Think Wink.

Having been reading 1-2 Samuel that last few weeks, I have been really blessed. Seeing how God moved Israel from the period where the nation was governed by judges to the period where Israel was ruled over by her first monarchies, Saul and David. Watching God anticipate the coming of a king through Hannah to fulfilling that hope in David and making a covenant with David to always have a member of his family line on the throne and not be rejected like Saul was rejected.

One of the things I have been looking for while I have been reading the story of David is how do I fit into the story of God. Keep in mind that as a Christian, I look at David as a type who anticipates Jesus Messiah. So where do I fit into that narrative? There is one point of David’s story that really grabbed my attention as a possible way into God’s story. Read more

Redemptive-Historical Preaching and Charles Dennison

Some Thoughts on John

“For He will save his people from their sin”

Last week in a Bible study, I noticed a connection between James and the Psalms, namely Psalm 24. Consider the parallel between James 4:8 and Psalm 24:4,

Now linguistically, James is not quoting Psalm 24:4. He uses similar terms as the Psalmist (LXX of course) but he does not quote him. So I wanted to see what impact this Psalm might have upon understanding what James is talking about in James 4.

Psalm 24 opens with a declaration of Yahweh’s creational-sovereignty. He created the world and everything in it and therefore it all belongs to him (Psalm 24:1-2). Now a question is asked in Psalm 24:3, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” Who shall dwell with Yahweh in his sanctuary and home? Who is worthy to stand before Yahweh? The answer is found in Psalm 24:4-6. The person who cleanses his hands (deeds) and purifies his heart (inner disposition and thoughts), who seeks the face of the God of Jacob. The person who does not swear deceitfully and lifts his soul to what is false. This person will receive blessing from Yahweh, he will be justified (It is interesting here to see that righteousness (and blessing) is not so much a status but being allowed to dwell in Yahweh’s presence, salvation is dwelling in Yahweh’s “holy place” and on his “holy hill”). So a concluding question, “Who is this King of Glory?” The Psalmist commands the city to welcome in the “King of Glory,” but who is he? It is Yahweh, the mighty and strong Warrior. The Creator-Ruler is the King of Glory and the Psalmist commands the doors to welcome him and the gates to open to him. Thus the point of the Psalm is that for a person to dwell with Yahweh, the Creator and King of glory, that person must be pure in heart and deed, not lifting the soul to false things and deceiving neighbors.

Now in James 4, James is addressing a people that are fighting amongst themselves out of covetousness and envy. James describes them as waging “war” against each other, murdering and stealing. They are not seeking God for their wants and desires. When they do seek God, it is in a wrong manner, from a disposition that seeks to please themselves and not honor God. This activity is not friendship with God, according to James, but enmity with God and friendship with the world. They are not reconcilable. A person is either a friend of God or his enemy (James 4:1-6).

So James commands his audience,

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

It is here that one can see why James is alluding to Psalm 24. James is writing to a people who is acting as an enemy to God, who is their Creator and ruler. They are not seeking God out of pure motives and clean hands. They seek him, if they do, from a purely selfish motive. They are succumbing to the devil’s schemes. They are lifting themselves to that which is false, the devil and their own pride. They are deceiving each other and trying to deceive God. So James commands them to submit to God and draw near to him. But who can dwell on his holy hill? Who can be in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart. The one who seeks the face of the God of Jacob. They will be granted the right to dwell in the presence of God. James wants them to open their gates and doors to the King of Glory. They must humble themselves and God will grace and exalt them with his presence.

If they persist in their enmity with God and war with each other, they will come under the judgment of the King of Glory. Who is the King of Glory? He is Yahweh, “strong and mighty, mighty in battle” (Psalm 24:8). They will fall under certain judgment of the King who will defeat them. Their enmity will be futile.

So the question I have to ask myself, am I cleansing my hands and purifying my heart and seeking the face of the God of Jacob? I have to confess that I don’t. But I thank God for Christ, in whom I have received every spiritual blessing from heaven. In him I have access to the Father and to a High Priest who understands my short comings and has secured my place among the people of God in the new creation. Have you come face-to-face with the Creator and King of Glory? Have you trusted in the work he performed to secure you a place among God’s people at the Day of Judgment?

Faith, Works, Amen

James White on John 3:16-17

James White on Steve Gregg

PADavis recently commented on a post I did some time ago on Romans 8:29-30. In that post I discussed what Paul means by predestination and foreknowledge. PADavis writes

I am still unclear if one knows or consciously realizes that he or she is predestined for salvation? I am Nazarene and Armenianism is the world/theological view presented here. So I am just learning about Calvinism and have always been curious as to how one knows whether he is saved or has been predestined by God. In our belief we say that “we know that we know we are indeed saved” when we have repented of our sins and asked Jesus Christ into our hearts. So does the Calvinist know he or she is truly saved or called by God?

