Soli Deo Gloria

Mark Driscoll has been one of those pastor/theologians over the years that I have never really been sure about. It’s as though he has two mouths. At one moment what seems to come out is pure doctrine and Christ-exalting exegesis of Scripture and then in the same breath what comes out is like vinegar and gall with use of filth words that are simply not appropriate for the pulpit. Honestly I have not spent a lot of time reading Mark’s books or listening to his sermons. I’m more of a Paul Washer kinda guy - give me the passion of Driscoll without the filthy mouth.

For one brother in Christ the line has been drawn with Driscoll. Apparently his wife and children were listening to Pilgrim Radio recently and Driscoll was preaching on the air when expletives and words not appropriate for little ears much less the pulpit were being pumped over the airwaves. This man is furious that his wife and children heard this on a Christian radio station. After reading his article I see more of why many people, even in the reformed circles, are having more and more of a hard time putting up with Mark Driscoll. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that Mark is a sincere, Christ-loving follower of Christ who is trying too hard to be relevant. (Oh what a dangerous word.)

Here is the article of the gentleman who is fed up with Driscoll’s potty mouth. He has excellent points that we should all ponder when it comes to the state of the pulpit - especially in American Christianity.

Rants, The Church

There is no doubt that one of the most misunderstood things in the Christian life is prayer. What is it? How is it done? Do we actually hear from God when we pray? Does prayer itself have power? Are demons afraid of prayer? The list goes on. Dan Phillips over at Team Pyro has thrown together a very straight forward article on prayer. It’s sure to make some angry and others to slap your forehead and say, “now I understand!”

So check it out and head back and let me know what you think of his view on prayer! And while you’re at it, take the poll question on prayer over to your right.

Daily Walk, Scripture

To make finding more popular posts easier (as well as some items I have not posted here) I’ve created an articles section on the blog. Let me know what you think! I’ll be adding to it over time. Enjoy!

Uncategorized

In my study of Scripture I am always in awe of the description of the throne room of God. The very place He is said to sit on His throne in all His glory and majesty. The Old Testament book of Ezekiel and the New Testament book of Revelation both describe God on His throne in such amazing ways all the while never giving us enough detail to be able to break the second commandment and make a graven image.

Scripture gives us these stunning images of our Lord on His throne reigning and ruling in His sovereign and majestic power. We definitely get the sense that the vision is beyond human description - unfathomable. These glorious images Scripture gives us should cause us to pause and remember who our God is - the God of all creation - the one and only true God. He is above all and Creator of all. He is sovereign, He is Lord, He is King!

The imagery that the Holy Spirit gives us in the Word of God is stunning…

Ezekiel 1:26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something  like  glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the  rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the  glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

Revelation 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. 5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a  sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.

One thing that has always struck me is the constant worship God receives. At this very moment as I type this article and as you are reading it there is constant worship at the throne of God directed towards the triune God - the Father, Son (the Lamb who was worthy to be slain) and the Holy Spirit. There at the throne of God the four living creatures or seraphim incessantly sing out the trihagion, the three-fold song of holiness to our Great God…

Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “ Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the  foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

Scripture goes on to teach us that all the angels join in worship to the Lion and the Lamb as well as the 24 elders on their thrones. The throne room of God is an ear piercing non-stop jubilation of praise and honor to the One who deserves nothing but praise, honor and glory. He alone is worthy of praise, for as Revelation clearly tells us Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was worthy to be slain, is surrounded by constant singing:

Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and  purchased for God with Your blood men from  every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

So in heaven at the very throne of God there is constant sound - the constant sound of praise, adoration that has the three fold trihagion setting the tempo as sung by an angelic order that Ezekiel nor John could describe with fullness using human words for the very vision was overwhelming and beyond description - just as our Great God is.

