"It was all the Gift of God": St. Patrick in His Own Words

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Patrick was one of the greatest missionaries that ever lived. He sacrificed his life to bring the gospel to Ireland. To celebrate Paddy's day here are some words from the man himself.

In a letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus he said these words about his mission to the Irish people:

I have traded in my homeland, my family, and my very life for them - even if it means my death. If I am worthy, I will devote the rest of my days to teaching the Irish - even if some of you beyond this island despise me.

At the end of his Confession, which recounts his conversion, life and ministry, he says these words about all that he had accomplished:

My final prayer is that all of you who believe in God and respect him - whoever you may be who read this letter that Patrick the unlearned sinner wrote from Ireland - that none of you will ever say that I in my ignorance did anything for God. You must understand - because it is the truth - that it was all the gift of God.

Yes, Patrick! May God be gracious to us and raise up more men and women like this, those who do not care about their own comfort, reputation and even lives, but who are willing to throw them away in the costly service of the gospel. May he give us more sacrificial gospel workers who are willing to die to bring life to Ireland. May He grant us those who at the end of it all say, "I did nothing for God, it was all of His grace."

If you want to read more on Patrick check out Mark Driscoll's article over at the Resurgence and Eddie Coulter's article over at the Irish Church Missions website.

How You Can Pray for Japan

Over at the Gospel Coalition John Starke has posted a report from a missionary in Japan. She gives a helpful and moving account of the state of things in Japan, the effect that the earthquake has had on the work of the gospel there, and how we can best be praying. One of the things which particulary struck me is her clear gospel shaped attitude to her work in Japan, she says:

My unbelieving family say in “love” that I should leave Japan for the United States because I have some contacts there. They assume that our goal for life is to physically preserve ourselves. But we know that our true goal is to die to the idol of self-preservation, and to be raised into God’s preservation, which is destined to victory... [What my family] cannot understand or accept is the fact that I see and taste the happiness that is given through the atoning cross of Christ. I came to Japan to die to all my self-dignity to live for Christ who loves to rescue his enemies, who alone can make me filled with all that I could hope for and far more.

You can read Starke's article by clicking here.

Rob Bell on MSNBC

For your consideration:

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 11)

This week we see The God Who Declares the Guilty Just as Carson takes us through Romans 3:21-26.

Praying for Japan After the Earthquake

In light of the earthquake and tsunami that have devastated Japan, we ought to be praying for that nation. At times like this we can often find ourselves at a loss as to what to pray. We know we ought to pray, but, in light of the great shock and sorrow, we can find it a struggle to find the words.

Over at Desiring God John Piper has thought carefully in light of Scripture about how we might best pray for Japan in a way that is both glorifying to God and for the good of the people of Japan. He recently posted on his blog how he is praying for Japan. What he has written is both Bible-saturated and a great starting point for us as we seek to pray for Japan in light of the devastation of last week's earthquake. Here is Piper's prayer for Japan:

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.

Grant, O God, that the wicked will forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Grant us, your sinful creatures, to return to you, that you may have compassion. For surely you will abundantly pardon. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus, your beloved Son, will be saved.

May every heart-breaking loss—millions upon millions of losses—be healed by the wounded hands of the risen Christ. You are not unacquainted with your creatures' pain. You did not spare your own Son, but gave him up for us all.

In Jesus you tasted loss. In Jesus you shared the overwhelming flood of our sorrows and suffering. In Jesus you are a sympathetic Priest in the midst of our pain.

Deal tenderly now, Father, with this fragile people. Woo them. Win them. Save them.

And may the floods they so much dread make blessings break upon their head.

O let them not judge you with feeble sense, but trust you for your grace. And so behind this providence, soon find a smiling face.

In Jesus’ merciful name, Amen.

There are a number of mission agencies with workers in Japan. In order to pray more informedly for Japan, its needs, and the work of the gospel there why not visit their websites. Both IFES and OMF have posted updates about the situation in Japan, news on their missionaries, and how to pray for Japan.

God is Still Holy: A Review of Rob Bell by Kevin De Young

Over at the Gospel Coalition Kevin De Young has done the church a great service by pouring a lot of time and effort into reviewing Rob Bell's controversial new book Love Wins. De Youngs review is careful, comprehensive, clear and humble. It is a fantastic example of a clear zeal for the truth of the gospel, faithfully representing those you disagree with, and doing so in love and humility. His review is quite long, but I would strongly reccomend taking the time to read through it, once you get to the end you will see why. Whatever your thoughts are on Rob Bell and his new book, I would want to suggest that De Youngs review is a 'must read' if we want to take these things seriously. You can read his review by clicking here.

De Young summarises Bell's message like this:

Love Wins, by megachurch pastor Rob Bell, is, as the subtitle suggests, “a book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived.” Here’s the gist: Hell is what we create for ourselves when we reject God’s love. Hell is both a present reality for those who resist God and a future reality for those who die unready for God’s love. Hell is what we make of heaven when we cannot accept the good news of God’s forgiveness and mercy. But hell is not forever. God will have his way. How can his good purposes fail? Every sinner will turn to God and realize he has already been reconciled to God, in this life or in the next. There will be no eternal conscious torment. God says no to injustice in the age to come, but he does not pour out wrath (we bring the temporary suffering upon ourselves), and he certainly does not punish for eternity. In the end, love wins.

