Rapping About Limited Atonement

And they said Rap had no redeeming value.

HT: The Contemporary Calvinist

Love Constrained to Obedience

No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright:
And what she has she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.


How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress;
I toll'd the precept to obey,
But toil'd without success.

Then, to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within,
I feel I hate it too.

Then all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son,
I freely choose His ways.

"What shall I do," was then the word,
"That I may worthier grow?"
"What shall I render to the Lord?"
Is my inquiry now.

To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.

-William Cowper-

HT: Renewing Thoughts

Take Heed To Yourselves

"See that the work of saving grace be thoroughly wrought in your own souls. Take heed to yourselves, lest you be void of that saving grace of God which you offer to others, and be strangers to the effectual working of that gospel which you preach; and lest, while you proclaim to the world the necessity of a Savior, your own hearts should neglect him, and you should miss of an interest in him and his saving benefits. Take heed to yourselves, lest you perish, while you call upon others to take heed of perishing; and lest you famish yourselves while you prepare food for them."

Richard Baxter from 'The Reformed Pastor' courtesy of Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life"

The Fray's chorus from 'How to Save a Life.'

We must take heed to ourselves. We must be sure that we do not lose our lives while we warn others of the impending doom. The friend we lose must not be ourselves.

It May Be For Fools, But This Job Is Not For Cowards

HT: The Lighthearted Calvinist

Joel Osteen Preaches About the Lives of the Martyrs

Joel Osteen Preaches About the Lives of the Martyrs?




HT: The Lighthearted Calvinist

Satire Saturdays / 5-16-09

Emerjeans

From The Sacred Sandwich.

Emergent Postmodern Church Motivational Video

From the Pyromaniacs.

You might be Emerging if...
From Purgatorio.

Friday Fanfare

Each Friday I will bring you a rundown of some of the best items on the web.

Be sure to stop by Tim Challies blog for a chance to win free items each Friday. He calls it 'Free Stuff Fridays.'

Check out the 'Take Your Vitamin Z' blog. Not just one post, but the whole blog.

Tullian Tchividjian uses Tim Keller sermon quotes to show:
The Differences Between Religion And The Gospel

Humanitas Remedium blog brings us 'Another Lesson From Foxe's Book Of Martyrs.'

Finally it is not too late to download a free audio copy of 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs from Christian Audio.

I will have to admit that I borrowed this idea from the Contemporary Calvinist. He does a 'This Week in Calvinism' post which is always entertaining and informative.

This-Week-in-Calvinism-may-15-2009

I will post a link to his list along with my list each week for a double dose of Calvinistic goodness.

Christianity and Liberalism - Enemy at the Gates

"Admitting that scientific objections may arise against the particularities of the Christian religion-- against the Christian doctrines of the person of Christ, and of redemption through His death and resurrection--the liberal theologian seeks to rescue certain of the general principles of religion, of which these particularities are thought to be mere temporary symbols, and these general principles he regards as constituting "the essence of Christianity."

It may well be questioned, however, whether this method of defense will really prove to be efficacious; for after the apologist has abandoned his outer defenses to the enemy and withdrawn into some inner citadel, he will probably discover that the enemy pursues him even there."

J. Gresham Machen from the introduction to'Christianity and Liberalism'

The Audacity of Degrees

"A community organizer who honed his advocacy for the poor, the marginalized and the worker in the streets of Chicago, he now organizes a larger community, bringing to the world a renewed American dedication to diplomacy and dialogue with all nations and religions committed to human rights and the global common good.'


Wording from the Honorary Degree for Barack Obama that will be bestowed upon him by Notre Dame.


So evidently their is no human right to be allowed to live while in the safety of your mother's womb. Apparently an innocent babe who is torn from his mother, who is complacent in his murder, does not qualify as being marginalized.


HT: Fox News

Impertinent Intruder?

Psalm 119:105 (English Standard Version)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.


"Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder, but it is always beneficial in the end. The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from "controversial" matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight."