But there is a moment in time when something will happen that has never happened and never will happen after it. There will be a moment in time when heaven will have the sound of silence. There will be a moment in time when the four living creatures will close their mouths in awe. There will be a time when the 24 elders will be silent. There will be a time when all of the angels - all of them, the innumerable army of angels will not utter a sound. The book of Revelation paints this amazing picture for us in the beginning of chapter 8:

Rev. 8:1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

You see God has been patient, desiring that no one perish but that all come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Even in His judgments that are summed up in the breaking of the first through the 6th seals we see mercy as opportunity to repent and turn to Him. But as the Lamb of God breaks that final seal it is done. Time is up. The sun, moon and stars fall from the sky no longer to meter the days and define time. All of heaven and all created order stops what they are doing and watches in awe as God symbolically stands up from His throne to render final judgment. The cries of the martyred souls no longer cry out (Rev. 6:9-10) - for they also see that the time has come. The time only the Father knows has come as the number of their fellow servants who would join their martyrdom was complete. (Rev. 6:10)

All of heaven is silent in absolute awe in anticipation of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches us that all of the angels of heaven will appear with Christ in the sky. Picture this: all of the angels, all myriads and myriads of them are silently arraying themselves while focused in silent awe of the Lamb who was worthy to be slain in preparation for the sky to split apart to display the Lord of lords in the glory of the Father. Those in Christ will be caught up in the air to meet Him while His wrath, the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16), will be poured out on all who are not found in Him.

As Revelation teaches us, there is a moment of about one-half and hour where heaven is absolutely silent. The Creator of All, the Almighty Judge has stood to righteously deliver judgment upon the earth. Scripture teaches us that angels look intently at the church of Jesus Christ and peer deeply at the unsearchable riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now they see the culmination of all that the Lion and the Lamb has ushered in and bought through His obedience to the Father. Jesus Christ has saved His elect, has purchased a kingdom of priests for Himself who will reign upon the earth. Satan and his demons and all his children - all of the ungodly who have turned from God and denied Him are thrown into the lake of fire along with death itself. Let us never, ever forget that Christ experienced that very hell on the cross as He stood condemned in the place of sinners - His elect. Oh our gracious and merciful Lord! Our great God then ushers in a new heaven and a new earth - a restoration of Eden - when all “was good”. The bride of Christ will spend eternity with Him and will “see His face” (Rev. 22:4) in the new earth. This my friends is a true description of “heaven”.

While Revelation can be a challenging book to interpret, the overall theme and message is plain. God has won. It is that simple. God is on His throne and He will be glorified.  He is equally glorified by the saints as well as those who will spend eternity in hell. The idea of their being silence is heaven is actually one of the loudest scenes Scripture portrays for us.

May we never forget who our God is. May we learn from the throne room of heaven in our own worship here on earth and remember that the Lion and the Lamb is our focus of worship just as it is in the heavenly throne. Do not miss that Christ is described as the Lamb who is slain - heaven never leaves the cross and nor should the Church! Let this silence described in Scripture bring you comfort as a Christian knowing that judgment has been passed on your Substitute and you are safe and secure in Him. However, let this silence bring about terror and conviction to anyone who is outside of the love of Christ. Today is the day of salvation for when the silence is heard it is too late.

The cross of Jesus Christ exemplifies in absolute beauty beyond description both the perfect love and perfect justice of God. Yes, God is love but He is also a God of perfect justice. We see both of those attributes displayed simultaneously at Calvary. The wrath of God abides on all those who are outside of Christ as their Lord and Savior - for the Lamb of God took our place and satisfied the requirements of the Law and the wrath we deserve. He receives all of the glory and rightly so for He is God!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Bible Studies, Scripture, The Church, The Gospel

Religion is fashionable in our age. But is it that which sprang up, after centuries of darkness, among our fathers in Europe? Is it that of apostles and prophets? Is it the calm yet thorough religion which did such great deeds in other days? Has it gone deep into the conscience? Has it filled the heart? Has it pervaded the man? Or has it left the conscience unpacified, the heart unfilled, the man unchanged, save with some external appliances of religiousness, which leaves him hollow as before? There is at this moment many an aching spirit, bitterly conscious of this hollowness. The doctrine, the profession, the good report of others, the bustle of work, will not fill the soul. God Himself must be there, with His covering righteousness, His cleansing blood, His quickening Spirit. Without this, religion is but a shell: holy services are dull and irksome. Joy in God, which is the soul and essence of worship, is unknown. Sacraments, prayer-meetings, religious services, labours of charity, will not make up for the living God.