He summarises why the book is so troubling by saying:

The theology is heterodox. The history is inaccurate. The impact on souls is devastating. And the use of Scripture is indefensible. Worst of all, Love Wins demeans the cross and misrepresents God’s character.

He explains why it was such a difficult book to review, saying:

Love Wins is such a departure from historic Christianity, that there’s no easy way to tackle it. You can’t point to two or three main problems or three or four exegetical missteps. This is a markedly different telling of the gospel from start to finish.

His conclusion, which explains why he is writing this review, is extremely helpful. So much so that I will quote it in full here:

The tendency in theological controversy is to boil everything down to a conflict of personalities. This is the way the world understands disagreement. This is how the world sells controversy. It’s always politician versus politician or pastor versus pastor. But sometimes the disagreement is less about the men (or women) involved and more about the truth.
This is one of those instances.

I have not spent hours and hours on this review because I am out to get another pastor. I may be a sinner, but with four young children and a very full church schedule, I have no time for personal vendettas. No, this is not about a single author or a single church. This is about the truth, about how the rightness or wrongness of our theology can do tremendous help or tremendous harm to the people of God.

No doubt, Rob Bell writes as a pastor who wants to care for people struggling with the doctrine of hell. I too write as a pastor. And as a pastor I know that Love Wins means God’s people lose. In the world of Love Wins, my congregation should not sing “In Christ Alone,” because they cannot not believe, “There on the cross where Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” They would not belt out “Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood.” No place for “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted” with its confession, “the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that Justice gave.” The jubilation of “No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him, is mine!” is muted in Love Wins. The bad news of our wrath-deserving wretchedness is so absent that the good news of God’s wrath-bearing Substitute cannot sing in our hearts. When God is shrunk down to fit our cultural constraints, the cross is diminished. And whenever the cross is diminished we pain the hearts of God’s people and rob them of their joy.

Just as damaging is the impact of Love Wins on the nonbeliever or the wayward former churchgoer. Instead of summoning sinners to the cross that they might flee the wrath to come and know the satisfaction of so great a salvation, Love Wins assures people that everyone’s eternity ends up as heaven eventually. The second chances are good not just for this life, but for the next. And what if they aren’t? What if Jesus says on the day of judgment, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23)? What if at the end of the age the wicked and unbelieving cry out, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16)? What if outside the walls of the New Jerusalem “are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Rev. 22:15)? What if there really is only one name “under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)? And what if the wrath of God really remains on those who do not believe in the Son (John 3:36)?

If Love Wins is wrong—if the theology departs from the apostolic good deposit, if the biblical reasoning falls short in a hundred places, if the god of Love Wins and the gospel of Love Wins are profoundly mistaken—if all this is true, then what damage has been done to the souls of men and women?

Bad theology hurts real people. So of all the questions raised in the book, the most important question every reader must answer is this: is it true? Whatever you think of all the personalities involved on whatever side of the debate, that’s the one question that cannot be ignored. Is Love Wins true to the word of God? That’s the issue. Open a Bible, pray to God, listen to the faithful Christians of the past 2000 years, and answer the question for yourself.

I hope this has shown the vital importance of taking this controversy seriously. This is not just a clash of personalities, it is far more serous than that. The gospel is at stake - and when the gospel is at stake, our all is at stake. As De Young says, "Bad theology hurts real people" and can have disastarous eternal consequences.

In light of this go and read De Youngs review that we might be better equipped to contend for the gospel (Jude 3).

Japan, Tsunamis and God's Sovereign Mercy

The devastating earthquake, and the following tsunami, that has just struck Japan will no doubt leave many asking the question: "What is God up to? Where is He in all of this?"

Similar questions were asked of the Indian Ocean tsunami back in 2004. After that disaster John Piper wrote a helpful article about how we think Christianly about such calamities. It is well worth reading as we think through, both for ourselves and for the questions others will be asking us, how we respond biblically to this catastrophe. You can read Piper's article Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy by clicking here.

Why does the Bible talk so much about God's wrath?

God's Love and God's Wrath (Part 3)

We come to the third and final post in this short series getting to grips with how God's love relates to His wrath with the help of Don Carson. In part one we saw how these two, love and wrath, relate together as both being attributes of God, He is both loving and wrathful at the same time. In part two we saw the relation between the Old and the New Testaments with reference to the love and wrath of God. Now in this third part we clear up another misunderstanding of how God's love relates to His wrath as Carson helps us to understand God's relationships within Himself, as we look at how God the Father relates to God the Son.

[Another]...common misconception pictures God as implacably opposed to us and full of wrath but somehow mollified by Jesus, who loves us. Again, there is some wonderful truth here. The Epistle to the Hebrews certainly lends some support to this way of thinking, especially in its portrayal of Jesus as the High Priest, who continuously makes intercession to God for us (Heb. 7:25). All this is modeled on the Levitical worship established at Sinai. Or more precisely the system established at Sinai was meant to be, according to Hebrews, the shadow of the ultimate reality. Jesus is the Advocate who speaks to the Father in the believers' defense (1 John 2:1).

