Friday, May 28, 2010

A Treatise on Prayer, or, a Confession, and Declaration of Prayers Added Thereto, just a small portion.


AGAINST SUCH AS WOULD HAVE MEDIATORS TO JESUS CHRIST. Alas! Whosoever is so minded shows himself plainly to know nothing of Jesus Christ rightly. Is he who descended from heaven, and vouchsafed to be conversant with sinners, commanding all sorely vexed and sick to come unto him [Matt. 9:11-13] (who, hanging upon the cross, prayed first for his enemies [Luke 23:34]) become now so intractable, that he will not hear us without a person to be a mean? "O Lord! open the eyes of such, that they may clearly perceive thy infinite kindness, gentleness, and love toward mankind."

Above all precedents is to be observed, that what we ask of God ought to be profitable to ourselves and to others, and hurtful or dangerous to no man. Secondly, we must consider whether our petitions extend to spiritual or corporeal things. [30]Spiritual things, such as deliverance from impiety, remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and of life everlasting, we should desire absolutely, without any condition, by Jesus Christ, in whom alone all these are promised. And in asking hereof, we should not pray thus: "O Father, forgive our sins if thou wilt;" for he has expressed his will, saying, "As I live, I desire not the death of a sinner, but rather that he convert and live;" which immutable and solemn oath whoso calls in doubt makes God a liar, and, so far as in him lies, would spoil him of his Godhead.[31] For he cannot be God except he be eternal and infallible verity. And John says, "This is the testimony which God hath testified of his Son, that whoso believeth in the Son hath eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13); to the verity whereof we should steadfastly cleave, although worldly dolour apprehends us. As David, exiled from his kingdom, and deprived of all his glory, secluded not from God, but steadfastly believed reconciliation by the promise made, notwithstanding that all creatures in earth had refused, objected and rebelled against him: "Happy is the man whom thou shalt inspire, O Lord" (2 Sam. 15).

[32]In asking [for] corporeal things, first let us inquire if we be at peace with God in our conscience by Jesus Christ, firmly believing our sins to be remitted in his blood? Secondly, let us inquire of our own hearts, if we know [that] temporal riches or substance do not come to man by accident, fortune, or chance, neither yet by the industry and diligence of man's labour; but to be the liberal gift of God only, whereof we ought to laud and praise his goodness, wisdom, and providence alone.

Just Good Stuff...

"I did then preach much upon original sin, repentance, the nature and necessity of conversion, in a close, examinatory and distinguished way; laboring in the meantime to sound the trumpet of God's judgments, and alarm the secure by the terrors of the Lord, as well as to affect them by other topics of persuasion: which method was sealed by the Holy Spirit in the conviction and conversion of a considerable number of persons, at various times and in different places in that part of the county." - George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore, (Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Banner of Truth), Volume L 417.

"A true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness, making God's love triumph in the heart." - Andrew Murray

Friday, May 21, 2010

Amen and Amen!

I am persuaded that the use of a good Catechism in all our families will be a great safeguard against the increasing errors of the times, and therefore I have compiled this little manual from the Westminster Assembly's and Baptist Catechisms, for the use of my own church and congregation. Those who use it in their families or classes must labor to explain the sense; but the words should be carefully learned by heart, for they will be understood better as years pass.

―C. H. Spurgeon

"There never was a man in the world without a creed. What is a creed? A creed is what you believe. What is a confession? It is a declaration of what you believe. That declaration may be oral or it may be committed to writing, but the creed is there either expressed or implied."

―B.H. Carroll

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Prayer moves the hand of Almighty God.


William Booth

ONE OF THE MOST effective weapons in General
Booth's arsenal was fervent prayer. It was not unusual
for Booth to hold "an all night of prayer" when
he came to preach the Word of God. People would
flood the altars every where he went. "The power of
God was wonderfully manifest in the meetings . . .
people were frequently, struck down, overwhelmed
with a sense of the presence and power of God."

The Salvation Army's success at freeing the captives
was uncanny, especially when one considers those
who it strived to reach. General Booth's battle cry
was "Go for souls and go for the worst." The worst
of sinners were saved, saloons were closed and
entire cities were shaken. Booth's success attracted
not only supporters but also enemies. Those who
served in the Army were pelted with hot coals,
sprayed with tar and burning sulphur, beat, stoned
and even kicked to death in the streets. The Salvation
Army resisted their enemies with a cheerful
"God bless you", and a prayer. General Booth, himself
was often in the thick of it. When spit on during
the Midlands tour, Booth encouraged his fellow
soldiers, "Don't rub it off - it's a medal!"

At another time, two Salvation Army officers set out
to found a new work, only to meet with failure and
opposition. Frustrated and tired they appealed to
the General to close the rescue mission. General
Booth sent back a telegram with two words on it,
"TRY TEARS." They followed his advice and they
witnessed a mighty revival.