Men with their feet firmly set on Luther’s rock, “the righteousness of God,” filled with the Spirit, and pervaded with the peace of God, do the great things in the church; others do the little. The men of robust spiritual health are they who, like Luther, have made sure of their filial relationship to God. They shrink from no battle, nor succumb to any toil. The men who go to work with an unascertained relationship give way in the warfare, and faint under the labour: their life is not perhaps a failure or defeat; but it is not a victory, it is not a triumph…

…By faith we choose affliction with the people of God, and despise Egypt’s treasures. By faith we keep our passover; pass through the Red Sea; overthrow Jerichos; subdue kingdoms; work righteousness; stop the mouth of lions; quench the violence of fire; turn to flight the armies of the aliens, and refuse deliverance in the day of trial, that we may obtain a better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35).

It is “believing” from first to last. We begin, we go on, we end in faith. The faith that justifies is the faith that overcomes (1 John 5:4). By faith we obtain the “good report” both with God and man. By faith we receive forgiveness; by faith we live; by faith we work, and endure, and suffer; by faith we win the crown,—a crown of righteousness, which shall be ours in the day of the appearing of Him who is OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

-Taken from The Everlasting Righteousness by Horatius Bonar, 1873.

Scripture, The Gospel, Theology

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There  came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His  own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of  blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:1-14

Scripture

“I am quite aware that when a man expresses such opinions as those I have just brought forward there are many ready to say, “He is no Churchman.” I hear such accusations unmoved. The day of judgment will show who were the true friends of the Church of England and who were not. I have learned in the last thirty-two years that if a clergyman leads a quiet life, lets alone the unconverted part of the world, and preaches so as to offend none and edify none, he will be called by many “a good Churchman.”

And I have also learned that if a man studies the Articles and Homilies, labors continually for the conversion of souls, adheres closely to the great principles of the Reformation, bears a faithful testimony against popery, and preaches as Jewell and Latimer used to preach, he will probably be thought a firebrand and “troubler of Israel,” and called no Churchman at all! But I can see plainly that they are not the best Churchmen who talk most loudly about Churchmanship.”

- J.C. Ryle from The Fallibility of Ministers

Daily Walk, Preaching, The Church

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” - Jude 24-25

Scripture

Evangelism, The Church, The Gospel

Father, forgive our foolish ways…

Culture

24 “ No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and   wealth. 25 “ For this reason I say to you,  do not be  worried about your  life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 “ Look at the birds of the  air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 “And who of you by being  worried can  add a single  hour to his  life? 28 “And why are you  worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even  Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 “But if God so clothes the  grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?  You of little faith! 31 “Do not  worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for  your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But  seek first  His kingdom and His righteousness, and  all these things will be  added to you. 34 “So do not  worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will  care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:24-34

Scripture

Merciful Lord,
Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year, all the sins of my life, sins of early, middle, and advanced years, of omission and commission, of morose, peevish and angry tempers, of lip, life and walk, of hard-heartness, unbelief, presumption, pride, of unfaithfulness to the souls of men, of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ, of deficiency in outspoken zeal for His glory, of bringing dishonor upon Thy great name, of deception, injustice, untruthfulness, in my dealings with others, of impurity in thought, word and deed, of covetousness, which is idolatry, of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered, not consecrated to the glory of Thee, the Great Giver; sins in private and in the family, in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men, in the study of Thy Word and in the neglect of it, in prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld, in time misspent, in yielding to Satan’s wiles in opening my heart to his temptations, in being unwatchful when I know him nigh, in quenching the Holy Spirit; sins against light and knowledge, against conscience and restraints of Thy Spirit, against the law of eternal love.

Pardon all my sins, known and unknown, felt and unfelt, confessed and not confessed, remembered or forgotten. Good Lord, hear; and hearing, forgive.

From Valley of Vision -a Collection of Puritan Prayers

Devotional, The Gospel