Category Archives: recommended

Faith of Jesus Christ

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In studying different resources on Galatians, i ran across an article by Doug Wilson (one of my favorites) and found it very helpful and encouraging. I’d like to share the following excerpt with you. His exposition here covers Galatians 2:16-21. You can read the whole article here.

What is meant by “the faith of Jesus Christ”? In v. 16, we find a striking phrase (which is repeated twice). We know that men are not justified by the works of Judaic law-keeping, but “by the faith of Jesus Christ.” We have believed in Jesus “that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.” Now is this our faith, or Jesus’ faith? Our faith is mentioned, but our believing in Jesus is so that we might be justified by the faith of Jesus. This is in contrast to being justified “by the works of the law.” The reason for that is because “for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” By the works of the law everybody goes to hell. Note well, then, that our justification depends on the faith of Jesus, Jesus believing. Our faith is the instrument which unites us with Christ, and it is in union with Christ (and thereby with His faith) that we find our justification. In the imputation of the active and passive obedience of Christ to us, we do not just receive “His actions.” Everything Jesus said and did is imputed to us, along with His motives for saying and doing them. The imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us cannot be accomplished unless His faith is imputed to us as well — because Christ’s righteousness was not independent of His faith.

But there are some odd objections. In order to be united with Christ in His death and resurrection, both Jews and Gentiles had to acknowledge that they were sinners. We are united with sin on the cross so that sin might there die, and that we might be subsequently raised. Does this promote sin? (v. 17). Of course not. Always remember the importance of resurrection; we include both destruction and rebuilding (v. 18). The law kills and we are raised, together with the law (v. 19).

This is the key to understanding Paul’s theology of justification. Union with Christ begins with crucifixion (v. 20). Nevertheless, life follows, and it is the life of Christ which follows. This life of Christ includes His faith. “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” How could this frustrate the grace of God? It is the grace of God (v. 21). Righteousness does not come by the law. It does not come by fencing the Table. If we must fence the Table against fellow believers, then Christ died in vain (v. 21).

(Doug Wilson, http://bit.ly/qhUkJJ, 7th – 9th paragraphs.)

Smooth Words for Hard Hearts

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The following is an excerpt from a book by Pastor Doug Wilson entitled Mother Kirk, Essays on Church Life. The chapter is “Thundering the Word” and this section is “Smooth Words for Hard Hearts”.  I believe this message is extremely relevant for us and i’m going to quote it verbatim.  The emphasis added is mine.

“Much more remains to be said on the subject of our antipathy to biblical preaching.  Far from revealing an excessive tenderness, it reveals just the opposite.

We live in an era which places a high value on hardness of heart.  We can tell this by our love of soft teaching. Of course this is not how we describe it inwardly.  In speaking to ourselves, when we generally have a most appreciative audience, we have great affection for smooth words, words which go down easily.  Jeremiah talked about this.  ”They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14).

We like to believe that this love of soft words, words which will trouble neither the mind nor the heart, nor anything in between, is a deep love of tenderness.  Such a conviction flatters us, but our love is actually the opposite of tenderness.

If our hearts were a slab of concrete, and we wanted to keep them that way, our desire to have them caressed with a feather duster would exhibit no love of tenderness, but rather the contrary.  The one who really wanted a tender heart would be calling for the jackhammer. Hard words, hard teaching, are the jackhammer of God.  It takes a great deal to break up our hard hearts, and the God of all mercy is willing to do it.  But He always does it according to His Word, and His Word is not as easy on us as we would like.  ”Is not My word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29).

When Christians call for smooth words, easy words, the result is hard people.  When we submit to hard words, we become the tenderhearted of God.  But let soft words have their way in a congregation, let soft words dominate the pulpit, and hardness of heart begins to manifest itself in countless ways—but the common denominator is always that of granite hearts.  Marriages dissolve, heresies proliferate, parents abandon children, churches split, children heap contempt on their parents, quarrels erupt on the elder board and in the choir, bitterness, rancor, envy, and malice abound—and all because the people will not abide that loathsome jackhammer, “Thou shalt not.”

We have come to the point—both in the church and nation—where anyone who speaks a hard word is automatically assumed to be displaying his own hard heart.  He is harsh and divisive.  He is unloving.  Like Ahab, we do not like the prophet who tends to disrupt the general bonhomie of the courtiers and kept prophets.  ”And the king of Israel said unto Jehosaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me but evil?”  (1 Kgs. 22:18).

We have lost the antithesis and therefore have forgotten that no virtue can be found in an intransitive verb.  We think that it is good simply for a man to love, for example, forgetting that it depends entirely upon what he loves.  After all, John told us to love not the world, or the things in it.  We believe it is a sin to hate, forgetting that this depends upon what we hate.  Is the hatred according to the Word or not?  We think that it is a virtue to tolerate, forgetting that the Lord Jesus rebuked a church for tolerating that woman Jezebel.  Everything hinges on what we are tolerating, and our global love for smooth words indicates that what we are mostly tolerating is our own hardness of heart.

