Reconciliation with Justification Exalts the Atoning Work of Jesus Christ

"No one should diminish the importance of reconciliation, but neither should we make the mistake of exalting reconciliation and minimizing justification. The reason human beings need to be reconciled to God is because of their sin and guilt. Sin is an objective reality that separates us from a holy God. Reconciliation between God and humans does not become a reality merely on the basis of human repentance and a desire for forgiveness. If human beings could be reconciled to God by repentance alone, then the sacrifice of Christ on the cross would be completely unnecessary. All people would need to do to receive forgiveness would be to feel sorry for their sins, and we could dispense entirely with the work of Christ. Reconciliation is a precious reality, but it is anchored in the sin-bearing work of Christ on the cross by which the wrath of God was appeased."

-Thomas Schreiner, “Penal Substitution View” in The Nature of the Atonement (Four Views), p.69

The Glory of Penal Substitution

If you are looking for a book on Christ’s substitutionary death that is not too technical, yet rich and deep enough for lay people, pastors, and seminary students, and one highly endorsed by the likes of D.A. Carson, Mark Dever, Sinclair B. Ferguson, John Frame, R. Kent Hughes, C.J. Mahaney, J.I. Packer, Thomas Schreiner, and a whole lot more conservative Christians, then Pierced for Our Transgressions (Crossway Books, 2007) is the book for you. Its authors (a bunch of Ph.D. dudes ministering or teaching in London) do a magnificent job in making the case for penal substitution from the biblical text, answering modern challengers and contrarians to the doctrine (which are nothing but rehashes of older forms), historical lineage of the doctrine, and even practical ramifications of the doctrine. You’ll also appreciate its brilliant format due to its simplicity. More importantly, it will positively further your understanding of what Christ accomplished on the cross, which carries with it the potential to further your appreciation and love for Him who declared, “It is finished!” on the cross, provided that you not approach, read, and study the material merely with an academic intention. It is for this reason and its potential spiritual benefits that this book is highly recommended! Here is an excerpt concerning the importance of the doctrine of justification:

"If our sin cannot be imputed to Christ, then by the same reasoning his righteousness cannot be imputed to us. We must then abandon the doctrine of justification by faith, the teaching that we are counted righteous in God’s sight on the basis of Christ’s righteousness, imputed to us by faith. Without justification by faith, the only basis upon which we could stand before God on the Last Day would be our own righteousness. This inevitably leads either to despair (‘I could never be good enough for God’) or to pride (‘I am good enough for God – well done me!’). Both of these outcomes are at a variance with the Bible’s teaching. The apostle Paul can assure believers that ‘there is … now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Rom. 8:1), while at the same time insisting that ‘boasting … is excluded’ (Rom. 3:27). Yet this is only possible because Christ’s people are united to him, share in his benefits, and are therefore justified by faith in him" (p.249).

Warning Regarding Legalism

"It is quite possible that the gospel is preached in the life of the church, but the Christian congregation does not make the connection between that gospel and their own lives. One of the hallmarks of an assumed gospel in an evangelical church is that the gospel is regarded as being for the outsiders, the non-Christians who ever so rarely slip into one of the services. When we limit the gospel in this way to unbelievers we begin to adopt extra ways of relating to God and to others, and they all fall under the label of legalism. This is the opposite of the gospel of grace—striving to be acceptable first of all to God and then to others by keeping rules and by outward behavior. Churches at the Reformed or conservative end of the spectrum can be especially prone to their own set of extra rules: what we wear on a Sunday, how many services we attend, the version of the Bible and the hymnbook that we use, what must happen at which point in the service, whether we keep the pews or the organs. Churches like this are often only a generation away from extinction and from denying the gospel by losing sight of its primacy."

-David Gibson, “Assumed Evangelicalism” in Modern Reformation, Vol.16, No.5, Sep/Oct 2007

The Spirit and the Word

It seems like it’s now a cool thing to label oneself a “Calvinists,” or better yet “Reformed,” at least in my circle. Some would go so far as to label themselves something to the effect of Baptistic-Charismatic (not Charismaniac)-Calvinistic-Dispensational-Evangelical-Historically Fundamental-Reformed-Christian or some other complex fusion of sorts, which by the way reminds me of the “kamikaze” drinks we use to blend together at the nearby liquor store’s or fast food stand’s beverage fountain (Coke + Diet Coke + Dr. Pepper + Mountain Dew + Slice + Hi-C = Kamikaze), but as long as “Calvinists” or “Reformed” is in there, it’s cool.