During the course of William Booths ministry he
traveled 5,000,000 miles and preached 60,000 sermons.
God help us in this desperate and distracted
day in which we live to heed the General's advice.
"Work as if everything depended upon your work,
and pray as if everything depended upon your
prayer."


- Aaron -

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Only a broken man made alive by God can worship God RIghtly.


This is a small excerpt from Horatius Bonar - (1808-1889) --
It comes from his book - The Rent Veil.

- Aaron

How am I to worship God? man asks; and he has answered it also in his own way. In the gorgeous temple, in the pillared cathedral, with incense, and vestments, and forms, and ceremonies, and processions, and postures, he says.1414These are defended on the ground that they teach certain truths. But worship is not for teaching; it is for the taught. To multiply teaching and symbols is to injure worship; for teaching is not worship, and worship is not teaching. But these performances are the will-worship of self-righteousness, not the obedient service of men worshipping God in ways of His own ordination. Man cannot teach man how to worship God. When he tries it he utterly fails. He distorts worship; he misrepresents God, and he indulges his own sensuous or self-righteous tastes. His "dim religious light" is but a reflection of his own gloomy spirit, and an ignorant misrepresentation of Him "who is light, and in whom is no darkness at all." God's answer to man's question is given in the Lord's words, "they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." The vestments may or may not be comely; that matters not. The music may or may not be fine: the knees may or may not be bent; the hands may or may not be clasped; the place of worship may or may not be a cathedral, or a consecrated fabric. These are immaterial things; adjuncts of religion, not its essence. The true worship is that of the inner man; and all things else are of little moment. As it is with love so it is with worship. The heart is everything. God can do without the bended knee, but not without the broken heart.

The conscience...

Your conscience will not always sleep!

(Samuel Davies, "Divine Mercy to Mourning Penitents")

"They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them." Romans 2:15

The principal means which God uses in conversion, is that of conscience; and indeed without this, all the rest are in vain. Outward afflictions are of service--only as they tend to awaken the conscience from its lethargy to a faithful discharge of its duty. It is conscience which makes the sinner sensible of his misery and scourges him. The lashes of a guilty conscience are intolerable; and some under them have chosen strangling and suicide, rather than life.

Conscience is a serpent in his breast, which bites and gnaws his heart; and he can no more avoid it, than he can fly from himself!

Let not such of you as have never been tortured with its remorse, congratulate yourselves upon your happiness, for you are not innocents! Your conscience will not always sleep! It will not always lie torpid and inactive, like a snake benumbed with cold, in your breast!

It will awaken you either to your conversion--or condemnation!

Either the fire of God's wrath flaming from His law will enliven it in this world--to sting you with medicinal anguish; or the unquenchable fire of His vengeance in the lake of fire and brimstone will thaw it into life--and then it will horribly rage in your breast, and diffuse its tormenting poison through your whole frame! And then it will become a never-dying worm, and prey upon your hearts forever!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Theology Time.

Supralapsarianism

1. Elect some, reprobate rest
2. Create
3. Permit Fall
4. Provide salvation for elect
5. Call elect to salvation

Infralapsarianism

1. Create
2. Permit Fall
3. Elect some, pass over the rest
4. Provide salvation for elect
5. Call elect to salvation

Amyraldism

1. Create
2. Permit Fall
3. Provide salvation sufficient for all
4. Elect some, pass over rest
5. Call elect to salvation

Arminianism

1. Create
2. Permit Fall
3. Provide salvation for all
4. Call all to salvation
5. Elect those who believe


- A small note on all the above by Dr. Phil Johnson.

