The Death of Sin, The Death of Christ

"There is no death of sin without the death of Christ."

--John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers

An Example of Common Grace

My wife and I watched a PBS documentary on Augustus Saint-Gaudens the other night, which was a fascinating reminder of God's common grace. Saint-Gaudens was the premier American sculptor and monument builder of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His artistic ability was extremely impressive, and his sculptures are simply breathtaking. Among his most famous works are The Shaw Memorial, The Sherman Monument, Diana, Adams Memorial, The Farragut Memorial, The Phillips Brooks Memorial, The Puritan, and his design of American coinage.

Click here to watch "The Shaw Memorial" portion of the documentary (this sculpture probably demonstrates his skill and ability as much as any of his works).

God's Purpose in Showing Us the Evil of Our Own Hearts

"The purpose of God in showing believers the evil of their own hearts is to make them prize more highly the grace and all-sufficiency of Jesus."

--From the Introduction to Letters of John Newton

Pastors: Sheep Feeders or Goat Entertainers?

Strong yet wise counsel for pastors from William Still:

The pastor is called to feed the sheep, even if the sheep do not want to be fed. He is certainly not to become an entertainer of goats. Let goats entertain goats, and let them do it in goatland. You will certainly not turn goats into sheep by pandering to their goatishness. Do we really believe that the Word of God, by His Spirit, changes, as well as maddens men? If we do, to be evangelists and pastors, feeders of sheep, we must be men of the Word of God.

--William Still, The Work of the Pastor

A Fountain That Shall Ne'er Decay

Today the Living Streams of Grace
Samuel Davies, 1723-1761

Today the living streams of grace
Flow to refresh the thirsty soul;
Pardon and life and boundless bliss
In plenteous rivers roll.

Ho, ye that pine away and die,
Come, and your raging thirst allay;
Come all that will, here's rich supply,
A fountain that shall ne'er decay.

"Come all," the blessed Jesus cries,
"Freely My blessings I will give."
The Spirit echoes back the voice,
And bids us freely drink and live.

The saints below, that do but taste,
And saints above, who drink at will,
Cry jointly, "Thirsty sinners! haste,
And drink, the spring's exhaustless still."

Let all that hear the joyful sound,
To spread it through the world unite;
From house to house proclaim it round,
Each man his fellow man invite.

Like thirsty flocks, come let us go;
Come every color, every age;
And while the living waters flow,
Let all their parching thirst assuage.

Congregations Gone Wild

An interesting op-ed from the New York Times about the consumerist desires of so many American congregations (and how they affect pastors).

HT: Tim Challies

A Prayer

Lord, deliver us from the sophisticated pragmatism,

Which plagues and pilfers the purity of Your church.

Forgive us for being prayer-less and therefore powerless,

For being self-reliant to the point of thinking we’re self-sufficient.

Remove the Pharisaical façade of our self-righteousness,

And replace it with blood-bought humility and obedience.

Our Sovereign Fastened to a Tree

Jesus, Whose Blood So Freely Streamed
William Cowper, 1731-1800

Jesus, whose blood so freely streamed
To satisfy the law’s demand;
By Thee from guilt and wrath redeemed,
Before the Father’s face I stand.

To reconcile offending man,
Make Justice drop her angry rod;
What creature could have formed the plan,
Or who fulfill it but our God?

No drop remains of all the curse,
For wretches who deserved the whole;
No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce
The guilty, but returning soul.

Peace by such means so dearly bought,
What rebel could have hoped to see?
Peace by his injured Sovereign wrought,
His Sovereign fastened to a tree.

Now, Lord, Thy feeble worm prepare!
For strife with earth and hell begins;
Conform and gird me for the war;
They hate the soul that hates his sins.

Let them in horrid league agree!
They may assault, they may distress;
But cannot quench Thy love to me,
Nor rob me of the Lord my Peace.