J. Gresham Machen, From the introduction to 'Christianity and Liberalism.'

Reading Through 'Christianity and Liberalism'

First published in 1923, Christianity and Liberalism was one of the first -- and, to many, still the best -- critique of liberal Christianity from an orthodox Christian perspective. Written at the height of the battle for control over the Presbyterian Church USA, Christianity and Liberalism brilliantly defines -- and definitively refutes -- the theological liberalism that manifests itself chiefly in the rejection of Scripture as infallibly inspired, the denial of the doctrines of the Fall and of Hell, and the mistaken belief in man's "evolutionary" self-perfection. Machen contrasts these errors with the basic foundational truths of Biblical Christianity on God, man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church.

Come read 'Christianity and Liberalism,' arguably Machen's greatest work, with me.

Caedmon's Call at My Church

From Christ the King Presbyterian Church where the Reformed Parishioner listens to the Word of God spoken.

Warfield Wednesdays: The Bible

"The Church may bear witness to what she received from the apostles as law, but this is not giving authority to that law but humbly recognizing the authority which rightfully belongs to it whether the Church recognizes it or not. The puzzle which some people fall into here is something like mistaking the relative "authority" of the guide-post and the road; the guide-post may point us to the right road but it does not give its rightness to the road. It has not "determined" the road -- it is the road that has "determined" the guide-post; and unless the road goes of itself to its destination the guide-post has no power to determine its direction. So the Church does not "determine" the Scriptures, but the Scriptures the Church." Read More

Benjamin B. Warfield: The Authority and Inspiration of the Scriptures

HT: The Westminster Presbyterian

Ligonier Ministries Reminds Us To Focus On Family This Summmer

"School is almost out, and summertime is just around the corner. While taking a break from the hustle and bustle of a regular routine and the busyness of life, it can be easy to take a break from our biblical studies as well.

Amidst the vacations and relaxation this summer, take some time to focus on your family's foundation. We need to be aware of this now more than ever as we live in a time of much uncertainty. From dating and marriage to teenagers to family worship and growth, here are some great resources for a summer study."

HT: Ligonier's Blog

NO Mr. President it is not a Private Family Matter

It's a magnificent thing: The only newly-originating life in the universe that comes in the image of God is Man.

The only newly-originating life in the universe that lasts forever is Man.

This is an awesome thing. And, as everyone knows, that reverence is not shared by our new President, over whom we have rejoiced.

He is trapped and blind in a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he released this statement,

We are reminded that this decision not only protects women's health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.

To which I say:

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women; you are authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year.

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for one million little human beings every year.

No, Mr. President, killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. You may say it is a private family matter over and over and over, and still they are dead. And we killed them. And you, would have it remain legal.

Mr. President, some of us wept for joy at your inauguration. And we pledge that we will pray for you.

We have hope in our sovereign God.

HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

Warfield Wednesdays: I Believe

A BRIEF AND UNTECHNICAL STATEMENT OF THE REFORMED FAITH
by Benjamin B. Warfield



1. I believe that my one aim in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify him in his holy Word, that is, the Bible, which he had given by the infallible inspiration of this Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am to believe concerning him and what duty he requires of me.

2. I believe that God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and incomparable in all that he is; one God but three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness and truth I may safely put my trust.

3. I believe that the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, are the work of God hands; and that all that he has made he directs and governs in all their actions; so that they fulfill the end for which they were created, and I who trust in him shall not be put to shame but may rest securely in the protection of his almighty love.

4. I believe that God created man after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, and entered into a covenant of life with him upon the sole condition of the obedience that was his due; so that it was by willfully sinning against God that man fell into the sin and misery in which I have been born.

5. I believe, that, being fallen in Adam, my first father, I am by nature a child of wrath, under the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul, prone to evil and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot be delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.

6. I believe that God has not left the world to perish in its sin, but out of the great love wherewith he has loved it, has from all eternity graciously chosen unto himself a multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out of their sin and misery, and of them to build up again in the world his kingdom of righteousness; in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I hold fast to Christ the Lord.

