Holiness

I started reading a book this Lord's Day called Holiness by J.C. Ryle.  I long for holiness, I think we all do as Christians, but I fall well short of the mark especially when I read works like this that were written awhile ago.  It seems these days as if the idea of personal holiness is not something talked about much, but I think when someone is truly born again it's a natural desire to be holy.  

Ryle began his book with a chapter on sin.  I've said in the past that if we had a biblical view of sin, our view of the sovereign grace of God would be much more biblical.  An understanding of the heart of man forces us to acknowledge how amazing God's grace is.  That the God of the universe was willing to send His Son to die in the place of a sinner such as myself is a miracle that I cannot fully grasp.  All I know is that "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me a sinner condemned unclean.  How marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be, how marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me.  

Ryle continued on with a chapter on sanctification, an awesome reality in the life of a Christian. That God is making me like Christ is a marvelous thing.  "It is a subject of the utmost importance to our souls.  If the Bible is true, it is certain that unless we are "sanctified," we shall not be saved.  There are three things which, according to the Bible, are absolutely necessary to the salvation of every man and woman in Christendom.  These three are justification, regeneration and sanctification.  All three meet in every child of God:  he is both born again and justified and sanctified.  He who lacks any one of these things is not a true Christian in the sight of God and, dying in that condition, will not be found in heaven and glorified in the last day."    That's a statement that should send chills up the spine of any pastor. When our churches look the way they do, it should scare us that so many are not being sanctified.  Their souls are in a perilous position, especially considering most of them consider themselves saved.  This is something for us to think about this Lord's Day.

God Bless

By the way

Just one more thing!  Regarding my last post a few minutes ago:  if you were Satan and you wanted to thwart the purposes of God (impossible by the way) wouldn't a good place to start be with Genesis 1:1?  "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."  And furthermore, what if you could cast doubt on Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."  

If you could convince people that the universe came about on it's own and that man evolved from goo, and had the same origin and value as frogs, you could seriously blind people to the reality of God.  One of the things I love about Christianity is that I can ask the tough questions of it, and it just keeps standing up.  I don't want you Christians to ever think that you have to check your brain at the door when you come into church, but recognize that as we go further on in the disintegration of our culture, your beliefs will become more and more marginalized.  

Nobody believes in a young earth, or in God's creating man in His image, it's idiotic.  Or is it?

God Bless

Idiotic

Have you ever noticed that no one thinks the earth is young anymore.  It is assumed by almost everyone that the earth is 4.6 billion years old, and that a view that the earth is younger is idiotic.  I'm not a scientist, but I do know that for evolution to have occurred the earth would have to be very old, and that if the earth is young, evolution would be impossible.  

So anyway, I'm working on my sermon tonight (I know, get back to work!)  I found this website with lots of cool resources.  It's www.allaboutcreation.org.  Check it out, you may find that a young earth isn't so idiotic after all.

God Bless

What a day!

Over the last two weeks we've studied vv. 21-34 in chapter 1 of Mark's gospel.  It's amazing to recognize that the events in those 14 verses all happened in one day!  You can imagine Peter's excitement as he recounts the events of that day to John Mark!  Let's briefly consider the passage.

Jesus comes into the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath day and begins to teach.  The people in attendance are amazed at His teaching because it's authoritative, not like the teaching of the scribes which focuses on man's tradition and quoting other men.  Jesus speaks with authority like He always did declaring the word of God and it's application to all of our lives.  In the middle of His teaching an unclean spirit cries out in fear.  He says "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are- the Holy One of God."  I've always noticed that many of our "Christian leaders" today could take some theology lessons from the demons.  "You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe- and shudder!"  (James 2:19)  

Next Jesus silences the demon and commands it out of he man.  This astonished the people in attendance that day, as  you can imagine.  As they left that day, the fame of Jesus began to spread because of what He'd done.  Jesus goes to Simon and Andrew's house with James and John for some food and fellowship, only to find Simon's mother in law on her death bed with a high fever.  With just a touch and a word, Jesus heals her immediately and completely!  Remember that Simon and Peter are the same person, so Peter is telling us about the day that Jesus healed his mother in law who was dying.  Later, the Bible says "the whole city was gathered together at the door," and Jesus healed all of those who were sick and oppressed with demons!  We're not talking a few people here!  Disease and sickness were rampant in those days, and possession happened quite often as well.  

This was a miraculous day when Jesus demonstrated His authority over disease and demons.  It was a day when we get a glimpse of how things will be when Jesus returns to rule and reign forever, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."  (Revelation 21:4)  

Have you recognized the authority of Jesus Christ?  He was more than just a man.  He was more than just a teacher.  He was God in human flesh.  The world doesn't believe that, do you?  It's what the Bible teaches.  The question you have to answer is, is the Bible true?  If it is, this Jesus of Nazareth has serious authority!  I'd like to suggest to you that the Bible is true, and that He does have authority, and that He did come from His Father to die in the place of sinners, and that you must believe on Him to be saved. 

God Bless