book by Dr. Russell Moore entitled Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph and Christ. Below is a snipper from the chapter entitled Starving to Death where Moore gives excellent Biblical insight into the root issues behind sin and how Satan works in the lives of believers. It’s refreshing to see a book that highlites the reality of the war with sin and temptation in the lives of believers and how God often uses that struggle to conform us more into the image of Christ. I also admire Moore’s understanding of how important it is for the community of the church to bear one another’s burdens through a biblical understanding of the struggles with sin in believer’s lives. I highly recommend this book. It’s well written and also gives some very excellent O.T. insight that often has the reader saying, “oh now I see the connection!” I know I’ve already had some “aha!” moments as I plow through this book.

Enjoy this snippet:

Sometimes we actually empower Satan by the way we speak of Christian conversion. We highlight the testimony of the ex-alcoholic who says, “Since I met Jesus I’ve never wanted another drink.” Now that happens sometimes, and we should give thanks for God’s power here. But this liberation is no more miraculous, indeed in some ways less so, than the repentant drunk who says, “Every time I hear a clink of ice in a glass I tremble with desire, but God is faithful in keeping me sober.”

The girl with the same-sex desires might conclude she is doomed to be a lesbian because she isn’t drawn to boys and still fights her attraction to girls. Family members who have to cut up their credit cards to keep from spending every paycheck on what they see advertised may conclude they’re just not “spiritual” enough to follow Christ because they still war against their wants. Nonsense! You are not what you want. You are who you are. And that’s defined by the Word of God. It might be that God frees your appetite from whatever it’s drawn toward, but usually he instead enables you to fight it. This might go on for forty days, for forty years, for an entire lifetime. That’s all right. There must be room then in our churches for a genuine bearing of one another’s burdens when it comes to appetites. Pretending the appetites are instantly nullified by conversion is a rejection of what God has told us – that we are still in the war zone.

Night at Golgotha

Posted by Jay on December 8, 2011 No comments

Night at Golgotha (Vasilij Vereshchagin)

I’m not usually a big art person but there are a few pieces of art that are simply stunning and the masterpiece above by Russian artist Vasilij Vereshchagin (1869) is one such painting.

As we near Christmas, this artwork reminds us that the reason for the incarnation was so that the Child in the manger would die for the sins of His people. (Matthew 1:21) We so often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas that we forget that the shadow of the cross lies heavily over that humble manger.

This piece of artwork shows the darkness over the cross reminding us of God’s wrath poured out on our sin Substitute and the cry coming from the cross that the penalty for our sins is forever paid in full – “it is finished!” The procession going off into the distance with that haunting light shows us the funeral march as the lifeless body of the Lord Jesus Christ is carried to the sepulcher. Yet, the light glimmering there reminds us that death cannot hold Him. His resurrection for our justification (Romans 4:25) is gloriously imminent in this painting.

The miracle of Christmas is the incarnation. The Creator became the creation. Christ the man represents humanity as our High Priest and as our substitute He died in our stead for our sins. Christ the Almighty God is the infinitely worthy sacrifice to appease the infinitely worthy and just God. The painting above reminds us of the great truth that Christ humbled Himself to become a man and was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8) to purchase His people and adopt them into His Kingdom. Death could not hold Him! He is now seated victoriously at the right hand of God awaiting for His enemies to be made a footstool to His feet. (Hebrews 10:13)

Miraculously, this Almighty King is not ashamed to call me His brother. (Hebrew 2:11) Now that is something to be eternally thankful for! Thank you Lord Jesus for Your amazing grace that saved a wretch like me!

Merry Christmas!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Posted by Jay on November 24, 2011 2 comments

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy this beautiful Puritan Prayer…

O My God,Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, for sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil; for the body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding; for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness, for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures.Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

True Discipleship

Posted by Jay on November 23, 2011 7 comments

When I first saw this video I continued saying in my mind, “yes! This is what it’s all about.” I am so tired of churches that focus on programs, entertainment, sports programs and “stuff”. (Programs aren’t entirely bad unless they become the focus which is exactly what is plaguing many churches today.) They want to pack the doors on Sunday mornings but they do not equip the saints to go out into the world and make disciples. This video does a good job of showing this problem. While I don’t agree entirely with the ministry who developed this video regarding their understanding of “kingdom multiplication” and an unbalanced message that instead of being in church we should be out in the world, I think it sends a proper message to most larger churches who are obsessed with programs and just getting people in the door and trying to be so much like the world. Bottom line, church is for believers, not the world! The key is, if we understand church Biblically then the saints will naturally seek to go out into the world as lights of Christ but they will also deeply desire to be in the family of Christ on the Lord’s Day and any other time they can corporately get together to feast on God’s Word, be held accountable and worship Christ the Lord.

Would love to get your thoughts after watching this video: