The sinner is unquestionably guilty. It is not merely that he has infirmities or that he is not as good as he ought to be: he has set at nought God's authority, violated His commandments, trodden His Laws under foot. And this is true not only of a certain class of offenders, but “all the world” is “guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). “There is none righteous, no, not one: They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10, 12). It is impossible for any man to clear himself from this fearful charge. He can neither show that the crimes of which he is accused have not been committed, nor that having been committed, he had a right to do them. He can neither disprove the charges which the law preferred against him, nor justify himself in the perpetration of them.
Here then is how the case stands. The law demands personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity to its precepts, in heart and act, in motive and performance. God charges each one of us with having failed to meet those just demands, and declares we have violated His commandments in thought and word and deed. The law therefore pronounces upon us a sentence of condemnation, curses us, and demands the infliction of its penalty, which is death. The One before whose tribunal we stand is omniscient, and cannot be deceived or imposed upon; He is inflexibly just, and swayed by no sentimental considerations. We, the accused, are guilty, unable to refute the accusations of the law, unable to vindicate our sinful conduct, unable to offer any satisfaction or atonement for our crimes. Truly, our case is desperate to the last degree.
Here, then, is the problem. How can God justify the willful transgressor of His Law without justifying his sins? How can God deliver him from the penalty of His broken Law without compromising His holiness and going back upon His word that He will “by no means clear the guilty”? How can life be granted the guilty culprit without repealing the sentence “the soul that sinneth it shall die”? How can mercy be shown to the sinner without justice being flouted? It is a problem which must forever have baffled every finite intelligence. Yet, blessed be His name, God has, in His consummate wisdom, devised a way whereby the “chief of sinners” may be dealt with by Him as though he were perfectly innocent; nay more, He pronounces him righteous, up to the required standard of the law, and entitled to the reward of eternal life. - A.W. Pink
12 March 2011
11 March 2011
On Justification
“What is justification? Answer: Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in His sight; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone” (Westminster Catechism, 1643).
“We thus define the Gospel justification of a sinner: It is a judicial, but gracious act of God, whereby the elect and believing sinner is absolved from the guilt of his sins, and hath a right to eternal life adjudged to him, on account of the obedience of Christ, received by faith” (H. Witsius, 1693). “A person is said to be justified when he is approved of God as free from the guilt of sin and its deserved punishment; and as having that righteousness belonging to him that entitles to the reward of life” (Jonathan Edwards, 1750).
Justification, then, refers not to any subjective change wrought in a person's disposition, but is solely an objective change in his standing in relation to the law. That to justify cannot possibly signify to make a person inherently righteous or good is most clearly to be seen from the usage of the term itself in Scripture. For example, in Proverbs 17:15 we read, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD”: now obviously he who shall make a “wicked” person just is far from being an “abomination to the LORD,” but he who knowingly pronounces a wicked person to be righteous is obnoxious to Him. Again; in Luke 7:29 we read, “And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God”: how impossible it is to make the words “justified God” signify any moral transformation in His character; but understand those words to mean that they declared Him to be righteous, and all ambiguity is removed. Once more, in 1 Timothy 3:16 we are told that the incarnate Son was “justified in (or “by”) the Spirit”: that is to say, He was publicly vindicated at His resurrection, exonerated from the blasphemous charges which the Jews had laid against Him.
“We thus define the Gospel justification of a sinner: It is a judicial, but gracious act of God, whereby the elect and believing sinner is absolved from the guilt of his sins, and hath a right to eternal life adjudged to him, on account of the obedience of Christ, received by faith” (H. Witsius, 1693). “A person is said to be justified when he is approved of God as free from the guilt of sin and its deserved punishment; and as having that righteousness belonging to him that entitles to the reward of life” (Jonathan Edwards, 1750).
Justification, then, refers not to any subjective change wrought in a person's disposition, but is solely an objective change in his standing in relation to the law. That to justify cannot possibly signify to make a person inherently righteous or good is most clearly to be seen from the usage of the term itself in Scripture. For example, in Proverbs 17:15 we read, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD”: now obviously he who shall make a “wicked” person just is far from being an “abomination to the LORD,” but he who knowingly pronounces a wicked person to be righteous is obnoxious to Him. Again; in Luke 7:29 we read, “And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God”: how impossible it is to make the words “justified God” signify any moral transformation in His character; but understand those words to mean that they declared Him to be righteous, and all ambiguity is removed. Once more, in 1 Timothy 3:16 we are told that the incarnate Son was “justified in (or “by”) the Spirit”: that is to say, He was publicly vindicated at His resurrection, exonerated from the blasphemous charges which the Jews had laid against Him. ...“[J]ustification” is not merely the remission of punishment but the judicial announcement that punishment cannot be justly inflicted—the accused being fully conformed to all the positive requirements of the law in consequence of Christ's perfect obedience being legally reckoned to his account. The justification of a believer is no other than his being admitted to participate in the reward merited by his Surety. Justification is nothing more or less than the righteousness of Christ being imputed to us: the negative blessing issuing therefrom is the remission of sins; the positive, a title to the heavenly inheritance. - A.W. Pink
What a blessed God we serve who justifies His undeserving people.