But other strands of New Testament theology must be brought to bear on this subject. God loved the world so much that He gave His Son (John 3:16). This does not mean that God was reluctant while His Son won Him over; rather, God Himself willingly sent His Son. Even though Jesus as the believers' great High Priest intercedes for us and pleads His own blood on our behalf, this is not an independent action the Father somehow did not know about, or reluctantly approved, being eventually won over by the independently originating sacrifice of His Son. Rather, Father and Son are one in this project of redemption. The Son Himself came into the world by the express command of the Father.

Thus propitiation does not mean the Son, full of love, offered Himself and thereby placated (i.e., rendered propitious) the Father, who was full of wrath. The picture is more complex. The Father, full of righteous wrath against sin and sinners, nevertheless loved us so much that He sent His Son. Perfectly mirroring His Father's words and deeds, the Son stood over against us in wrath (displayed vividly when sinners will call for rocks to fall and hide them "from the wrath of the Lamb," Rev. 6:16), and yet He was obedient to His Father's commission, offering Himself on the cross. He did this out of love both for His Father, whom He obeys, and for us, whom He redeems. Thus God is necessarily both the subject and the object of propitiation. He provides the propitiating sacrifice (He is the subject), and He Himself is propitiated (He is the object). That is the glory of the Cross.

All this is implicit in Romans 3:21-26, a great atonement passage. After devoting two and a half chapters to showing how the entire human race is cursed and is rightly under the wrath of God because of its sin (1:18-3:20), the apostle Paul demonstrates how Christ's death was God's wise plan "to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus" (3:26). God presented Jesus as a propitiation in His blood, received through faith (3:25).

Don Carson's full article can be read by clicking here.

Video Games Aren't Sinful, They're Just Stupid

A video for the guys especially to listen to. Let's give our lives to fighting a real battle, something that really counts.

Bell on Hell (The first review of his new book)

If you've been following AEN over the last couple of weeks you'll have been aware of the controversy that has been surrounding the release of a new book by Rob Bell entitled 'Love Wins'. The promotional video that he produced hinted that his book is denying the biblical teaching on hell, and promoting a form of universalism, that everybody, even if they've not believed in Jesus, will ultimately be saved.

Well it seems that this is indeed the case. Tim Challies has written a review of the book, from an advance copy that he recieved. Here is one of Bell’s quotes:

A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. . . . This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear. (preface, vi)

Tim Challies' review is very helpful and is well worth taking the time to read. He has clearly worked hard at working out what exactly Bell is saying, which can be difficult because of Bell's cryptic style. You can view it by clicking here.

God's Love and God's Wrath (Part 2)

In seeking to understand how we ought to relate God's love to His wrath, many of us will have come across the argument that in the Old Testament God is primarily a God of wrath, whilst in the New Testament He seems to have changed His tune and is more a God of love. To say this is to misunderstand what the Bible says about God. A clear reading of Scripture shows that this is not the case. Jesus speaks about hell more than anyone else in the Bible. How then should we apprach this misunderstanding? Don Carson takles this misconception of how we ought to relate God's love to His wrath:

[One Misconception that circulates widely]...is that in the Old Testament God's wrath is more strikingly transparent than His love, while in the New Testament, though doubtless a residue of wrath remains, a gentleness takes over and softens the darker period: God's love is now richer than His wrath. After all, Jesus taught His disciples to love their enemies and turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39, 41).

Nothing could be further from the truth than this reading of the relationship between the Testaments. One suspects that the reason this formula has any credibility at all is that the manifestation of God's wrath in the Old Testament is primarily in temporal categories: famine, plague, siege, war, slaughter. In the here and now those images have a greater impact than what the New Testament says, with its focus on wrath in the afterlife. Jesus, after all, is the One who in the New Testament speaks most frequently and most colorfully about hell, this Jesus of the other cheek. The apostolic writings offer little support for the view that a kinder, gentler God surfaces in the New Testament at this stage in redemptive history.

The reality is that the Old Testament displays the grace and love of God in experience and types, and these realities become all the clearer in the New Testament . Similarly, the Old Testament displays the righteous wrath of God in experience and types, and these realities become all the clearer in the New Testament. In other words both God's love and God's wrath are ratcheted up in the move from the Old Testament to the New. These themes barrel along through redemptive history, unresolved, until they come to a resounding climax in the Cross. Do you wish to see God's love? Look at the Cross. Do you wish to see God's wrath? Look at the Cross.

Don Carson's full article can be read by clicking here.

