I was rereading Blue Like Jazz earlier and it has been repeatedly slapping me
in the face with all the things I say and want to do and how they conflict
with who I am and where all the problems really are. As much as I feel
mentally I have always "known" what Don Miller is saying, I see over and over
again how I have acted on a radically different scale. If what I believe is
determined by how I act, I am a fundamentalist, legalistic, stuffy, pompous,
religious "Christian". It makes me sick to think it, but it is probably
true. Then I read this and for some reason it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"In a recent radio interview I was sternly asked by the host, who did not
consider himself a Christian, to defend Christianity. I told him that I
couldn't do it, and moreover, that I didn't want to defend the term. He
asked me if I was a Christian and I told him yes. 'Then why don't you want
to defend Christianity?' he asked, confused. I told him I no longer knew
what the term meant. Of the hundreds of thousands of people listening to his
show that day, some of them had terrible experiences with Christianity; they
may have been yelled at by a teacher in a Christian school, abused by a
minister, or browbeaten by a Christian parent. To them, the term
Christianity meant something that no Christian I know would defend. By
fortifying the term, I am only making them more and more angry. I won't do
it. Stop ten people on the street and ask them what they think of when they
hear the word Christianity and you will get ten different answers. How can I
defend a term that means ten different things to ten different people? I
told the radio show host that I would rather talk about Jesus and how I came
to believe that Jesus exists and that He likes me. The host looked back at
me with tears in his eyes. When we were done, he asked me if we could go get
lunch together. He told me how much he didn't like Christianity but how he
had always wanted to believe Jesus was the Son of God."

It struck me as I was reading how often Don Miller says that Jesus likes
somebody. Not "loves", which we have skewed beyond all recognition and has
far too many meanings. Likes. We know what that means. If you like
somebody, you want to hang out with them, do nice things for them and go have
fun together. It means you consider them a friend and invite them to your
birthday parties and sleepovers and sit up late and talk on the phone and are
happy to see them randomly at the mall. It's easy to say "Jesus loves me"
because the term is so ambiguous and has so many meanings. I hear people say
(fairly often, sadly) "I love them, I just don't LIKE them," and truth be
told, I am guilty of thinking it myself, though maybe not in so many words.
Jesus likes me. Jesus likes you. He wants to go have ice cream with us and
sit on the sofa till two in the morning talking and laughing and crying. He
wants us to call Him up on a Tuesday evening when we have nothing to do and
just chat about things. He wants to meet all our friends and watch us play
Frisbee and doesn't care if we are awful at sports. He likes us. He loves
us too, and that's where the dying and forgiveness and Spirit and even
chastisement come from. But we separate that out somehow and in our own
petty way manage to view him as a rich and eccentric uncle who will leave us
all his money if we do some peculiar things like change our name and eat peas
twice a week and marry somebody who is related to somebody named Frankenstein
or something. Jesus doesn't want to write us into a will. He wants to be in
a relationship with us; one that looks like a super awesome version of
friendship. It's really wonderful.

Spurgeon Notes #233: 1 Timothy 1:15

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." - 1 Timothy 1:15

Paul had described his ordination in verse 12. He then went on to speak of the grace manifested in the call of such a person to the ministry (verse 13), and of the further grace by which he was sustained in that ministry. Incidentally, he was led to mention the message of his ministry. We may profitably use the text on this occasion.

I. HOW WE PREACH THE GOSPEL.

1. As a certainty. It is a "faithful saying." We do not doubt the truth of our message, or how could we expect you to believe it? We believe and are sure because:

- It is a revelation of God.

- It is attested by miracles.

- It bears its witness within itself.

- It has proved its power upon our hearts.
2. As an everyday truth. It is to us a "saying" or proverb.

The gospel affects us at home, in business, in sickness, in health, in life, in youth and age, in death.
3. As having a common bearing, therefore, a "saying" to be heard by all kinds of people, especially the most sinful.

- All have sinned and need a Savior.

- All who believe in Jesus have a Savior.

- All believers show by their lives that Jesus has saved them.

4. As claiming your attention. "Worth of all acceptation."

- You must believe it to be true.

- You must appropriate it to yourself.

- You ought to do so, for it is worth of your acceptance.

II. WHAT GOSPEL DO WE PREACH?

1. The gospel of a person: "Christ Jesus."

- He is the Anointed of God: "Christ."

- He is the Savior of men: "Jesus."

- He is God and man in one person.

- He died and yet he lives for ever.

2. The gospel of divine visitation. Jesus came into the world:

- By his birth as a man.

- By he mingling with men.

- By his bearing our sorrows and our sins for us.

3. The gospel for sinners:
- For such Jesus lived and labored.

- For such he died and made atonement.

- For such he has sent the gospel of pardon.

- For such he pleads in heaven.

4. The gospel of a finished work.

- He finished the work of salvation before he left the world.

- That work continues complete to this day.

- He is ready to apply it to all who come to him.