7. I believe that God has redeemed his people unto himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though he was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the law: I believe that he bore the penalty due to my sins in his own body on the tree, and fulfilled in his own person the obedience I owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to his Father as his purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of his grace forever; wherefore renouncing all merit of my own, I put all my trust only in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my redeemer.

8. I believe that Jesus Christ my redeemer, who died for my offences was raised again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where he sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for his people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for his Church; so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out of his hands and nothing can separate me from his love.

9. I believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to all his people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and enables me more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness; until, this gracious work having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory; in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God.

10. I believe that God requires of me, under the gospel, first of all, that , out of a true sense of my sin and misery and apprehension of his mercy in Christ, I should turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to him, I may receive pardon for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God's sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone; and thus and thus only do I believe I may be received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.

11. I believe that, having been pardoned and accepted for Christ's sake , it is further required of me that I walk in the Spirit whom he has purchased for me, and by whom love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe to Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the holy law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting in my life and conduct, the perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my Leader, who has died for me and granted to me his Holy Spirit just that I may do the good works which God has afore prepared that I should walk in them.

12. I believe that God has established his Church in the world and endowed it with the ministry of the Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord's Supper and Prayer; in order that through these as means, the riches of his grace in the gospel may be made known to the world, and, by the blessing of Christ and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated to his people; wherefore also it is required of me that I attend on these means of grace with diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that through them I may be instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love; and that I use my best endeavors to carry this gospel and convey these means of grace to the whole world.

13. I believe that as Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is he to come a second time in glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to each his eternal award; an I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when he shall return to his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blesses in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity: encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with him I shall also live with him, if I endure, I shall also reign with him. And to Him, my Redeemer, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, Three Persons, one God, be glory forever, world without end, Amen, and Amen.

HT: Monergism

A Fetus or A Baby?

Craig Carter: “The Globe and Mail tiptoes carefully through the semantic minefield in this story on an unborn baby having heart surgery in utero. Notice the terms used [my bolding]:”

“TORONTO — In what’s being called a Canadian first, Toronto doctors have successfully performed a heart procedure on a fetus inside the womb.

A team of doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital expanded one of the baby’s heart valves using a balloon catheter. The device was inserted through the mother’s abdomen and then into the fetus to reverse heart failure before delivery.

Sick Kids Hospital says the procedure allowed the baby to remain safely in utero for a crucial extra month before her birth on April 15.

Within an hour of Oceane McKenzie’s birth, she had another procedure, and a third followed a few weeks later. Doctors say Oceane is well on the road to recovery and will soon be going home.”

Carter concludes:

Now the pro-abortion types are going to hate this article. It refers to this little girl as “fetus-baby-fetus-baby-Oceane McKenzie.” This is clearly a fetus, which is also a baby, who also has a name.

But under Canadian law her mother could have changed her mind after the heart operation and had Oceane killed by an abortionist at any moment up to the moment the baby emerged from the birth canal. So how can the pro-abortionists say that abortion is not killing a person? There is only one way to do it: Oceane was a person because her mother wanted her. So one human being can bestow and remove personhood from another by an act of will. The last time that sort of thing was legal was in the days of slavery. How “progressive” we are - not!

HT: Tim Challies

Voddie Baucham instructs us not to look down one Nazi Scientists and Biologists

We Need To Be Dangerous: Dr. Albert Mohler

The Deeps: A Puritan Prayer

Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach. Help me chastely to flee it and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Thine alone.

Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in Thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Thy Word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.

Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until Thou alone art seen in me, Thy beauty golden like summer harvest, Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

I have no master but Thee, no law but Thy will, no delight but Thyself, no wealth but that Thou givest, no good but that Thou blessest, no peace but that Thou bestowest. I am nothing but that Thou makest me. I have nothing but that I receive from Thee. I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water.

HT: Puritan prayers taken from 'The Valley of Vision'

The Stranger

"The Stranger"

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise:
but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.




A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother, Bill, five years my senior, was my example. Fran, my younger sister, gave me an opportunity to play 'big brother' and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors-- Mom taught me to love the word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it.

But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening.

If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it all. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched.

He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. My brother and I were deeply impressed by John Wayne in particular.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up-- while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places-- go to her room, read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.

