Gospel Living

14  The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15  And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Often, when we talk about salvation, we think about justification .  That’s an essential and vital doctrine teaching believers that God declares sinners righteous because of the righteous work of Christ.  There’s no salvation for our sinful souls unless we sinners are justified before the Judge of all the earth. What we see with this man is another doctrine tied to the gospel—sanctification—whereby God delivers sinners away from their sin to Himself.  Much of sanctification happens over time with us believing the gospel and obeying what God commands so we can grow.  Even so, it happens primarily because of the work of God within us.  The sanctification of the demo...

26  And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27  He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28  The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29  But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” While we know a good bit about the growth cycle of plants, we don’t know everything.  That’s not to say that we can’t know much more through investigation, but we must admit that we have neither observed nor concluded all there is to know.  In a similar way, Scripture gives us need insight into spiritual botany, but God alone knows the full mystery of kingdom growth. First, we must note the spiritual mysteries of our own growth.   It’s clear that salvation is monergistic, worked by God alone (Eph 2:8–9).  Still, Scripture presents tension between repentance and regeneration—some...

24  And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25  For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” We sometimes confuse the theology of justification and sanctification .  When God declares us righteous based on Christ’s work, we sinners are justified, and it is completely the work of God alone.  God sets us apart for Himself at that point, or sanctifies us, but we must also strive to be sanctified in every area of our lives.  In other words, the work of justification is done by God without our help, but the work of sanctification is done by God with our faithful living.  That is what we see in passages like this one. First, be careful to live according to His Word alone.   He commands, “Pay attention to what you hear.”  As the children’s song says, “Be careful little ears...

4            For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;             evil may not dwell with you. 5            The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;             you hate all evildoers. 6            You destroy those who speak lies;             the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. We know that God is love (1 John 4:8), so we sometimes struggle with the idea that He could “hate all evildoers.”  The problem is that we have a limited understanding of love, for it must have hatred.  If I love my wife, I must, by necessity, hate whatever does her harm.  As God loves His children, He must also hate those who hurt them.  ...

What Does It Mean to Be "Led by the Spirit"? http://www.gty.org/Blog/B130423 In anticipation of the sold-out Truth Matters' Strange Fire Conference taking place October 16-18, 2013, we will be looking at each of the promo videos.  God bless!

What does it mean to be one with Christ?  I recommend this helpful chart that Andy Naselli posted to help us understand.

As children, we learn that lying is wrong.  As we get older, however, we find certain situations in which lying seems morally superior to the alternative; a lie may save an innocent life, or shield someone from irreparable harm.  Listen as Dr. Michael Grisanti tackles the question, "Is it ever right to bend the truth?" MP3 Download

The gospel of Christ provides the only substantive hope for victims of sexual abuse: <center><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/61888061" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></center> How can pastors and biblical counselors lead people from the fog of confusion and shame?   The 2013 Respond Conference is a free one-day conference that teaches us how to open the appropriate scriptures and provide hope for hurting souls.  Another promo: <center><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/62349377" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><center>

I encourage you to take advantage of the following lecture series: One of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith involves the biblical truth of one God in three persons, i.e., the triunity of God. Our faculty lecture series in chapel during February focused on this essential belief. The lectures are listed/hyperlinked below so that you too can benefit from the fruitful labors of our TMS faculty. Enjoy! Trinitarianism & Creationism Dr. Bryan Murphy   Trinitarianism & Inspiration Dr. William Barrick   Trinitarianism & Salvation/Sanctification Dr. Andrew Snider   Trinitarianism & Eschatology Dr. Michael Vlach   Trinitarianism & Church History Professor Nathan Busenitz

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  (Ephesians 5:15-21) When Paul addresses the Ephesians, he calls them to a sober-minded approach to their Christian walk.  They must consider whether they are walking in love, and that includes examining their speech and behavior toward others.  In Chapter 4, he ties this to unity in the church, and later in this chapter he'll tie it to believers  submission to one another. In the midst of that discussion, Paul says, ...

Your anger at the recent school massacre of the Sandy Cook Elementary school students in Newtown is right.  Our stomachs churn at the sight of such grotesque evil because we bear the image of God, and so our consciences cry out against such heinous acts. As we examine our own souls, however, we must consider ourselves not in contrast to the evils committed by others, but by the holiness of God.  Otherwise, we will add self-righteousness to our anger, and in that, we would sin. No matter the level of sanctification or holiness you may believe yourself to have, the good deeds that set you apart from such dark sins, you pale in comparison to the light of God's glory.  In a somewhat lighthearted manner, R. C. Sproul illustrates the lesson we must all take deep into heart. The Difference Between Our Sanctification and Our Glorification from Ligonier on Vimeo .