I think part of the reason is that most of the coolest (and I mean THE coolest) theological giants are in the Calvinist/Reformed tradition. John Calvin, John Knox, Francis Turretin, John Owen, William Perkins, Jonathan Edwards, W.G.T. Shedd, Louis Berkhof, Cornelius Van Til, John Gerstner, J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, the guys at the White Horse Inn (I have to mention the WHI because I absolutely love listening to those guys!) just to name a few. Then there are those who are heavily Calvinistic though not affiliated with any particular Reformed denominations, such as John MacArthur (can you think of a better Bible teacher?), John Piper (can you think of a better preacher?), Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, Wayne Grudem, Thomas Schreiner, Mark Driscoll, etc. I’d be lying to you if I said that I have no desire to be affiliated with those guys and to label myself “Reformed,” or at least “Calvinist.” I’d also be lying to you if I said that I don’t first consult and prefer to read those guys over anybody else on any given day. I mean these are the guys that continue to show me the infinite and unfathomable greatness of God; these are the guys that exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and the cross and make me want to love Him even more for who He is and what He’s accomplished on the cross on behalf of the wicked elect.

Now, there are the purists who would never deem an individual like me as “Reformed,” or even a “Calvinist” (Click Here! To read “How Many Points” by Dr. Richard A. Muller), primarily because I differ on some matters (e.g. baptism), regardless of the fact that I agree with the Reformed on most, and I mean most, of their theologies. For crying out loud, it is one of my dreams to study at a Reformed seminary! Yet, I don’t think we can blame them for their puritanical frame of mind. After all, I wouldn’t consider the Local Church “Baptists” just because they baptize adults. Even so, there are many individuals like myself who, and many who are much more advanced than I both in theological prowess and ministerial ripeness, are as close to being Reformed as any sovereignly-and-monergistically regenerated child of God can be (which is really all who are saved).

Anyhow, I can’t believe I said all this just to quote a couple of paragraphs from another Reformed systematic. Well, here it is anyway:

"The Reformed church, however, insists that the salvation of men is always under the direct, sovereign governance of God, that salvation is always directly from the Lord, and therefore, that the Holy Spirit must beat witness, immediately and directly, by and with the Word in men’s hearts if they are to respond in repentance and faith to the Word of God… In short, the Reformed position on the efficacy of the Word as a means of grace is that, even though the Bible is the very Word of God, it is rendered efficacious as a means of special grace, not intrinsically or automatically, but only by the immediate and direct attendant working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of its readers and hearers. The Reformed church emphasizes that the imparting of spiritual life is ever sovereignly with God the Spirit who is the Giver of life. That is to say, where and when the Spirit effectually works in human hearts by and with the Word of God (and only there and then), the Word is irresistibly efficacious as a means of grace in the salvation of lost men and the building up of the saints in faith" (Robert Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, p.916).

She Swam Across the Atlantic Ocean!

Yes, she did! She swam across the Atlantic Ocean! SIMPLY AMAZING! Click Here!

The Preciousness of Time (Part 8)

SECT. V.

Advice respecting the improvement of time.

"I SHALL conclude with advising to three things in particular.

1. Improve the present time without any delay. If you delay and put off its improvement, still more time will be lost; and it will be an evidence that you are not sensible of its preciousness. Talk not more of convenient seasons hereafter, but improve your time while you have it, after the example of the psalmist, Psal. cxix. 60. 'I made haste, and delayed not to keep they commandments.'"

The Preciousness of Time (Part 7)

So far I have posted a portion of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “The Preciousness of Time (and the Importance of Redeeming It).” I have decided that after this particular post, I am going to skip a significant chunk of it and begin posting just the final 5-10% of it. Here it is:

"Every day that you have enjoyed has been precious; yea, your moments have been precious. But have you not wasted your precious moments, your precious days, yea your precious years? If you should reckon up how many days you have lived, what a sum would there be! and how precious hath every one of those days been! Consider, therefore, what have you done with them? What is become of them all? What can you show of any improvement made, or good done, or benefit obtained, answerable to all this time which you have lived? When you look back, and search, do you not find this past time of your lives in a great measure empty, having not been filled up with any good improvement? And if God, that hath given you your time, should now call you to an account, what account could you give to him?

How much may be done in a year! how much good is there opportunity to do in such a sphere of time! How much service may persons do for God, and how much for their own souls, if to their utmost they improve it! How much maybe done in a day! But what have you done in so many days and years that you have lived? What have you done with the whole time of your youth, you that are past your youth? What is become of all that precious season of life? Hath it not all been in vain to you? Would it not have been as well or better for you, if all that time you had been asleep, or in a state of non-existence?

You have had much time of leisure and freedom from worldly business; consider to what purpose you have spent it. You have not only had ordinary time, but you have had a great deal of holy time. What have you done with all the Sabbath-days which you have enjoyed? Consider those things seriously, and let your own conscience make answer."