New Hosea Commentary (NICOT)

Andrew Dearman's new commentary on Hosea (NICOT) has just been published, and WTS Books is offering it for 45% off of its list price until August 19th. They are also offering an extra 10% off of every NICOT volume's already discounted price with a purchase of 2 or more (so if someone buys 2 NICOT volumes they will receive an extra 10% off of each).

This is an excellent set of commentaries, and I have yet to be disappointed with any volume I own (but they are expensive, so this is an opportunity to take advantage of getting them at a discounted price).

Here is what folks are saying about this new volume on Hosea.

Mark J. Boda writes:
This is a welcome addition to the NICOT series. Dearman's commentary provides the most recent deep engagement with the ancient text of Hosea the prophet. Dialoguing with the best of scholarship, the commentary offers both detailed exegesis of the text with accompanying translation from the original Hebrew, as well as general overviews at key literary junctures to orient the reader to the progressive development of the book as a whole. Particularly helpful is Dearman's sensitivity to the social context of ancient Israelite households. He restores the vivid metaphorical colors of the book of Hosea long faded by history.

Tremper Longman III writes:
Serious engagement with the book of Hosea now starts with Dearman's commentary.

Bill T. Arnold:
This is a welcome addition to the NICOT series on one of the most important prophets of ancient Israel.... readers will not be disappointed by Dearman's thorough and penetrating exegesis.

Click here to find out more details.

Ray Ortlund on Gospel Militancy

Ray Ortlund had a great post yesterday on Gospel Militancy, explaining how the gospel of loving one's enemy fits with the biblical sentiment accompanied by verses such as Psalm 139:21, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? Do I not loathe those who rise up against you?" Here are the six explanations he gave.

One, gospel militancy is not personally spiteful.

Two, gospel militancy recognizes that Christ has real enemies.

Three, gospel militancy is (1) required by love for Christ and (2) compatible with love for his enemies.

Four, gospel militancy includes self-criticism.

Five, gospel militancy accepts suffering.

Six, gospel militancy is sustained by quiet confidence in the final triumph of Christ.

Click here to read the entire post (and see his elaboration of each point).

Timothy George's Top 5 Biographies of Theologians

Timothy George, founding Dean of Beeson Divinity School, provided a list of his top five biographies of theologians in the August 2010 issue of Christianity Today. Click here to see his list.

Impersonation of C.J. Mahaney

If you've ever seen and/or heard C.J. Mahaney, then you will love this impersonation of him by Jonathan Rourke (which is spot-on). And the fact that C.J. can laugh so hard at himself is a sign of how genuine his humility really is.

Jonathan Rourke as CJ Mahaney from Resolved on Vimeo.

HT: Andy Naselli for Justin Taylor

Having the Relish and Savor and Power of Truth in Our Hearts

To be led into a truth is more than barely to know it; it is to be intimately and experimentally acquainted with it; to be piously and strongly affected with it; not only to have the notion of it in our heads, but the relish and savor and power of it in our hearts.

--Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

A Woefully Inadequate Understanding of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The following quote (a personal confession by Art Azurdia in his book, Spirit Empowered Preaching) is one I can certainly relate to. And my guess is that many of my fellow evangelical pastors can too.

By way of personal reflection I must say that it has been painful for me to acknowledge my woefully inadequate understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. To be brutally honest, over the years my concern has been directed more toward avoiding charismatic excesses than it has been toward rightfully acknowledging the sovereign Spirit as He presents Himself on the pages of His own scriptures. Consequently, the majority of my efforts in pneumatology [the study of the Spirit] have been devoted to establishing what the Spirit does not do, almost to the complete exclusion of establishing the magnificence of His person and the indispensability of His ministry in any positive way (italics mine).

Let us move beyond focusing just on what the Holy Spirit does not do, and let us make every effort to establish the magnificence of His person and the indispensability of His ministry!

Free Audiobook for August

The free audiobook from Christian Audio for the month of August is Tim Keller's Ministries of Mercy.