How are your new year's resolutions?  Are you faltering?  Do you read of Jonathan Edwards and his famous resolutions, and feel like a bit of a failure?  Well, Cripplegate posts an encouraging post for you , and it comes right back to the truths of the gospel.

There are a lot of great Bible reading and prayer programs to get you started in the New Year, but there is one vital question everyone should answer to examine their underlying motivations for such resolutions: do I know God? No, I don't just mean "know" in the salvific sense (though, if He has not saved your soul yet, remember that  the Christmas season was the celebration of His offer of salvation ).  I mean that there are often barriers in relationships which we must identify. J.I. Packer has done a wonderful job of helping us with just that, and this month the audio version of his book is free .  Here is the description from the site: A lifelong pursuit of knowing God should embody the Christian's existence. According to eminent theologian J.I. Packer, however, Christians have become enchanted by modern skepticism and have joined the "gigantic conspiracy of misdirection" by failing to put first things first. Knowing God aims to redirec...

A message for your new year: "How to Have a Worthy Walk," Ephesians 4:17-32 The Master's Seminary - 8 December, 2011 Just as sin weighed down the Ephesian believers, sin will keep you from walking in the freedom you have in Christ. This is a message you will use every day of your lives from now until glory. We note two simple instructions Paul gives the Ephesian believers so that we may also have a mature walk in Christ. I.  You have a mature walk when you put off old thinking (v. 22) II.  You have a mature walk when you put on new thinking (vv. 23-24) (As a side note, I am coming to the end of my seminary career and have my church resume and related information posted here , for anyone who is interested.)

From Preaching with Passion : The mistake made by many young preachers is that they attempt to mimic the style of great, older preachers, but they fail to mimic their lives as well. The latter gives the former its power. First we sanctify the man, who in turn sanctifies the style. If we would make it our ambition to know Christ more intimately, we would preach Christ more powerfully. Authority comes when the glory of Christ surrounds our lives, even as in the case of Moses on his decent from Mount Sinai (cf. Exod. 34:28–35). Paul’s advice to young Timothy was to strive to be what he preached, knowing that the more of the Word the man has in his life, the more life there will be in his spoken word (81).

(HT: DefCon )

From today's Grace Gem : ( James Smith , "A New Year's Motto" 1865) " Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!" Luke 21:28 We are entering upon a new year, we shall have new toils, new trials, new temptations, and new troubles. In whatever state, in whatever place, into whatever condition we may be brought this year--let us seek grace to follow our Lord's loving advice, and " look up! " Do not look back --as Lot's wife did. Do not look within --as too many do. Do not look around --as David did. But "look up!" Look up to God--He is your Father, your Friend, your Savior. He can help you. He will help you. He says, "Look unto Me, and be delivered--for I am God!" Look up for light to guide you--and He will direct your path. Look up for grace to sanctify you--and the grace of Jesus will be found sufficient for you. Look up for strength to enable you to do a...

For your Sunday reflection: We've Been Expecting You: Part I - Message 6 The Two Offerings Bible: Genesis 4; 1 John 3:1-12 Two sacrifices to God were made in the same chapter by two brothers, Cain and Abel. God alone determines what He will and will not accept. Cain brought the best he had; Abel brought what God required. This is one of the earliest examples of "religious substitution" replacing God's Word with man's design. God did not accept it then or now.

For your Sunday reflection: We've Been Expecting You: Part I - Message 5 God Breathed Dust Balls Bible: Genesis 1-3; 2 Timothy 3:17 When the Bible teaches all Scripture is inspired by God, it uses a term that means literally in the Greek "God-breathed." The other significant use of this is with Adam (Gen. 2:7). Thus, both God's word and God's creation of humanity became eternal. If you are heading for heaven, this is glorious news. Sadly, for those who are headed for hell, this is terrible news unless the solution of salvation through Jesus is received.

When we repent of sins as believers, there are a couple of points within ourselves that must must change. Stuart Scott in The Exemplary Husband (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing, 2002), illuminates this for us. 1. We repent according to God's process of change by working to renew the mind with Scripture (Romans 12:1-2). He provides the following examples: Click image to enlarge. 2. We repent according to God's process of change by working to put off sinful actions and to put on righteous ones (Ephesians 4:20-24). He writes, " This involves putting enough thought into one's life to: (1) specifically plan how and when a particular sin will be avoided, and (2) determine specific ways to apply its righteous alternatives. True repentance does not take place without these things " (44). Click image to enlarge.