The Resonation with Hymns Today

I was going through some of my old files and ran into this outline. I should mention from the beginning that I am not one of these “only hymns” type of guys but am in love with any “worship” song that helps me focus, lift up, meditate, and think about Christ and when it comes to the local church music should always be a supplement to lyrics when it comes to congregational singing and not the other way around. Generally speaking hymns have played a consistent part in my spiritual growth in the midst of the many new and creative Christian music that has come out.

Kevin Twit of Idelible Grace lectured back in 2006 at Southern Seminary on “Exploring the ‘Why’ behind the Modern Hymn Movement Part 1″. Here is part of the lecture notes:

 

Exploring Some Possible Reasons Why Hymns Are Resonating With Many Today

 

• Post-moderns love mystery. My students are much more comfortable today with my explaining that there is a tension in scripture between divine sovereignty and human responsibility than they were 15 years ago.

 

• The hymns love to sit in mysteries. Hymns are mini-meditations on the “paradoxes” of the gospel that drive us to worship. Spurgeon said “When I cannot understand anything in the Bible, it seems as though God had set a chair there for me, at which to kneel and worship; and that the mysteries are intended to be an altar of devotion.”

 

• Hymns are an opportunity to sit in a mystery like “And can it be that Thou my God shouldst die for me?!” until it begins to enter into our heart! Another great example is Augustus Toplady’s “O Love incomprehensible, that made Thee bleed for me. The Judge of all hath suffered death, to set His prisoner free!” The greatest mystery is not why is there evil, but why God would suffer for His enemies?! If we ever lose our amazement at that, then we are in deep weeds!

 

• Hymns engage the whole person by offering a more full emotional range of expression than most modern choruses. Dan Allendar (author and Christian counselor) has said that if we sang more Psalms we would have a lot less need for Christian counselors. Calvin (in his intro to his commentary on the Psalms) says “I have been accustomed to call this book… “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul,” for there is not an emotion of which one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror… …[and] they call, or rather draw, each of us to the examination of ourselves in particular so that none of the many infirmities to which we are subject, and the vices with which we abound, may remain concealed. I think a similar thing could be said for hymns because they help us work through emotions and they cover a wider range of emotions than modern choruses. This is often a surprising point because we associate hymns with a lack of emotion and modern choruses with emotional excess at times. But a careful study will reveal that the emotional range touched on by modern choruses is really rather narrow.

 

• Hymns tend to engage our imagination, intellect, and will together! Many praise choruses go directly for the emotions, but good hymns (unlike many of the melodramatic gospel songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries), give us rich language and images that require us to think and imagine as the way to stir the passions. While praise choruses do use imagery, many times they are stuck in the same limited number of clichés that no longer engage our imaginations. The scriptures are full of diverse images and our songs should reflect this creativity too! For example, “I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain” (from “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” by Matheson) recalls the covenant with Noah and applies it to our current situation in a rich way.

 

• Hymns broaden our range of metaphors. Modern choruses tend to be pretty limited in the metaphors used, in contrast to the rich range of metaphors we find in scripture and in the classic hymn tradition. The reason this matters is that as Peter Matheson argues in “The Imaginative World Of The Reformation”, “When your metaphors change, your world changes with them.” Postmodern people think more in terms of metaphor and image than linearly, and in the hymn tradition we have a great resource to engage this generation! People are getting tired of same old clichés! (See Brian McLaren’s “Open Letter To Songwriters’ in Worship Leader)

 

• Hymns are great art! The arts, stories, poetry, music all combine to sneak into the heart by the backdoor – something increasingly important for our ministry to the coming generations. “How will you reach this post-modern generation – a generation that cannot conceive of objective truth, cannot follow your linear arguments, cannot tolerate anything (including evangelism) that smacks of religious intolerance?” (Kevin Ford)

 

• Hymns remind us that the church is bigger than the people we know, or even who are alive today! Through hymns we can connect with believers who lived centuries before us! We can have “mystic sweet communion, with those whose rest is won.” (from “The Church’s One Foundation” by Stone) When I introduce people to Anne Steele’s hymns (like “Dear Refuge Of My Weary Soul”) they are struck by the powerful way she dealt with her immense suffering and find that her cries can become their cries, and her tears can join with their tears, and that her faith can encourage their faith. To see that we can connect with an English lady who lived in a small village 300 years ago and feel what she felt is powerful. All of the sudden the kingdom of God grows much bigger! Thus it really helps to study the stories behind the hymns!

 

• Hymns focus us on God’s promises more than upon ours! We grow by feeding on God’s character revealed and by feasting on His promises. Many modern choruses, with their almost constant emphasis on what we want to do, (“Lord I just want to …”) fail to teach us to rely on God’s love for us as 1John 4:16 says (“We know and rely on God’s love for us”). We need to recall Augustus Toplady’s hymn “Rock of Ages” 9originally titled “A living and dying prayer for the holiest believer on earth”): “Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone, thou must save and thou alone!” -many of my students have grown weary of a Christianity that is all about what I just wanna do.