God's Love and God's Wrath (Part 1)

Many misunderstandings of the doctrine of hell have come about because people have not clearly thought through how the love of God relates to the wrath of God. Don Carson has written a helpful article looking at how these two relate to one another, and shows how they are complimentary, not contradictory. In a short series of posts, using exerpts from this article, we shall address three misunderstandings of how God's love and His wrath relate to one another. Here is the first exerpt which deals directly with the question of how the two relate:

How...do God's love and His wrath relate to each other? One evangelical cliché has it that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. There is a small element of truth in these words: God has nothing but hate for the sin, but this cannot be said with respect to how God sees the sinner. Nevertheless the cliché is false on the face of it, and should be abandoned. Fourteen times in the first fifty psalms alone, the psalmists state that God hates the sinner, that His wrath is on the liar, and so forth. In the Bible the wrath of God rests on both the sin (Rom. 1:18-23) and the sinner (1:24-32; 2:5; John 3:36).
Our problem in part is that in human experience wrath and love normally abide in mutually exclusive compartments. Love drives wrath out, or wrath drives love out. We come closest to bringing them together, perhaps, in our responses to a wayward act by one of our children, but normally we do not think that a wrathful person is loving.

But this is not the way it is with God. God's wrath is not an implacable blind rage. However emotional it may be, it is an entirely reasonable and willed response to offenses against His holiness. At the same time His love wells up amidst His perfections and is not generated by the loveliness of the loved. Thus there is nothing intrinsically impossible about wrath and love being directed toward the same individual or people at once. God in His perfections must be wrathful against His rebel image-bearers, for they have offended Him; God in His perfections must be loving toward His rebel image-bearers, for He is that kind of God.

Don Carson's full article can be read by clicking here.

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 10)

We come to part 10 in this 14 part journey through the storyline of the Bible. This week Don Carson shows us "The God Who Dies - And Lives Again". Enjoy.

If You Want Your Life to Go 'Well', Stay Away From Jesus!

Quote: Our Helplessness and God's Blessing

Wherever God’s people have been truly humbled before him, and have been brought deeply to feel their own impotence, and have been willing to be used as mere instruments, and to let him have all the glory, there you will find that a rich blessing has usually been bestowed.

William B. Sprague

Contentment

I'm sure many of us will be familiar with the well known Rolling Stones song, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." One of the reasons for it's popularity must have something to do with the fact that the sentiment of the song resonates with so many. No matter how hard he tries he cannot get any satisfaction. Why then is it that no matter how comfortable a lifestyle, no matter how good our relationships are, no matter how sucessful we are we will still not be content? Listen to what the Puritan wrier Jeremiah Burroughs has to say about this:

My brethren, the reason why you have not got contentment in the things of the world is not because you have not got enough of them. That is not the reason. But the reason is because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God himself. Many men think that when they are troubled and have not got contentment, it is because they have but a little in the world, and if they had more then they would be content. That is just as if a man were hungry, and to satisfy his craving stomach he should gape and hold open his mouth to take in the wind, and then should think that the reason why he is not satisfied is because he has not got enough of the wind. No, the reason is because the thing is not suitable to a craving stomach.

Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Preachers Q&A

Thefollowing video is a question and answer session from a recent Proclamation Trust preachers weekend. Vaughan Roberts and Adrian Reynolds answer a number of questions on preaching.

The Preachers Weekend 2011 from The Proclamation Trust on Vimeo.

Battling Sin and Delighting in Treasure

What do you treasure? Those things that we treasure are where we are looking for satisfaction. This is the reason why we sin, we think that it will give us pleasure. This is why we make idols out of the good things that God has created and serve them instead of Him, because we think that they will give us satisfaction. However, there is only one place we can look for satisfaction that will not leave us disappointed:

The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things, he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately, forever.

A. W. Tozer

This has huge implications for the Christian life as we battle against sin. Often when we are seeking to put to death a certain sin, we can spend our time focussed on the sin, and get into the mindset that to stop doing this certain sin is to work hard at denying ourselves a certain pleasure. However, when we understand the fullness of satisfaction that is found in knowing Christ, having Him as our delight, and treasuring Him more and more, it radically changes how we think about battling sin. Instead of seeing the battle as trying to deny ourselves a certain pleasure, we ought to see it as a battle for a greater pleasure. Sin keeps us from the all-satisfying pleasure of knowing God. Therefore, we should want to exchange the fleeting pleasures of sin, for the eternal satisfaction of enjoying communion with God through the Lord Jesus. The fight against sin is a fight for joy.

Quote: For Those Who Teach

You are required to believe, to preach, and to teach what the Bible says is true, not what you want the Bible to say is true.

R. C. Sproul

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 9)

It's Tuesday morning again, which means another 'Tuesday Teaching' slot. We're continuing to work through the big picture of the Bible in what has been our longest ever Tuesday Teaching series, The God Who is There. This week Carson continues to look at John 3 as we see 'The God Who Loves'.

To Hell with Joy

You may have noticed by now that all this talk of Hell has gotten under our skin here at AEN. Simon’s post yesterday spelled out three major doctrinal consequences of denying the reality of Hell. Today I would like to add another pastoral/ doxological reason why Hell is important, and it’s this:

The reality of Hell is a source of sober joy for the Christian.

Without having read the book 'Love Wins', it is still fair to assume that Rob Bell wishes us to rethink our stance on Hell. And whether his desire is to declare it 'empty' or to erase it from our theological frameworks, the sad fact remains that to tamper with the doctrine of Hell is to tamper with Christian joy.

