"Evangelicals, for God's Sake, Please Wake Up"

There is therefore now no condemnation

"...He who believes is not condemned and cannot be punished. And more, all of those privileges that you might have enjoyed, if you had never sinned, are now yours, because you are justified. All the blessings which you would have had if you had kept the law are yours, because Christ has kept it for you. All the love and acceptance that perfect obedience could have obtained from God belong to you, because Christ was perfectly obedient in your behalf has imputed all His merits to your account, that you might be exceedingly rich through him who for your sake became exceedingly poor."

From the new ESV version of Spurgeon's Evening by Evening

"I have my own private opinion, that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism. Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith without works; not unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor, I think, can we preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation, after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel as that. We preach Christ and him crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply, "We have not so learned Christ."
-Charles Spurgeon

HT: Church Matters

Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 3

Click here for the introductory post to this series.

Q. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God,^e and what duty God requires of man.^f

Things to consider:

Since the Bible principally teaches us what to believe about God and what we are to do in light of this information, it is appropriate when we are reading a passage of Scripture to modify the answer and turn it into a question: What does this passage teach me about God, and What does God require of me?

This is an extremely valuable thing to do because it gets us our creed; what we believe God is like and our conduct; how we should live. Oftentimes we emphasize one aspect over the other, keeping these questions in mind will help us avoid that.

 

p.s. foot update:

Well, it's been a week and I am still on crutches and unable to keep my foot down in a normal position for very long. I'm starting to think it may be a while before I recover! On the bright side, Erika will be back from visiting her parents soon, so I will be able to spend some of my recovery time with her!

Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 2

Click here for the introductory post to this series.

Q. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

A. The Word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,^c is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.^d

Things to consider:

The question is what rule has God given us to direct our worship. The word rule means regulation or procedure, it implies that God has something to say in the matter and that he is not vague!

And as the answer, what could be better a better rule than the very Word of God? His direct revelation to us in a medium we can comprehend. God condescended to reveal Himself to His creatures in such a simple way, what a God! Furthermore the catechism points out that this is the only rule. The postmodern relativist that lurks just below the surface in me recoils at such a thought. What about my feeling? What about my ideas? They must be subjugated to the Word.   

 

p.s. I would appreciate prayer for a quick recovery, I tore some ligaments in my ankle playing basketball. It's swelled up like a grapefruit right now, and I'm stuck in Mississauga at my parents house - which is a great place to be in this state actually.

Westminster Shorter Catechism - Question 1

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man's chief end is to glorify God,^a and to enjoy him forever.^b

Things to consider:

Inherent in the question, What is the chief end of man? Is that man has a chief end. We have a purpose, we have a charge, we have a reason to live. And furthermore, our purpose for living is not self-determined. The chief end of all mankind is the same, my chief end is not to love my wife most fully and yours is not to try your hardest at school or at work. Our chief end, our main goal toward which we must strive is the same; To glorify God and enjoy him forever.

The instruction to glorify God is fascinating; God is infinitely glorious regardless of what we do! Yet time after time in Scripture we are commanded to glorify God, to glorify his name. I can think of no better reason why we would do so than He deserves it, it is right to make a big deal of God, the biggest “deal” in the whole universe. Secondly, glorifying God is good for us. John Piper points out in his essay on Christian Hedonism that we should pursue joy wholeheartedly, for it is only in the worship and exultation of Christ that we will find it.

Tune in tomorrow (or perhaps the next day) for question 2!

The Westminster Shorter Catechism

Greetings to my loyal readers, I hope that there are still some of you out there! As you may have noticed, I have not blogged in quite a while. So, what would be the best way to get back on the horse? Perhaps some light fare, a personal update or some links maybe. Hogwash! Instead, I've decided to start a series of posts on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Today, by way of introduction I will provide some background information.

What is a catechism? 

Simply put, a catechism is a series of questions and answers designed to be memorized in order to internalize particular truths.

What is the Westminster Catechism?

The WC was written by the assembly of divines (men schooled in Divinity) at Westminster, UK which met regularly between 1643 and 1649. There was a Larger and a Shorter catechism written, the Shorter seems to be the one which is read and memorized most widely today. Each answer is accompanied by proofs from Scripture, which I will include in my posts.

Why is the WSC important?

Erika and I have decided to try memorize the 107 questions and answers for our own edification and also to be able to catechize (yes, it can be used as a verb!) our children (should the Lord bless us in that way). Quite simply, the WSC is an unsurpassed collection of Biblical doctrine that has been taught, memorized and loved by Christians for more than three centuries.

My plan is to blog one Catechism question every day (or every other day maybe) and attempt to add some thoughts as well. Tune in tomorrow for question one!

The Westminster Standards... are the richest and most precise and best guarded statement ever penned of all that enters into evangelical religion, and of all that must be safeguarded if evangelical religion is to persist in the world.

B B Warfield