The distinction between infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism has to do with the logical order of God's eternal decrees, not the timing of election. Neither side suggests that the elect were chosen after Adam sinned. God made His choice before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4)—long before Adam sinned. Both infras and supras (and even many Arminians) agree on this.
SUPRALAPSARIANISM is the view that God, contemplating man as yet unfallen, chose some to receive eternal life and rejected all others. So a supralapsarian would say that the reprobate (non-elect)—vessels of wrath fitted for destruction (Rom. 9:22)—were first ordained to that role, and then the means by which they fell into sin was ordained. In other words, supralapsarianism suggests that God's decree of election logically preceded His decree to permit Adam's fall—so that their damnation is first of all an act of divine sovereignty, and only secondarily an act of divine justice.
Supralapsarianism is sometimes mistakenly equated with "double predestination." The term "double predestination" itself is often used in a misleading and ambiguous fashion. Some use it to mean nothing more than the view that the eternal destiny of both elect and reprobate is settled by the eternal decree of God. In that sense of the term, all genuine Calvinists hold to "double predestination"—and the fact that the destiny of the reprobate is eternally settled is clearly a biblical doctrine (cf. 1 Peter 2:8; Romans 9:22; Jude 4). But more often, the expression "double predestination" is employed as a pejorative term to describe the view of those who suggest that God is as active in keeping the reprobate out of heaven as He is in getting the elect in. (There's an even more sinister form of "double predestination," which suggests that God is as active in making the reprobate evil as He is in making the elect holy.)
This view (that God is as active in reprobating the non-elect as He is in redeeming the elect) is more properly labeled "equal ultimacy" (cf. R.C. Sproul, Chosen by God, 142). It is actually a form of hyper-Calvinism and has nothing to do with true, historic Calvinism. Though all who hold such a view would also hold to the supralapsarian scheme, the view itself is not a necessary ramification of supralapsarianism.
Supralapsarianism is also sometimes wrongly equated with hyper-Calvinism. All hyper-Calvinists are supralapsarians, though not all supras are hyper-Calvinists.
Supralapsarianism is sometimes called "high" Calvinism, and its most extreme adherents tend to reject the notion that God has any degree of sincere goodwill or meaningful compassion toward the non-elect. Historically, a minority of Calvinists have held this view.
But Boettner's comment that "there is not more than one Calvinist in a hundred that holds the supralapsarian view," is no doubt an exaggeration. And in the past decade or so, the supralapsarian view seems to have gained popularity.
INFRALAPSARIANISM (also known sometimes as "sublapsarianism") suggests that God's decree to permit the fall logically preceded His decree of election. So when God chose the elect and passed over the non-elect, He was contemplating them all as fallen creatures.

Those are the two major Calvinistic views. Under the supralapsarian scheme, God first rejects the reprobate out of His sovereign good pleasure; then He ordains the means of their damnation through the fall. In the infralapsarian order, the non-elect are first seen as fallen individuals, and they are damned solely because of their own sin. Infralapsarians tend to emphasize God's "passing over" the non-elect (preterition) in His decree of election.
Robert Reymond, himself a supralapsarian, proposes the following refinement of the supralapsarian view:
Reymond's Modified
Supralapsarianism

1. Elect some sinful men, reprobate rest
2. Apply redemptive benefits to the elect
3. Provide salvation for elect
4. Permit Fall
5. Create

Notice that in addition to reordering the decrees, Reymond's view deliberately stresses that in the decree of election and reprobation, God is contemplating men as sinners. Reymond writes, "In this scheme, unlike the former [the classic supra- order], God is represented as discriminating among men viewed as sinners and not among men viewed simply as men. (See Robert Reymond, Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 489). Reymond's refinement avoids the criticism most commonly leveled against supralapsarianism—that the supralapsarian has God damning men to perdition before He even contemplates them as sinners. But Reymond's view also leaves unanswered the question of how and why God would regard all men as sinners even before it was determined that the human race would fall. (Some might even argue that Reymond's refinements result in a position that, as far as the key distinction is concerned, is implicitly infralapsarian.)
All the major Reformed Creeds are either explicitly infralapsarian, or else they carefully avoid language that favors either view. No major creed takes the supra position. (This whole issue was hotly debated throughout the Westminster Assembly. William Twisse, an ardent supralapsarian and chairman of the Assembly, ably defended his view. But the Assembly opted for language that clearly favors the infra position, yet without condemning supralapsarianism.)
"Bavinck has pointed out that the supralapsarian presentation 'has not been incorporated in a single Reformed Confession' but that the infra position has received an official place in the Confessions of the churches" (Berkouwer, Divine Election, 259).
Louis Berkhof's discussion of the two views (in his Systematic Theology) is helpful, though he seems to favor supralapsarianism. I take the Infra view, as did Turretin, most of the Princeton theologians, and most of the leading Westminster Seminary men (e.g., John Murray). These issues were at the heart of the "common grace" controversy in the first half of the Twentieth Century. Herman Hoeksema and those who followed him took such a rigid supralapsarian position that they ultimately denied the very concept of common grace.
Finally, see the chart (above), which compares these two views with Amyraldism (a kind of four-point Calvinism) and Arminianism. My notes on each view (below) identify some of the major advocates of each view.

NOTES ON THE ORDER OF THE DECREES
© 1994, 1997, 2000 by Phillip R. Johnson

Greatly incouraged to trust in Gods ability.

Today during my time with the Lord, I was greatly encouraged to not look to myself or what I could do, but to put all my trust in His ability to deliver His children. Through a timely message and the Word of God I was more encouraged to put all I have and all I am into Him. He has proven time and time again that I will not be disappointed in Him. Praise God for His faithfulness. I pray He will make a name for Himself from this dilapidated ball of flesh.


2 Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His...

- Aaron

A few words of wisdom from Brother George Whitfield.


