Academic Studies

(From Letters of John Newton via Grace Gems email from May 22.)

Dear friend,
I truly pity those who rise early and study late--with no higher prize and prospect in view, than the obtaining of academic honors! Such pursuits will before long appear (as they really are) as vain as the foolish games of children! May the Lord impress them with the noble ambition of living to and for Him. If these scholars, who are laboring for pebbles under the semblance of goodly pearls, had a discovery of the Pearl of great price--how quickly and gladly would they lay down their admired attainments, and become fools--that they might be truly wise! Their academic studies, if taken in the aggregate, are little better than splendid trifles!

Friend, what a snare have you escaped! You would have been nothing but a scholar--had not God visited your heart and enlightened you by His grace! Now I trust you account your former academic gains, but loss--compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus. What you have attained in the way of learning, will be useful to you--if sanctified, and chiefly so by the knowledge which you have of its insufficiency to any valuable purpose in the great concerns of life--knowing God and walking with Him!

Popular posts from this blog

RE: "Pastor Dayna Muldoon EXPOSED"

Image
It enough to make your heart ache.  "Pastor" Dayna Muldoon  has been pitching her tent in Florida, and like Todd Bentley before , false claims to miracles, healing, and prophecies litter her campsites. This video of a Calvary Chapel pastor exposing her as a false prophet has been appearing in various places, and its been uploaded to YouTube multiple times.  Even Todd Friel got animated about this , and nothing gets him hyper. Here's the deal: Muldoon set up her tent-meetings right down the road from Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg , peeking the interests of many attending the church.  When they listened to the message she presented, however, they found it not to be the Gospel, but instead the typical narcissistic message of health and blessings from God. This is coming from a Calvary Chapel crew, folks that are typically non-cessationists themselves.  Many churches, including this particular Calvary Chapel , host after-glow services where one expects similar claims
Click to read more...

Was Rebekah a child when she married Isaac?

Did Isaac marry a three-year-old?  If you've never pondered this question, it's because nothing in the straightforward reading of the text would suggest that Rebekah was a toddler or that their marriage was arranged. Even so, a couple of verses out of context could be used by skeptics to prove anything.  While perusing the web for a related topic, however, I found a thread stating that the Bible isn't against the raping of children .  The cited evidence was this issue, the claim being that Isaac engaged in pedophilia. The question comes from the fact that Genesis 22:23 announces the birth of Rebekah after the binding of Isaac.  Tradition states that Isaac was then thirty-seven, and Scripture says that the two wed when Isaac was forty (Gn 25:20).  Hence, Isaac robbed the cradle. The whole theory is fraught with assumptions, the primary being that Scripture never records a age marker for Rebekah.  Further complicating the matter, however, is Jewish tradition, which spe
Click to read more...

MacArthur: Calvinism in a Nutshell

Image
From YouTube: Calvinism (Also know by Doctrines of Grace or Reformed theology) John MacArthur use Romans 8:28-30 as main text. The five points of calvinism are Total depravity (total inability), Unconditional election, Limited atonement (Also called particular redemption or definite atonement), Irresistible grace (also called efficacious grace), and Perseverance of the saints. Full sermon http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-427 Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. And these whom He predestined, He also called. And these whom He called, He also justified. And these whom He justified, He also glorified."
Click to read more...