This is the first in a series as we walk through the distinctives of the doctrine of justification taken from Pink's "Doctrine of Justification."
This is the first in a series as we walk through the distinctives of the doctrine of justification taken from Pink's "Doctrine of Justification."
10 March 2011
Searching for the Hidden Smile of God
I've just finished reading John Piper's "The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper and David Brainerd." What a great work. It really opens up the lives of Brainerd, Bunyan and Cowper to it's readers. However, in Piper's summation he makes of few statements that although I was aware of their truth, nevertheless struck me deeply. Allow me to quote him:
"...But we modern, western Christians have come to see safety and ease as a right. We move away from bad neighborhoods. We leave hard relationships. We don't go to dangerous, unreached people groups. ...Jesus never called us to a life of safety, nor even a fair fight. ...We are soft and thin-skinned. We are worldly; we fit far too well into our God-ignoring culture. We are fearful and anxious and easily discouraged. We have taken our eyes of the Celestial City and the deep pleasures of knowing God and denying ourselves the lesser things that titillate for a moment but then shrink our capacities for great joy. Bunyan's Seasonable Counsel for us is: Take up your cross daily and follow Jesus. 'For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it' (Matthew 16:25)."
Some of that describes me, does it describe you? It's time for a re-think on how we live our lives in light of the truth of the Gospel don't you think?
"...But we modern, western Christians have come to see safety and ease as a right. We move away from bad neighborhoods. We leave hard relationships. We don't go to dangerous, unreached people groups. ...Jesus never called us to a life of safety, nor even a fair fight. ...We are soft and thin-skinned. We are worldly; we fit far too well into our God-ignoring culture. We are fearful and anxious and easily discouraged. We have taken our eyes of the Celestial City and the deep pleasures of knowing God and denying ourselves the lesser things that titillate for a moment but then shrink our capacities for great joy. Bunyan's Seasonable Counsel for us is: Take up your cross daily and follow Jesus. 'For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it' (Matthew 16:25)."
Some of that describes me, does it describe you? It's time for a re-think on how we live our lives in light of the truth of the Gospel don't you think?
09 March 2011
08 March 2011
Holiness and Happiness
05 March 2011
03 March 2011
Panic & Provision 1 Samuel 21:1-15
An outstanding sermon this week as the exposition of 1 Samuel continues.
02 March 2011
On Worry...
Surely one of our greatest issues is that of worry. It certainly is for me. But as believers in a sovereign, loving God it really has no place in our thoughts. Consider the words of John Flavel:
Believe firmly that the management of all the affairs of this world, whether public or personal, is in the hands of your all-wise God... Resign up yourselves to the wisdom of God, and lean not on your own understanding.... When Melancthon was oppressed with cares and doubts about the distracting affairs of the church in his time, Luther thus chides him out of his despondency ... do not presume to be the governor of the world, but leave the reins of government in the hands that made it, and best knows how to rule it. (John Flavel, The Works of John Flavel, Banner of Truth, 4:336-337.)
So be encouraged. Our sovereign Lord reins and all is in his hands.
Believe firmly that the management of all the affairs of this world, whether public or personal, is in the hands of your all-wise God... Resign up yourselves to the wisdom of God, and lean not on your own understanding.... When Melancthon was oppressed with cares and doubts about the distracting affairs of the church in his time, Luther thus chides him out of his despondency ... do not presume to be the governor of the world, but leave the reins of government in the hands that made it, and best knows how to rule it. (John Flavel, The Works of John Flavel, Banner of Truth, 4:336-337.)01 March 2011
28 February 2011
Insights from the Book of Job
An insightful and simply wonderful book I have been enjoying lately is Mining for Wisdom: A Twenty-Eight Day Devotional Based on the Book of Job by Derek Thomas. This is an exceptional work that should be read by all and indeed by those who are hurting. Let me share just one excerpt we can all learn from:...Every disciple of Jesus can expect to engage the implications of cross-bearing. Christians will suffer for no apparent reason. They can find themselves victimized or ridiculed on account of their holiness, rather than as a judgement due to their lack of it. The closer we are to the King, the more likely we are to the enemy's fire.
Job is only glimpsing it here from a distance here, and only for a brief moment. Quickly the light fades and darkness descends once more. Whatever hope there is lies in the future; the present is torture. His every conscious moment is filled with pain, and Job cannot escape the thought that Gods is unwilling to do anything about it. Slowly but surely, as water erodes stone, Job's hope fades away (14:19). He is left only with the nightmare of his pain.