Time and time again in the New Testament Paul speaks of God’s work of rescuing us from judgement in doxological terms; that is, Christ’s saving us from hell compels us to worship him:

^"and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."  (Col 1:12-14)

And again:

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thess 1:9-11)

And again Paul recounting the mercy he received bursts with praise:

^"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Tim 1:16-17)

And finally the heavenly multitude praise God saying: 

"After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: 

'Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.'

And again they shouted:

'Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.'

(Rev 19:1-3)

Paul new the reality of his sin but staring into the abyss he was then able to turn aside and say simply that, “…God has not destined us for wrath”. It is therefore little wonder that the chief of sinners flung himself before the throne of grace in adoration and worship.

In the same way; Hell, our rescue from it and the full disclosure of God’s righteous judgement ought to leave us abandoned to the praise of his great grace. Our voices must join the cry of the saints in worship because God has been vindicated, and we have received grace upon grace.

If you get rid of Hell, not only does the whole doctrinal house of cards come crashing down but you silence the quiet ‘hallelujah’ which resounds from the hearts of every believer who embraces the reality of Hell and allows it to magnify the salvation which is theirs in Christ Jesus.

Avoiding Having a Wonky Gospel (Or 'Why We Need to Speak About Hell')

One of the most common reasons people give as to why we should not speak about hell is this: "But people don't like to hear about hell?" They're not supposed to! Nobody likes hearing about being run over by a double-decker bus, but that doesn't stop us from warning people about the dangers of standing in the middle of a busy road. It's not an unloving thing to warn people of a real danger.

If we merely tell people what they like to hear then we are no different to the false teachers that Timothy had to deal with, who taught what people's "itching ears" wanted to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). Just because someone doesn't want to hear about something does not mean that they do not need to hear it.

We need to speak about hell. If we neglect this it gives us a wonky gospel. The reality of God's eternal judgement is part of the gospel. In Revelation 14:6 John sees an angel "with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people." What is the content of this eternal gospel? John tells us in verse 7, the angel proclaims: "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."

Therefore, if we are to be faithful in proclaiming the gospel, and to avoid having a wonky gospel, we need to speak about God's judgement, which means speaking about hell. Hell is a real place where real people, who have not submitted to the Lord Jesus, shall spend eternity (see e.g. John 3:36, Revelation 20:11-15). This ought to grieve us and we ought to tremble over the thought of people facing such a future. Therefore, if we love people, instead of shying away from speaking about the reality of God's just judgement, we ought to speak of it with tears in our eyes urging them to flee to the Lord Jesus that they might have life.

In order to help us think through why we shouldn't neglect speaking about hell here are some initial thoughts on what happens to the gospel if we lose our doctrine of hell. What do we lose if we ignore hell?

1) We Lose a Just God
If there is ultimately no final judgement where people recieve the justice due to them for rebelling against an infinitely holy God, then this would mean that God is not just. It would mean that there is no hope that every wrong shall one day be righted.

2) We Lose the Seriousness of Sin
If God does not judge sin fully and finally then it implies that He doesn't really care about sin. This would then lead to us not really caring about sin. If God doesn't care enough about sin to punish it, why then should I care about seeking to live a godly life and turn from it. Yet, sin is infinitely serious. Dragging the glory of the eternal and infinitely holy God through the dirt, which is what we do when we sin, is of the utmost seriousness.

3) We Lose the Glory of God's Grace Displayed in the Cross
If there is no such thing as hell then we lose the ultimate display of the glory of the grace of God: the cross of Christ. If there was no such place as hell then what was the point of the cross? If God is not going to judge sin eternally then the cross was the biggest waste of time. But this is not true. God shall judge sin eternally, therefore the cross is infinitely glorious. At the cross God is showing that He is both just and the one who justifies sinful people, who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26). At the cross the one who shall be the judge on that final day (Acts 17:31), has taken upon Himself the full weight of the wrath of God in the place of His people. If we neglect to speak about hell then the glory of the cross, the blazing centre of the revelation of the glory of God, loses its lustre.

To Hell With Hell

For the last six weeks or so I have been in a bit of a blogging funk. I would sit at my computer and type and type and delete and type and delete and delete I needed something to... provoke me.

Last night I stumbled on just the thing, namely Justin Taylor's blog post Rob Bell: Universalist?
A question prompted by the publishers blurb and promo video for Bell's new book 'Love Wins'.

As with anyone who pastors a church called Mars Hill, Bell is no stranger to controversy, indeed he relishes the idea of pushing some conservative buttons and this new book is certainly no exception!

However rather than pronouncing anathema’s based on the video alone I am going to go to Amazon, pre order my copy and see exactly what he says.
For the time being please watch the two video's below, the first is the promo and the second is a excerpt from a sermon posted on desiring God yesterday... coincidence?

Additionally I have opened a discussion page on our Facebook profile and would love to hear what others think!





(Parenthetically, if the juices are flowing again I may resurrect some of those dead posts, so watch this space!)

Living in a Shaky World

We live in a shaky world. It is a world that is filled with turmoil and uncertainties. Over the last few weeks the headlines have been dominated by 'shakiness'. The middle east has been shaken by poltical unrest and upheaval, with recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya. New Zealand has been shaken by a devastating earthquake in Christchurch. All of these events make us realise how uncertain and insecure this world really is, and makes us long for security. We live in a shaky world.