More Interviews

Reformation 21:

• Al Mohler interviews Eric Redmond about Jeremiah Wright and Black Liberation Theology.See also the partial transcript and Rev. Redmond’s pre-primer on the issue.

• Monergism interviews Tim Keller about apologetics and his new book.

• Adam Cheung interviews Tom Schreiner about his forthcoming book, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ.

• I interview Craig Blomberg about The Historical Reliability of the Gospels.

• Westminster Bookstore interviews John Muether about his new biography of Cornelius Van Til.

New 9Marks Interview: Kent Hughes

9Marks:

“Proud to be a Protestant? R. Kent Hughes, pastor emeritus at College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, discusses with Mark Dever his 40 years of pastoral ministry.”

Click here to download and listen.

(HT: JT)

The Leniency of Excommunication

Okay since we’ve been on the topic of church membership I have decided to link and copy a post to Piper’s The Leniency of Excommunication. Hopefully this won’t scare you off of becoming a member of your local church. It should caution you nonetheless.

John Piper:

The worst discipline that the church is authorized to render toward its worst offender is excommunication.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:17)

This means he is not welcome to be a member of the church, nor to partake of the Lord’s supper. It means that Christians love him, not as a brother, but the way Jesus loved sinners. He lay down his life for them, but welcomed them into his band of disciples only if they took up their cross and followed him (Luke (9:23).

Whether this seems harsh depends on what you compare it with. In the Old Testament (God’s law for the earthly government he prescribed for Israel) the penalty was not excommunication but death.

If your brother . . . entices you secretly, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” . . . you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. (Deuteronomy 13:6-9)

So it is helpful to think of church discipline as a gigantic step of leniency. We don’t kill anyone for “serving other gods.” We simply say: “If you do that, you are not part of us. But we will still lay down our lives for you.”

In fact, it may be helpful to remember that in the beginning all sin was a capital crime.

In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:17)

From that time to this, God has been lenient. It would be good to ask ourselves, “Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4)?

Ryken on The Importance of Church Membership

Philip Ryken’s The Communion of Saints (Page 55):

“The same might be said of regular attenders who never join the church. They lack an unbreakable commitment to the church and its ministry. Nonmembers, however active they may be in the life of the church, are outside the covenant relationship with the body of Christ that God requires. They reserve the right to pick and choose their doctrine, lifestyle, and ministry. In effect they become their own elders denying the authority of the church to carry out its mandate of gathering and perfecting the saints. To put this in theological terms, they separate union with Christ, the head of the church, from union with his body. As a result, they confuse themselves and others – outside as well as inside the church – about what it means to be a Christian. This is a costly mistake to make because membership has its privileges. Martyn Lloyd-Jones went so far as to describe church membership as ‘the biggest honour which can come a man’s way in this world.’ There is no union with Christ apart from the communion of the saints. Nor can the saints have true communion without belonging to one another by belonging to Christ in his church. The communion of the saints is for members only.”

(HT: Oversight of Souls)

Dever on the Importance of Church Membership

I left my book at home but had to find a quote by Dever on this.

Mark Dever’s The Deliberate Church (Pages 47-48):

“Most local Rotary clubs will take a persons’s name off the membership roll if he fails to attend the meetings for an extended period of time. Yet many churches will allow a person to say on the membership roll for years after he or she has stopped attending! Membership should mean more in the church than it does in a Rotary club. One of the best ways to reinforce this is to teach n why membership in the local church matters. No one is saved by either church membership or attendance. But membership in the local church is a church’s external, public affirmation that the member is continuing to give evidence of genuine Christian conversion.

Biblically if a member shows prolonged negligence in gathering with God’s people, how can he say he loves them? And if he doesn’t love them, how can he say he loves God (cf. 1 John 4:20-21)? Pastorally, if a member who could attend continually neglects to meet with the people of God, church leaders simply are no longer in a position to externally witness the fruit of his life, and for that reason can no longer externally afffirm his conversion by uninterrupted membership. Evangelistically, meaningless membership damages the corporate evangelistic witness of the church in the surrounding community. Members usually go AWOL to cover up more serious sin; but they are committing that sin as people who are still likely to be known by others in your community as members of your church! In other words, they are sinning in ways that make your church look hypocritical o the unbelievers in your community.

Most seriously of all, when we allow prolonged nonattenders to keep their names on the membership rolls, we actually help deceive them into thinking they are saved when their behavior is in fact calling their salvation into question. If membership is the church’s public affirmation of a person’s conversion, then to leave a nonattender on the rolls could very well be damningly deceptive. What’s more, if you are the pastor of your local church, then God will hold you in some sense accountable for the spiritual well-being of every member of your church (Heb. 13:17). Do you really want to be held accountable for the spiritual well-being of a member whom you have not seen at church in four years–or worse, a member you’ve never even met? Everyone loses when we allow nonattendance to go unchecked. It doesn’t serve you well, it doesn’t serve the nonattender well, it doesn’t serve the church’s reputation well, and it doesn’t serve God’s reputation well. For all these reasons, it is wise to remove from the rolls tose members who have shown prolonged negligence in meeting with God’s people.”