You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house-- not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often.

He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (probably too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.

More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents' den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name? We always just called him TV.

Anonymous.

Happy Mother's Day!

For all the Mothers out there I salute you. Happy Mother's Day!

Rejected by NBC and CNN:



Accepted:



Both simply breathtakingly factual!

HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

Chilling

HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

Harming the Gospel

Complementarianism vs. Egalitarianism is Monergism's Monthly Focus.




Complementarianism:

...is the theological view that although men and women are created equal in their being and personhood, yet they are created to complement each other via different roles in life and in the church. It is rooted in a literal interpretation of the creation account and the roles of men and women presented in Scripture.

Egalitarianism:

...in the context of the Christian church is the teaching that all people, both men and women, are to be treated as equal and that women are to share all offices within the church equally with men. This position would hold that women could be pastors, elders, bishops, etc., and that male headship in the church and the family is invalid. Egalitarianism is an avenue of liberalism.

"The denial of complementarianism undermines the church's practical embrace of the authority of Scripture (thus eventually and inevitably harming the church's witness to the Gospel)."
- Ligon Duncan

Crucified Between Two Opposite Errors

"Tertullian (an early church father from Second Century) said, “Just as Christ was crucified between two thieves, so this doctrine of justification is ever crucified between two opposite errors.”

These “two false gospels” can be called hedonism / relativism / irreligion on the one hand, and legalism / moralism / religion on the other hand. There is a Gospel according to the Relativists and a Gospel according to the Moralists."

Read More

HT: The Fide-O Blog

What About Us?

"If sinners wanted to be around Jesus, why don’t they want to be around us? (Luke 15:1)

If sinners crucified Jesus, why don’t they have a problem with us? (Acts 2:23"

HT: The Blazing Center

They Ought to be Praised

Divisions and separations are most objectionable in religion. They weaken the cause of true Christianity...But before we blame people for them, we must be careful that we lay the blame where it is deserved. False doctrine and heresy are even worse than schism. If people separate themselves from teaching that is positively false and unscriptural, they ought to be praised rather than reproved. In such cases separation is a virtue and not a sin.

- JC Ryle, Warnings To The Churches

Great New Bible Resource

"About a decade ago, Wheaton College Graduate School professor Greg Beale had the idea to develop a one-volume commentary that would address every instance a New Testament writer quotes or alludes to the Old Testament. He sought the help of D. A. Carson at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and together they began soliciting the contributions of an all-star cast of biblical experts. Finally, in late 2007, they published the hefty Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker, $54.99, 1,152 pp.). CT editor-at-large Collin Hansen spoke with Beale and Carson to learn how this new volume will help Christians understand the Bible as one progressively unfolding story of redemption."

Christianity Today: Interview

HT: Monergism

Counter-Revolution

In "True Lips Wait?" the good Doctor Mohler explains what a counter-revolution looks like.

Archival Parody of Rob Bell's The Bullhorn Guy

This is a spot on parody of Rob Bell's the Bullhorn Guy.




HT: Pyromaniacs

The Purpose of Your Life

“We are not called to build the kingdom of glory, but to carry a cross in the kingdom of grace. To forget the cause of missions is to forget the purpose of Christ in a world still spared from destruction. The purpose of your life must be the purpose of Christ’s death.”

- Edmund P. Clowney, Called to the Ministry

HT: Of First Importance

Putting Real Images With The Word "Choice"

Zach Nielsen proprietor of the "Take Your Vitamin Z" Blog discusses the following clip from the documentary "Lake of Fire."

"This clip from Lake of Fire shows the reality of abortion that few will ever see. This is part of the problem. Most people can rationalize away what they are not forced to actually come to terms with. I'm sure that most Christians who voted for Obama probably didn't visualize the clip below when they chose to align themselves with a guy who is in full support of the right of this to continue. To me, this is mind-boggling."

I warn you that this clip is not for the faint of heart, but it is real footage.



Read more: Putting Real Images With The Word "Choice"

John MacArthur: USA Abandoned by God

HT: Reformation Theology