Where then should we look as Christians living in the midst of this shaky world? Over recent days Psalm 46 has been brought to my mind. It gives us both a vivid picture of the reality of this shaky world, and gives us as God's people great certainty in the midst of such 'shakiness'. Listen to what the first seven verses tell us:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

This Psalm reminds us, as God's people in Christ, that though all things should be falling down around us we have no reason to fear. Why? Because God is our refuge and ever present help (verse 1), He is with us (verse 7). In the midst of a world that seems to be falling down around us we have one who is an unfailing refuge.

In verses 4-7 the Psalm points us to an unshakeable city. This is a city where God is present among His people (verse 4-5), and which "shall not be moved" (verse 5). In the Old Testament this is referring to Jerusalem, but the Psalm  points far beyond a small plot of land in the Middle East. This unshakeable city finds its fulfillment in the New Jerusalem which Revelation 21-22 speaks of, which shall be seen and enjoyed in all its fullness when Jesus returns. It is a place where God is fully present with His people (Revelation 21:3), and a place of utter security for His people (hence the gates will never be shut 21:25).

In the midst of a shaky world Christ's people have an unshakeable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28), and we look forward to the hope of an unshakeable city (Revelation 21-22). We have a city that no amount of miliatary force can overthrow, and no earthquake can topple. This is because we have a king who reigns with all power over all nations (Psalm 2:7-9), and who shall reign for all eternity (Luke 1:32-33), the Lord Jesus.

Therefore, as we find the world around us being shaken, let us remind ourselves that in Christ we have an unshakeable kingdom, and ever look to Him for refuge in a shaky world. When everything is falling down around us, if we are in Christ we have ultimate security and we shall not be shaken.

Mr. Bookworm meets Mr. Simple-Faith

Over at the Gospel Coalition Kevin DeYoung has written a very helpful short article on the difference between a knowledgeable yet immature Christian and a mature yet unknowledgeable Christian, and what we ought to aim for in Christian discipleship in light of this. You can read the article here.

Technology and Loving our Saviour

Four Posts on Prayer

Here are four selected posts from the "Above Every Name" archives to encourage and spur us on to "Continue steadfastly in prayer" (Colossians 4:2):

• Dishonouring God with Puny Prayers
• A Spiritual Cardiograph
• The Key to Studying the Bible
• "Attaining the Knowledge of the Mind of God in the Scripture"

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 8)

We come to part 8 of our series which takes us through the whole Bible. This week Don Carson shows us "The God Who Grants New Birth", as he works through John 3. Enjoy.

What Kind of Workers Does the Harvest Field Need?

What kind of workers ought we to be praying for when we pray that God would send out workers into His harvest field (Matthew 9:38)? How about we dare to pray big, and to pray for workers such as these:

“. . . that He will again raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ [revival]. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labour and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives.”

(From Arnold Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield)

Why Memorise Scripture?

Hymn: We Rest on Thee

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!

We go not forth alone against the foe;

Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,

We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

Yes, in Thy Name, O Captain of salvation!
In Thy dear Name, all other names above;
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
“We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.”

Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,

“We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.”

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!

Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;

When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,

Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,

Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

Immortal Till My Work was Done

One of the things that understanding God's sovereignty over the work of the gospel gives us is boldness in proclaiming Christ. If we recognise that God is in control of all things then we will be prepared to risk all for the sake of others hearing of the Lord Jesus. If God is in control we need not worry what people may do to us. John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) recgnised this and it gave him great courage to proclaim Christ in the face of fierce opposition and threats on his life. Listen to what he says in his biography:

My enemies seldom slackened their hateful designs against my life, however calmed or baffled for the moment. . . . A wild chief followed me around for four hours with his loaded musket, and, though often directed towards me, God restrained his hand. I spoke kindly to him, and attended to my work as if he had not been there, fully persuaded that my God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in his hands, and felt immortal till my work was done. Trials and hairbreadth escapes strengthened my faith, and seemed only to nerve me for more to follow; and they did tread swiftly upon each other's heels.

Because God is completely in control over all things, we are able to say with John Paton that we are immortal until our work is done. If God has more work for us to do He will keep us in te midst of any trouble, if not He will bring us safely home to be with Christ which is better by far.

Immeasurable Breadth and Unfathomable Depth

Where do you find your satisfaction? All of us are seeking satisfaction somewhere. The only place where we shall find inexhaustible satisfaction is in Christ. This is what the Scottish minister Andrew Bonar recognised. On the 18th Febuary 1871 he wrote these words in his diary:

I find my Lord and Saviour more and more satisfying to my soul. In very deed He is all my salvation and all my desire. I am like a man standing upon the shore of the ocean and seeing that it has immeasurable breadth and unfathomable depth, so that I cannot search it out.

Almost four years later on 6th December 1874 he again wrote:

Christ is more than ever precious to me in His atonement, righteousness, merit, heart. Nothing else satisfies me. I only yearn to know Him better, and preach Him more fully. His Cross and His Crown never lose their attractiveness. Day by day He is my rest, my heaven.

Let us then ever seek and long to know the Lord Jesus better. He shall never lose His attractiveness. He shall never cease to be infinitely satisfying.