But he is unworthy the name of a minister of the gospel of peace, who is unwilling, not only to have his name cast out as evil, but also to die for the truths of the Lord Jesus.

If your souls were not immortal, and you in danger of losing them, I would not thus speak unto you; but the love of your souls constrains me to speak: methinks this would constrain me to speak unto you forever.

It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher.

It is an undoubted truth that every doctrine that comes from God, leads to God; and that which doth not tend to promote holiness is not of God.

Let us, therefore, not be weary of well-doing; for we shall reap an eternal harvest of comfort, if we faint not.

Mere heathen morality, and not Jesus Christ, is preached in most of our churches.

No, if we come in the spirit and power of our Master, in this, as in every other part of his sufferings, we must follow his steps.

No, the religion of Jesus is a social religion.

O my brethren, my heart is enlarge towards you. I trust I feel something of that hidden, but powerful presence of Christ, whilst I am preaching to you.

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.

Take care of your life and the Lord will take care of your death.

The great and important duty which is incumbent on Christians, is to guard against all appearance of evil; to watch against the first risings in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our actions, that they may not be sinful, or so much as seem to be so.

The righteousness of Jesus Christ is one of those great mysteries, which the angels desire to look into, and seems to be one of the first lessons that God taught men after the fall.

You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without dropping a word to you.

We are immortal until our work on earth is done.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A very SOLID ROCK!


Where shall you find a rock?

(Samuel Davies, "Jesus Christ, the Only Foundation" 1757)

"The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men! The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up!" 2 Peter 3:7, 10

The fiery deluge of divine vengeance, which has been gathering and swelling for thousands of years; but has been, as it were, restrained and kept within bounds by divine patience--shall then rise so high as to burst through all restraints, and overwhelm the guilty globe, and turn it into a universal ocean of liquid fire! This resistless torrent shall sweep away all the refuges of lies, and those who trusted in them--into the gulf of remediless destruction!

Well my friends, where shall we find a support to bear us up in this tremendous day? Where shall we find a rock to build upon, that we may be able to stand the shock, and remain safe and unmoved--in the wreck of dissolving worlds? What can uphold us--when this vast machine of our world, formed with so much skill and strength by the hands of a divine Architect, shall be broken up and fall to pieces?

Now, now is the time for us to find the refuge; it will be too late when all created supports are swept away, and this solid globe itself is dissolved beneath our feet into a sea of fire!

And where will you look? Where will you turn? This earth, and all its riches, honors, and pleasures--will prove to be but a quicksand in that day! Your friends and relations, were they ever so great or powerful--can then afford you no support! Therefore, think--where shall you find a rock on which you may build a happiness that will stand the shock in that dreadful day?

Everything else besides Christ . . .
is sliding sand,
is yielding air,
is a breaking bubble!

In that dread day . . .
wealth--will prove to be a vain shadow,
honor--will prove to be an empty breath,
pleasure--will prove to be a delusive dream,
your own righteousness--will prove to be a spider's web!
If we rely on these, disappointment and doom are inevitable!

Nothing but Christ, nothing but Christ, can stably support us in that dread day! "He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress--I will never be shaken!" Psalm 62:2

His righteousness is infinitely perfect, equal to the highest demands of the divine law--and therefore a firm, immovable ground of trust. We may safely venture the weight of our eternal all--upon this rock! It will stand forever, without giving way under the heaviest pressure; without being broken by the most violent shock. Let thousands, let millions, with all the mountainous weight of guilt upon them, build upon this foundation, and they shall never be moved!

The firm foundations, the stately columns, the majestic buildings of Nineveh, Babylon and Persia, and all the magnificent structures of antiquity, though formed of the most durable stone, and promising immortality--are now shattered into ten thousand fragments, or lying in ruinous heaps!

But here in Christ--is a foundation for immortal souls--a foundation that will remain the same to all eternity! His righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, His strength an everlasting strength, and Himself the everlasting Father. He ever lives forever to make intercession for His people, and therefore he is able to save to the uttermost, to the uttermost point of duration--all who come unto God by Him!

Millions and millions of depraved, wretched, ruined creatures, have always found Him perfectly able, and as perfectly willing--
to expiate the most enormous guilt;
to deliver from the most inveterate corruptions;
and to save to the very uttermost!

Ten thousand times ten thousand, have built their hopes upon this rock--and it has never failed so much as one of them! Manasseh, Paul, and Mary Magdalen, and thousands more atrocious sinners--have ventured upon this all-sufficient rock with all their load of sin upon them, and found it able to sustain them!

---
Hebrews 7:25 - Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
---

Praise God!
- Aaron

Monday, May 3, 2010

Are you a Disciple or an Attender?


The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up, until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He returns to claim His own, He will have no problem in recognizing me. My colors will be clear.