5. The gospel of effectual deliverance. " To save sinners."

- Not to half save them.

- Nor to make the salvable.

- Nor help them to save themselves.

- Nor to save them as righteous.

- But to save them wholly and effectually from their sins.

III. WHY DO WE PREACH IT?

1. Because we have been saved by it.

2. Because we are now in sympathy with Jesus and wish to save sinners, even the chief of them.

3. Because we believe it will be a blessing to all of you who hear it. If you are saved by it, you will be happy, and so shall we.

4. Because we cannot help it, for an inward impulse compels us to tell of the miracle of mercy wrought upon us.

Will you not believe a saying so sure?

Will you not accept a truth so gladsome?

Will you not come to a Saviour so suitable?

Spurgeon Notes #238: Titus 2:10

"That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." - Titus 2:10

The apostle greatly values the doctrine of the gospel, or he would not care so much to have it adorned. The apostle highly esteems the practical part of religion, hence he regards it as the beauty and ornament of the gospel. What a wide range of practical instruction we find in this short letter! With what holy ingenuity is this interwoven with the doctrine! We are bidden to obey the precept that we may adorn the doctrine. We have in our text:

I. A NAME OF ADORNMENT FOR THE GOSPEL. " The doctrine of God our Savior."

1. It sets forth its greatness: "doctrine of God."

- Our fall, ruin, sin, and punishment were great.

- Our salvation and redemption are great.

- Our safety, happiness, and hopes are great.

2. It sets forth its certainty. It is "of God."

- It comes by revelation of God.

- It is guaranteed by the fidelity of God.

- It is as immutable as God himself.

3. It sets forth its relation to Christ Jesus: "of God our Saviour."

- He is the author of it.

- He is the substance of it.

- He is the proclaimer of it.

- He is the object of it. The gospel glorifies Jesus.

4. It sets forth its authority.

- The whole system of revealed truth is of God.

- The Savior himself is God, and hence he must be accepted.

- The gospel itself is divine. God's mind is embodied in the doctrine of the Lord Jesus and to reject it is to reject God.

Let us believe, honor, defend and propagate this "doctrine of God our Saviour." What else is so worth of our love and zeal?

II. A METHOD OF ADORNMENT FOR THE GOSPEL.

This is a remarkable verse. Observe:

1. The persons who are to adorn the gospel.

- In Paul's day, bond servants or slaves.

- In our day, poor servants of the humblest order.

Strange that these should be set to such a task!

Yet, the women slaves adorned their mistresses, and both men and women of the poorest class were quite ready to adorn themselves.

From none does the gospel receive more honor than from the poor.

2. The way in which these persons could specially adorn the gospel:

- By obedience to their masters (verse 9).

- By endeavors to please them: "please them well."

- By restraining their tongues: "not answering again."

- By scrupulous honesty: "not purloining" (verse 10).

- By trustworthy character: "showing all good fidelity."

All this would make their masters admire the religion of Jesus.

3. The way of adornment of the doctrine in general.

Negatively, it is found:

- Not in the decoration of the building, the priest, the choir, or the worshippers.

- Nor in the attraction of peculiar garb and speech.

- Nor in the finery of philosophical thought.

- Nor in the tawdriness of rhetorical speech.

Positively, it lies in another direction.

- We must adorn it by our godly lives.

- Adornment, if really so, is suitable to beauty. Holiness, mercifulness,cheerfulness are congruous with the gospel.

- Adornment is often a tribute to beauty. Such is a godly conversation; it honors the gospel.

- Adornment is an advertisement of beauty. Holiness calls attention to the natural beauty of the gospel.

- Adornment is an enhancement of beauty. Godliness gives emphasis to the excellence of doctrine.

Let us all endeavor to adorn the gospel, by:

- Strict integrity in business.

- Constant courtesy of behaviour.

- Unselfish love to all around us.

- Quick forgiveness of injuries.

- Abundant patience under trials.

- Holy calm and self-possession at all times.

New Series: Spurgeon's Sermon Notes

I recently acquired a collection of Spurgeon's Sermon Notes. I've found much value in reading his notes recently and have decided to share select sermons with you here. From now on, when you see Spurgeon's name in the title of a post, you can know that the included text is entirely the work of Spurgeon himself, and not from me.

Who is Spurgeon? Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a British preacher in the mid 19th century. Over his lifetime he preached to an estimated 10,000,000 people. He generally preached from a single verse, teaching from the themes found in the text. Today, over 3,500 of his sermons exist in their complete text, most of which can be viewed online at websites such as http://www.spurgeongems.org/sermons.htm. The volume that I have and will be sharing from is not the complete text from his sermons, but rather just the notes, which are very helpful in getting directly to the meat of the text.

As you read these notes, I would encourage you to use the comments on each post to discuss your thoughts, observations, and questions regarding the post. Certainly, if God reveals something to you as a result of Spurgeon's teaching, comment about that too.

Enjoy!