The Cost of the Work of the Gospel

The work of the gospel is costly. If anyone thinks that Christian ministry is an easy option, or a bit of fun they are sorely mistaken. Those who serve in the proclaiming of Christ's gospel must expect to suffer for it. This is something that all of us as Christians must recognise, and it is something that those in full time Christians work must especially be aware of. William Tyndale was a man who understood this. He was exiled from his home country, suffered greatly and was eventually burnt alive for translating the Bible and speaking and writing about the truth of the gospel. Here is the last word he sent to his best friend, John Frith, in a letter just before he was executed:

Your cause is Christ’s gospel, a light that must be fed with the blood of faith. . . . If when we be buffeted for well-doing, we suffer patiently and endure, that is thankful with God; for to that end we are called. For Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps, who did no sin. Hereby have we perceived love that he laid down his life for us: therefore we ought to be able to lay down our lives for the brethren. . . . Let not your body faint. If the pain be above your strength, remember: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will give it you.” And pray to our Father in that name, and he will ease your pain, or shorten it. . . . Amen.

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 7)

We now come to part 7 of Don Carson's 14 part series which takes us through the overall storyline of the Bible. This week we turn to the New Testament as Carson shows us "The God Who Becomes a Human Being."

Reaping with Joy

Recently, I came across this video of the Kimyal people recieving the New Testament for the first time in their own language. Their joy and thankfulness to God is extremely moving, and it shows that they recognise just how precious is the written word of God. The delight and celebration of t anhe Kimyal people puts me to shame for how much I take having the Bible in my own language for granted, and how I do not delight in it and treasure it as I should. How priveleged we are in the English speaking parts of the world to have humdreds of translations so easily acessible in our own language. All round the world there are peoples that have a famine of the word of God in their own language. Watch this video and be reminded of the immense preciousness of the word of God and be challenged to love your Bible, and to give yourself to supporting gospel famine relief.

Sovereignty, Sin and the Cross

The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 helps us undersatnd the relation between God's sovereignty (His complete control over all things) and human sin.

Joseph's brothers treated him terribly. They hated him (37:4) and wanted him dead (37:18). They attacked him, threw him down a pit, then sold him to some passing slave traders (37:18-28). It seems that the only thing that kept them from killing him was the opportunity of making money by selling him as a slave (37:26). They then return and lie to their father, telling him that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. What they do is a horrific evil, and is utterly repulsive in God's eyes.

However, none of this is outside of God's control. Instead, as we work through the story we see exactly the opposite, that God is in complete control, even over their sin. In fact, their sin is part of God's good purposes for His people, which includes Joseph's brothers (who are to go on to be the heads of the tribes of Israel). Joseph's brothers even end up being saved because of their sin. In God's purposes Joseph ends up as the prime minister of Egypt, who is in complete control over rations of food in a time of great famine. This means that he is able to provide food for his family, including his brothers, when they are struck hard by famine. Joseph delivers his family from death, and ensures their security. He would not have been in a position to do this had his brothers not done such a great evil by selling him off for a bit of extra pocket money.

This was not God just making the best of a bad situation, doing the best He could with the mess that Joseph's brothers had made. God ordained their sin to happen as part of His good purposes for His glory and the good of His people. Joseph makes this clear in 50:20 when he says, "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." On the one hand Joseph's brothers plotted and planned and purposed evil against Joseph. However, all of this was part of God's purposes. He planned this for good, to save His people. God did not make the best of a bad situation, He ordained that this should happen as part of His good purposes. Joseph is not ashamed to hold together both God's utter sovereignty and control over all things and human responsibility, their evil is not excusable.

Not only this but the story also draws attention to the glory of God's grace. In His sovereign purposes, the evil that Joseph's brothers committed end up for their good, and bringing about their deliverance. Does that not make us marvel at God's sovereign grace and His unfathomable wisdom.

If we move to the New Testament we see the same pattern. At the heart of the Bible is the most horrific sin ever committed, the slaughter of the Son of God on the cross. This is a horriffic evil, yet the cross has been planned by God since before the foundation of the world. at the cross both Jew's and Gentiles (representing the whole world) united together against Jesus to put Him to death (Acts 4:27). Yet, they did what God's "hand and...plan had predestined to take place." (Acts 4:28). The most horriffic human sin was planned by God from eternity past for the ultimate good, to bring glory to God by the saving of a people for Himself to all eternity. Not, only this but this horriffic evil was purposed for the inestimable good of those who comitted it. Acts 4 sees the rulers of both Jews and Gentiles as representative of the whole world united in putting Jesus to death. Yet, this great evil has been purposed by God to bring eternal salvation to people from all nations, tribes and tongues, both Jew and Gentile.

Ought this not to lead us to rejoicing in the inestimable riches of God's grace? Does this not make us join with Paul in saying: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearcheable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!...To Him be glory forever.Amen" (Romans 11:33, 36).

What is Hell?

The Pride Test

Quote: Satisfaction

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.

Jonathan Edwards

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 6)

We continue our Tuesday Teaching series in Don Carson's The God Who is There with part 6: "The God Who is Unfathomably Wise".