Of course, because life is never simple, we must acknowledge that there is a type of harsh language which dishonors God and embitters our neighbor.  And we also know that there is a type of soft answer which turns away wrath.  We know that many cantankerous Christians have defended their sin in the guise of Valiant-for-Truth.  Far from trying to smooth these words into an easy fit for us, we must take them as they come, and simply submit to them.  There are certain kinds of hard words which belong to the devil, and our speech should always be gracious and seasoned with salt.

Nevertheless, the one who speaks as Jesus and the apostles did, the one who seeks to imitate the discourse of Scripture, will soon find himself verbally opposed to sin.  Sometimes the sin is visible and concrete, and other times it is harder to identify—as when a man sins theologically by refusing to accept what God has taught us in Scripture.  And when that has happened, the one who reproves such sin will immediately be condemned as troublemaker in the the gates of Zion, a pestilent fellow.  We want to keep our hearts the way they were.

But we need men who wake up in the morning knowing what they believe.  We need men committed to truth in principle, men willing to be unpopular in certain compromised quarters.  We need men committed to the authority of truth over us, men who know that debate and discussion are a moral imperative.  In an age as compromised as ours, this can only serve to increase unpopularity.  But the authority of truth means that hard study was not just a matter of scholarship chasing its tail.  Questions are to be raised for the sake of finding answers.  A wise pastor knows that splitting the difference between the right answer and the wrong answer will only result in another wrong answer.  This mentality is not the province of a particular personality type.  It is the inheritance of all the saints who would contend earnestly for the faith.  May God rails up many more such saints within the Church who are hungry for truth, along with men who are willing to preach to them.”

Word are important, we must comprehend what it means for our speech to be gracious and seasoned with salt—when to use hard words and when to use soft words.  We need to be studious to see the different ways and the different genres of speech the Bible uses and how it reveals that this Truth can and should be conveyed, with that as our purpose and intention—proclaiming the Truth.

Patrick wasn’t technically irish either…

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Last year (in part because of my short adventure in Dublin) i read the book How the Irish Saved Civilization. I thoroughly enjoyed it and came away with some amazing and inspiring information.  So in honor of St. Patrick, who can be particularly thanked for the saving of civilization due to his teachings and proclaiming of the Gospel on the glorious island, here are a few excerpts from Thomas Cahill’s wonderful book that are specific of Mr. Patrick:

“Patrick could put himself—imaginatively—in the position of the Irish. To him, no less than to them, the world is full of magic. One can invoke the elements—the lights of heaven, the waves of the sea, the birds and the animals—and these will come to one’s aid, as in the incantation of the “Breastplate.” The difference between Patrick’s magic and the magic of the druids is that in Patrick’s world all beings and events come from the hand of a good God, who loves human beings and wishes them success. And though that success is of an ultimate kind—and, therefore, does not preclude suffering—all nature, indeed the whole of the created universe, conspires to mankind’s good, teaching, succoring, and saving.

Patrick could speak convincingly of these things. He could assure you that all suffering, however dull and desperate, would come to its conclusion and would show itself to have been worthwhile. He could insist that, in the end, you too would hear the words “Your hungers are rewarded:  you are going home. Look, your ship is ready.”  He could speak believably of the superabundance of a God who in response to humble prayer feeds his lost and wandering people with heavenly manna—and a crew of lost and starving sailors with the herd of very earthly pigs.” (How the Irish Saved Civilization p. 131)


“The key to Patrick’s confidence—and it is the sort of ringing, rock-solid confidence on which a civilization may be built, an unmuffled confidence not heard since the Golden Ages of Greece and Rome—is in his reliance on “the Creator of Creation,” the phrase with which the “Breastplate” opens and closes.  Our Father in heaven, having created all things, even things that have since become bent or gone bad, will deliver us, his children, from all evil.  But our Father is not only in faraway heaven, but lives among us.  For he created everything by his Word, which was with him in the beginning, which became flesh in the human Jesus, and flames out in all his creatures:

I see his blood upon the rose

And in the stars the glory of his eyes,

His body gleams amid eternal snows,

His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;

The thunder and the singing of the birds

Are but his voice—and carven by his power

Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,

His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,

His  crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,

His cross is every tree.