Election and Salvation

Oftentimes I wonder when I was actually saved. I don't have a particular "conversion experience" as some have. I don't know the day, the year, or even the decade in which I first expressed saving faith. But does it matter?

In one particular oft-debated verse, Peter states "The Lord is…not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9 ESV). There are a few particularly difficult words in this verse, mainly 'wishing' and 'any'. The first can be especially difficult as some translations (such as the KJV) render the word as 'will'. But the ultimate difficulty of this passage lies not with God's wishing or willing, but rather with the scope of the word 'any'. Some insist on a universal scope, an idea leading to universalism, the doctrine that all human beings eventually escape judgment. But we know this to be false - only those who express true saving faith in Christ are saved (Romans 10:9). We instead must look to the context of the passage - who is this 'any'? Immediately before the quoted phrase, Peter writes that the Lord "is patient toward you." This narrows our scope of 'any' down to 'you.' It is you whom with the Lord is patient, He does not wish that any of you should perish. Okay, who is you? You is precisely the recipients of the letter in which Peter writes! These are "those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1: 2 ESV). In Peter's first epistle he refers to this group as elect (1 Peter 1:1-2). We can now clarify 2 Peter 3:9 as to say that "The Lord is…not wishing that any of the elect should perish, but that all of the elect should reach repentance".

This is great news for answering the question I posed earlier. I don't know the hour in which I first expressed saving faith, but I do know that today my name is written in the book of life. More than that, as I am now numbered among the elect, I have always been numbered among the elect - even before I first confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead. Even further still, God preserved me and guided me from the moment I was born until the day that faith became my own, as it was his wish and will to save me. Because of his sovereign hand alone - I did not, will not, perish - but instead reached repentance. And I continue today living within the guarantee of his Holy Spirit until I receive the inheritance which I have obtained from him. (Ephesians 1:11-14).

Are you pondering what I'm pondering?

So anyways, I'm doing a reading plan called "Bible in 90 days". It's basically the P90x of reading plans. It's quite intense in the way of sheer amount of reading. Reading on average about 10 chapters a day. Something that's really struck me is how my own view of the Old Testament has changed since I started. I used to not like reading it. I just didn't find it applicable. It was more of a "So God created earth, then they ate fruit and everything turned horrible...Ok, I get that. Then he had some special people do special things, and they had these 10 laws. Ok, check. And then they killed some bad people and God was cool with that. And then they had kingdoms, then they screwed up, now their captured, now there back, oh hey! Time for the New Testament!" It was more like reading a history assignment. But my understanding of it has grow so much more as I study it (surprising, I know), and the walk-through with the Rock is helping as well. The wonder of the Cross is so much more so now that I can see what it used to be like. I now understand why it was such a revolutionary thing. No longer do we have to sacrifice to atone any iota of cleanliness. We are the New Israelits, set apart by God. We don't have to use an intermediary to seek counsel with God; we can approach him confidently now that we are pure in his sight. My understanding of Grace has been magnified so much more so now that I've come to these realizations. And some things have really stood out too. In Genesis, Abraham is able to recognize God (what he recognizes is up for debate whether it's a physical aspect, or something much more) when he/his messengers appear before him in Genesis 16. We're only told of a few people in the Bible that had that kind of relationship with God, where they actually interact with him personally. Some of them were Moses, the prophets (the prosecuting attorneys of the time), and Abraham. Abraham's relationship was so radical. I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head that met with God like that before Abraham. And it's quite encouraging too, that even when they were living under the old law, they could have such an intimate connection. Now that we have been redeemed eternally, no longer under the yoke of the past Covenant, how much more so can our relationship with God be? We don't have to purify ourselves to meet with him, because Christ resides in us! I wish more than anything to have that Abraham-God relationship, and am seeking it earnestly. I hope this is an encouragement to my fellow believers who will read this, and not just some ramblings.
I hope this finds you in good health and whatnot.

Your Brotha in Christ,

Chris

I'm back!

Hi everyone! I got back from China a week ago, and it was a good trip. We got to see a lot of different parts of China, including some really neat rural villages in Yunnan Province and Inner Mongolia. There were ten students altogether, and we had a lot of fun doing stuff like climbing mountains, watching Mongolian-style wrestling and horse races, teaching Chinese schoolkids duck-duck-goose, and eating chicken that had been alive 30 minutes earlier. (It was actually pretty good--it was just a little weird because they cut up and cooked the whole chicken.) The only downside of the trip was being away from Christian fellowship for so long. I'm not entirely sure whether any of the other nine students were Christians, and it got a little lonely at times. I've moved up to Decorah for the rest of the summer, and I'll be spending the next two months or so up here helping with the new church here.

I was reading this morning in Romans 8 (one of my favorite chapters). I really like the part in Romans 8:37 where it talks about how we are "more than conquerors", even in all the trials of life. It's good to be reminded that no matter what happens, we are victorious through Jesus Christ, who triumphed over death, broke the power of sin in our lives, and reconciled us to God for all eternity. To him be the glory!