'My Noblest and Most Fruitful Employment'

Robert Murray McCheyne recognised just how crucial private prayer was for his Christian life and his ministry. In some notes, written towards the end of his life, called "Reformation in Secret Prayer" he says:

I ought to pray before seeing any one [in the morning]. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, and then have family prayer, and breakfast, and forenoon callers, often it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. . . . Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness; and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then, when secret prayer comes, the soul is often out of tune. . . .

It is far better to begin with God—to see his face first—to get my soul near Him before it is near another. "When I awake I am still with Thee." If I have slept too long, or am going on an early journey, or my time is in any way shortened, it is best to dress hurriedly, and have a few minutes alone with God, than to give it up for lost. But in general, it is best to have at least one hour alone with God, before engaging in anything else. . . .

I ought to spend the best hours of the day in communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful employment, and is not to be thrust into any corner. The morning hours, from six to eight, are the most uninterrupted, and should be thus employed, if I can prevent drowsiness. A little time after breakfast might be given to intercession. After tea is my best hour, and that should be solemnly dedicated to God, if possible. . . . [And] when I awake in the night, I ought to rise and pray, as David and as John Welsh did.

Creation vs. Creator

A Magnificent Theatre Where the Glory of God Shines Most Brightly

In a post yesterday we saw that our perfect happiness is found in beholding the glory of God (see John 17:24). This raises the question of how we see this glory. Where do we look in order to see the glory of God? It is in the gospel that the glory of God shines most brightly. In the gospel we see "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). This is why he describes the gospel as "the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). At the heart of the gospel is the cross of Christ, this is where the glory of God blazes most brightly. Calvin has these words to say:

In the cross of Christ, as in a magnificent theatre, the inestimable goodness of God is displayed before the whole world. In all the creatures, indeed, both high and low, the glory of God shines, but nowhere has it shone more brightly than in the cross, in which there has been an astonishing change of things, the condemnation of all men has been manifested, sin has been blotted out, salvation has been restored to men; and, in short, the whole world has been renewed, and every thing restored to good order.

It is in the cross of Christ that we see the glory of God shining most brightly. It is in the crucified saviour where we see most clearly the glory of God revealed in this world, and it will be that same crucified saviour who will be the centre of our worship and delight to all eternity (Revelation 5:9-10; 12). Into all eternity we, as His people, shall be rejoicing in the Lamb who was slain. In the new creation we shall still see this glory. Revelation 21:23 tells us that in the new creation, the glory of God shall give light to that heavenly city, and the lamp through which that light shines is the Lamb. The reason Jesus is called the Lamb is to draw attention to His death. It is Jesus the Lamb who was slain, the crucified saviour, through whom we shall bask in the glory of God to all eternity.

The problem is that we are all naturally blind, and cannot see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Paul points this out in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 and 6. Therefore, nothing short of a miracle equal with the creation of the world (2 Corinthians 4:6), can open our eyes to see His glory blazing in the cross. This means we are helpless unless the one who opened the eyes of the blind (John 9), opens our eyes that we might see. Therefore, as we open our Bibles to see the glory of God in the face of Christ as revealed in the gospel, our prayer must ever be: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderous things out of your law." (Psalm119:18).

Stepping Out into the Sunlight

In John 17:24 Jesus prays these words to the Father: "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." In his commentary on John's gospel, Calvin has this to say about these words:

Christ speaks of the perfect happiness of believers, as if he had said, that his desire will not be satisfied till they have been recieved into heaven. In the same manner I explain the beholding of the glory. At that time they saw the glory of Christ, just as a man shut up in the dark obtains, through small chinks, a feeble and glimmering light. Christ now wishes that they shall make such progress as to enjoy the full brightness of heaven. In short, he asks that the Father will conduct them, by uninterrupted progress, to the full vision of his glory.

In this world we only see a glimpse of the glory of Christ. As we look at Jesus, with the eyes of faith, as He is revealed to us in Scripture, the glimpse we see of Him is glorious and magnificent. However, it is nothing to be compared to the glory that we shall see when we see Him face to face in the new creation. A man shut up in a dark room takes joy in the beams of sunlight that sine through the cracks in the door. However, this is nothing compared to stepping out into the sunlight on a bright summers day. So it is with us as we see in part now the glory of God as revealed in to us in Christ in the gospel. As believers we see His glory in part now, and that part is magnificent. However, it is nowhere near to the magnificence of stepping out into the sunlight of the fullness of His glory, which we shall experience in the new creation.

As Calvin says, the perfect happiness of believers is found in beholding the glory of Christ. This is what Jesus is saying in John 17:24. Therefore, as Christians, should this not leave us with an all-consuming longing to see more of Christ in this life, as He is revealed to us in Scripture, and ultimately to see the fullness of His glory in the new creation. Should this not leave us with a longing for Him either to call us to depart to be with Him - which is better by far (Philippians 1:23), or to return to ussher in the new creation, where we shall see Him face to face (Revelation 21:22-23; 22:4).

Tuesday Teaching: The God Who is There (Part 5)

We continue with Don Carson's overview of the Bible: The God Who is There. This week we are in 2 Samuel 7, where we see "The God Who Reigns".