This magical world, though full of adventure and surprise, is no longer full of dread. Rather, Christ has trodden all pathways before us, and at every crossroads and by every tree the Word of God speaks out. We have only to be quiet and listen, as Patrick learned to do during the silence of his “novitiate” as a shepherd on the slopes of Sliabh Mis.” (How the Irish Saved Civilization p. 132-133)


21 Principles a Christian Citizen Must Know (In the Age of Obama)

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I found this article very helpful and interesting.  Thought i would share it here, enjoy.

21 Principles a Christian Citizen Must Know (In the Age of Obama)

Sermons – Romans
Written by Douglas Wilson
Monday, March 15, 2010 6:09 am

INTRODUCTION:
Because the teaching of the apostle Paul on civil authority is widely misunderstood and misrepresented, we are going to take our time going through this section. And because the instructions here are to Christian citizens and subjects, we are going to begin with a scriptural introduction to this entire subject. And because of who is addressed here, it is important to remember something that Abraham Kuyper once said: “In any successful attack on freedom the state can only be an accomplice. The chief culprit is the citizen who forgets his duty, wastes away his strength in the sleep of sin and sensual pleasure, and so loses the power of his own initiative.”

We are going to therefore consider 21 principles on civil government that the Christian must understand.

THE TEXT:
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13:1).

21 PRINCIPLES:
1: Civil government and rule is a blessing from God, and not a necessary evil. “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain” (2 Sam. 23:3-4). We are not anarchists.

2: God establishes a righteous throne with majesty. “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness” (Prov. 16:12). “And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel” (1 Chron. 25:29; Dan. 4:36).

3: The law of God is the soul of a good ruler. “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens” (Ex. 18:21). Rulers who don’t fear God will try to be God.

4: God requires true humility of His rulers. “That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel” (Dt. 17:20).

5: Our basic demeanor toward civil rulers should be one of honor. “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king” (1 Pet. 2:17). What the kings of the earth bring into the New Jerusalem is not a sham or a pretence (Rev. 21:24).

6: Tyrants love moral corruption, and hate virtuous men. As Chesterton once put it, free love is the first and most obvious bribe to offer a slave. Tyrants therefore love public entertainments and private vices because they love an enervated people. “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (Rev. 2:14). Porn is therefore politics, and reveals your true political allegiances.

7: Absolute perfection in our rulers is not the point. “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11). David had forfeited his throne, as Saul had, and he knew it. When Saul’s dynasty fell, it was because the Spirit had departed from him. But God in His mercy allowed David to remain as the king, despite this gross imperfection. And it is said of a number of kings that they were good, like Asa, but that they did not remove the high places (1 Kings 15:14). In Scripture, a king can get a B minus and still be a good and godly king.

8: Tyranny is a judgment from God for the sins of the people. “And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take . . .” (1 Sam. 8:11). But remember that the God who sends tyrants to chastise us may also send a deliverer to save us.

9: Every manner of civil government is under the authority of God. God rules in His own name, and princes rule by derivation. Civil rulers are the lieutenants of God. Here in Romans 13, the word for deacons is used of them several times (Rom. 13:4). The ruler is therefore an appointed, delegated, and deputized servant.

10: Civil disobedience is required when matters of worship and the gospel are concerned. “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:18). “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

11: Civil disobedience is lawful in other areas as well. David honored Saul (1 Sam. 24:5), but did not turn himself in (1 Sam. 24:22). Neither did Peter turn himself in (Acts 12:11), or Paul for that matter (2 Cor. 11:32-33). Examples could be multiplied.

12: Civil government is covenantal, and has a double covenantal nature. It involves God, the magistrate, and the people (2 Chron. 23: 16).

13: No human authority, civil magistrates included, can be absolute. God alone has absolute authority; man’s authority is always limited and bounded. This is what Nebuchadnezzar confessed—when his sanity returned (Dan. 4:35).

14: Not everything that is legal is lawful (Rev. 13:17).

15: Faithful believers will often be accused of lawlessness and treason. Ahab was the troubler of Israel, and so that is what he accused Elijah of being (1 Kings 18:17). But the cause of the trouble is the problem; the solution is not the problem (2 Chron. 23:13).

16: The Bible teaches the principle of the “consent of the governed.” Rehoboam was elected to be king (1 Kings 12:1), and he was no anomaly.

17: The lot of the people and the character of their rulers is linked together. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Prov. 29:2).

18: Resistance of tyranny is not the same thing as resistance of the established civil order. Jehoida defended the throne by removing someone from it (2 Chron. 23:11).

19: Lesser magistrates obeyed Jehoida, and they were right to do so (2 Chron. 23:1-3).

20. We must care what company our rulers keep. Panders, whores, flatterers and “other mushrooms of the court” are to be despised. “Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness” (Prov. 25:5).

21: And last, Christian history matters. Included in our definition of “the powers that be” (Rom. 13:1) must be things like: the Constitution, the will of the people, the lesser magistrates, and the balances of powers.