I was going to respond in a comment but I thought this would be better answered in a separate post. First, my initial thoughts when reading this comment seem like there are actually two questions being asked, and I’m not sure if both are tintended. The first question, which is the first sentence in the comment, seems to deal with an unconverted person. The second question, the last sentence in the comment, seems to talk about a converted person. In other words it seems like question 1 is asking if an unconverted person knows if he or she is predestined to be saved. Question 2 is asking if the saved person can have an assurance of their salvation. I will answer both questions but if it is one or the other is intended and not both, then at least know I’m trying to answer what it is that is being asked and am sorry if I’m about to speak too long on something not in view. Read more

I Evangelize Because of Joy

Objections to Calvinism Part 8 of 5

Reflections on Jonah Part 3

The past two Sunday’s have seen two incredible sermons at my church here in KC. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I really appreciated what was said about Hebrews 11:3 in the second sermon concerning the question of the origin of the universe.

Redemptive-Historical Preaching and Charles Dennison

Morning Workout: Dr. Meredith Kline

My Favorite Sermon

The other day I was listening to Dr. Sam Waldron defend the doctrine of Limited Atonement or Particular Redemption at the 2007 Building Bridges Conference that the SBC and Founder’s Ministry put together. One thing he said about Limited Atonement is that it makes him sing. He said that our doctrine should make us sing more than anything else. I couldn’t agree more. One doctrine that I think makes me sing more than any other is that of justification and imputation. Read more

Some Things of Note

Justification

Dating OT using BH

Saturday I began to read for the umpteenth time Ed Brubaker’s classic The Death of Captain America (Captain America Vol. 5 #25-42). It is eighteen issues of Captain America greatness, even though eight issues did not even have the character Captain America in it. Steve Epting and his cohorts did an amazing job with the pencils, inks, and colors to flesh out Brubaker’s story. But as I was reading it, I saw a picture of the Christian ethic that pervades so much of Scripture: You are righteous so walk in righteousness. In other words, in Christ our future verdict of righteous is already ours by faith. Therefore we must now walk as a righteous person in life. We must be that which we have been declared. I caught an imperfect glimpse in The Death of Captain America. Read more

It Ends Here!

The New Captain America

Captain America vs. Captain America???

The following video is an interview that many might have seen by Mark Driscoll where he speaks with my favorite contemporary pastor Dr. John Piper (well except for my own pastor, Paster Tim Junhke). In this video you will learn things about Piper that really bring him down to planet earth and show that he has warts, ugly warts. And I love it. One can never see a preacher’s struggles from the pulpit or in a book. But being given the opportunity to peer behind the curtain and into his own life shows the ugliness and really helps put the person in perspective. Thank you Mark for the interview and thank you Dr. Piper for being so open. I hope the readers enjoy seeing this video as much as I did.

No related posts

In light of all that is going on in my life, dealing with some sin issues, these texts have taken a sweeter meaning for me in recent days, reminding me that I stand upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who purchased for me a perfect righteousness that is mine by faith alone.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.‘”–Romans 1:16-17.

“[We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.“–Romans 3:24-28

“To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.‘”–Romans 4:5-8

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.“–Romans 5:1

“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.“–Romans 5:18-19

“We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”–Galatians 2:16

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.“–Galatians 3:10-14 (cf. Galatians 3:6-9 for the meaning of “the blessing of Abraham” being righteousness).

“Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.“–Philippians 3:7-9

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.“–Hebrews 10:11-14

Standing Tall

Justification and Christ’s life.

An Illustration of Faith In My Life

The last couple of weeks, Yahweh has been bringing me face to face with my sin. It has been a good time, a challenging time. I cannot help but smile as I know that Yahweh is doing this for my joy in him. In this time, the passage that has really spoke to me is Jeremiah’s letter to the first group of exiles taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Read more

James White on Steve Gregg

Tolkien and Predestination

Blessing and Psalm 72

Today has been just one incredible blessing from God my Father and Jesus his Christ.

First has to do with the summer mission trip that my youth at church is going on July 19-26, 2008. While on the trip the kids are going to study John Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life (For more information about this book and the study package it has you can click here or just go to the DesiringGod website linked under the Resources menu below). Yesterday I had the awesome privilege to serve my good friend and co-laborer with the youth Jimmy (he used to be my boss at UPS until a couple of weeks ago when Jesus blessed him with an 8-5 job working with an amazing gentleman at church) by moving him out of his old apartment on MBTS campus and to a new one just a couple miles away. In light of the move, I was asked to teach this morning (June 22, 2008) and begin the study of Don’t Waste Your Life. So I read the chapters and watched the DVD session and did the study guide section last night. I must say it was an amazing study for me. Then today, the youth really responded well and engaged the material. Some even came up to me after the second service and told me how much they look forward to the rest! Teenagers did that! God was really working in their hearts and minds and they want more. God is SO good. Read more

The Watchmen Movie

When I think of “euaggelion” or “gospel”…

Another look into euaggelion