...There is a loneliness to suffering that goes deeper than words. We were created for companionship and mutual support and when these things are gone, the chasm left is vast and daunting. It is the haunting cry that says, 'Nobody understands me. Nobody cares!'
...Have you ever felt like that? Perhaps you have not uttered it quite as starkly as Job does here; and perhaps you have. It is at such moments that we need to recall our Saviour's words:"My God, my God, what have you forsaken me?' (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). He too, experienced the abandonment of a suffering that, to all outward appearances, made no sense at all.
What was it that helped Jesus through the darkness of Gethsemane and the cross? What the book of Hebrews calls, 'the joy that was set before Him" (Heb. 12:2). Knowing that heaven awaits every child of God keeps us going through the darkest periods. (pgs. 84-85 emphasis mine.)
This book is just too good to pass up. We all need to understand how to get through those difficult periods of adversity in our lives and this work by Thomas helps us understand how the book of Job sheds light on those times.
27 February 2011
26 February 2011
The Famous Painting
25 February 2011
24 February 2011
Bonar on Justification
Man has always treated sin as a misfortune, not a crime; as disease, not guilt; as a case for the physician, not for the judge. Herein lies the essential faultiness of all mere human religions or theologies. They fail to acknowledge the judicial the aspect of the question, as that on which the real answer must hinge; and to recognize the guilt or criminality of the evil-doer as that which must first be dealt with before any real answer, or approximation to an answer, can be given. - From The Everlasting Righteousness; Or, How Shall Man Be Just with God? by Horatius Bonar
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| Hortius Bonar |
23 February 2011
Covenant Love 1 Samuel 20
Outstanding sermon on the friendship of David and Jonathan and how it foreshadows the work of Christ in the believer and the church.
22 February 2011
Use Those Scriptures
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| Jerry Bridges |
What a comfort it is knowing God is in the midst of our pain and adversity. Indeed, He is behind it. We can have confidence that we are where we are by His merciful will.
21 February 2011
Joshua to Esther Survey Week 7
This week in our Joshua to Esther Survey we zero in on 1 Kings chapter 17.
19 February 2011
18 February 2011
17 February 2011
16 February 2011
Are we ready?
Joel Osteen found himself forced to answer a question that every Christian — and certainly every Christian leader — will be forced to answer. When that moment comes, and come it will, those who express confidence in the Bible’s teaching that homosexuality is a sin will find themselves facing the same shock and censure from the very same quarters. - Al Mohler
Mohler nails when he states that we'll all have to answer tough questions some day. Sooner or later someone, knowing or not knowing of our faith, will ask, what do you think about __________? We are Biblically bound to answer. Are we ready?
Moreover...
To [Piers] Morgan, making any moral judgment amounts to judgmentalism. Of course, this leads logically to total moral insanity, since the only way to avoid being identified with judgmentalism is to make no moral judgments whatsoever — which no sane person can do.
Ever been accused of that? If not, you will be. So, let's be ready. Let's be armed with the Word of God and be ready to answer the world. Let's not shrink back from the attack for as Mohler concludes, "Most Christians will not face that question on national television, but on a college campus, in a family discussion, in the workplace, or in the heat of debate. But, whatever the circumstances, that moment will soon come."
Mohler nails when he states that we'll all have to answer tough questions some day. Sooner or later someone, knowing or not knowing of our faith, will ask, what do you think about __________? We are Biblically bound to answer. Are we ready?
Moreover...
To [Piers] Morgan, making any moral judgment amounts to judgmentalism. Of course, this leads logically to total moral insanity, since the only way to avoid being identified with judgmentalism is to make no moral judgments whatsoever — which no sane person can do.
Ever been accused of that? If not, you will be. So, let's be ready. Let's be armed with the Word of God and be ready to answer the world. Let's not shrink back from the attack for as Mohler concludes, "Most Christians will not face that question on national television, but on a college campus, in a family discussion, in the workplace, or in the heat of debate. But, whatever the circumstances, that moment will soon come."
15 February 2011
Historical Methodology
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| Carl Trueman |
Joshua to Esther Survey Week 6
Our survey continues this week as begin to examine 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles.
13 February 2011
12 February 2011
Never will I leave you
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| Jerry Bridges |
We must lay hold of some of the great promises of His constant care for us. One such promise we will do well to store up in our hearts is Hebrews 13:5: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." The Puritan preacher Thomas Lye remarked that in this passage the Greek has five negatives and my thus be rendered, "I will not, not leave thee; neither will I not, not forsake thee." Five times God emphasized to us that He will not forsake us. He wants us to firmly grasp the truth that whatever circumstances may indicate, we must believe, on the basis of His promise that He has not forsaken us or left us to the mercy of those circumstances.
Let us praise God for His infinite wisdom and watchful care in our lives.
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