(HT: The World From Our Window)

Josh Harris: Are you Dating the Church?

It wasn’t till seminary when I was exposed to the importance of church membership in the local church. Although thankful that my college years were spent at a Christian institution the local church unfortunately was almost if not elevated to the level of campus church and the parachurch. My eyes have since been open and now I see more than ever that the local church is if not brightest and fullest display of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on earth.

Last Sunday we had our membership interviews with a couple of the elders and one of the elders asked us during the interview why we were joining knowing that Jess and I would be moving in about four months. My answer was basically summed up in the default of accountability within a common community, discipline (formative) under the elders, we have the privilege and I might say duty of a relationship with the church we give our tithes to. Of course there are more reasons to become a member of a church and just as many benefits. This has been the second church we’ve been a member at since I moved here. Unfortunately I wished we would have switched memberships sooner.

Joshua Harris of Covenant Life Church gives a hilarious but truthful illustration of some Christians and their view of the local church. Click here to listen. (HT: Blazing Center)

Dr. Russell Moore gives his thoughts on Liberation Theology and Jeremiah Wright

Dr. Russell Moore, executive director of The Henry Institue has given his thoughts on Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his Liberation Theology in an article entitled: Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Jeremiah Wright, and Why You Should. If you haven’t heard Wright’s sermon you can click here. Dr. Moore reminds us that what is most tragic is not what he said but where he said it. Read the whole article here.

Excerpt:

How many times have we all heard from pulpits the Bible used in exactly the way that Jeremiah Wright uses it, except perhaps in reverse? Jeremiah Wright uses the Scripture as a background to get to what he thinks is the real issue, psychological or economic or political liberation from American oppression. Others use the Scripture as a background to get to what they think is the real issue, psychological or economic or political liberation through the American Dream. Either way, Jesus is a footnote to get to what the preacher deems really important, be it national health care or support for Israel. Either way, apart from the Gospel, the end result is hell for the hearer, regardless of whether God damns or blesses America.

This past Sunday, Easter Sunday, the new pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ preached from the biblical account of the crucifixion of Jesus, but did so as illustrative of the controversy over Wright. In some other churches all over the country this past Sunday, the account of the crucifixion and resurrection was utilized as illustrative of finding hope when you’re hopeless, of finding a light at the end of your tunnel. In both cases, the preacher is fitting Jesus into a preexisting storyline. He is not calling his hearers to find themselves in the storyline of a crucified, buried, resurrected Jesus. Jesus is a mascot, just for different agendas, none of which will last a minute past the Judgment Seat.

There is a liberation theology of the Left, of the kind of politicized movement we see right now in the newspapers and on our television screens. There is also a liberation theology of the Right, one represented by prosperity gospels and grinning consumer Christianity. Both are at heart Mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barrabas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Weird Church Signs

I’ve seen some weird church signs in my day but these are ridiculous. This is what happens when the gift of creativity fails.

(HT: CCM)

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

New SBTS Lectures

I just finished my application for readmission a few minutes ago. Thinking back one of the benefits I had being at Southern Seminary were the guest scholars and lecturers.

If you haven’t read any of Graeme Goldsworthy’s work I would recommend According to Plan which is probably one of the most assigned books in seminary. In this book he unfolds redemptive history in a straightfoward and understandable way with a kingdom focus. He initially put together According to Plan as a Sunday School study. If you have just been introduced to the study of biblical theology Goldsworthy’s work will be a good resource for you to check out. Below are some lectures by Graeme Goldsworthy:

Mar. 20, 2008
“Biblical Theology and Its Pastoral Application” (MP3) (PDF)

Mar. 19, 2008
“Biblical Theology in the Seminary and Bible College” (MP3) (PDF)

Mar. 18, 2008
“The Necessity and Viability of Biblical Theology” (MP3) (PDF)


Dr. Jim Hamilton

Mar. 13, 2008
“The Typology of David’s Rise to Power: Messianic Patterns in the Book of Samuel” (MP3) (PDF)


Millard Erickson

Mar. 04, 2008
“Can Theology Learn from History?”

Mar. 05, 2008
“Can Theology Learn From Physics?”

Mar. 06, 2008
“Can Theology Learn From Economics?”

Just the Lord’s Prayer

(HT: Purgatorio)

Expelled

I first found out about Ben Stein from his hit TV show “Win Ben Stein’s Money” back when I was in highschool. The basic premise of the show was to outsmart Ben Stein. He is in a sense an icon from the late 80’s to early 90’s. If you haven’t found out yet he was involved with a project entitled “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed“. The film is centered around the controversy between Evolution and Intelligent design in public arenas. It is due out April 18. Below is a trailer and an interview with R.C. Sproul and Ben Stein. This will be worth checking out!Some stats:

“Ben Stein (Benjamin J. Stein) was born November 25, 1944 in Washington, D.C., (He is the son of the economist and writer Herbert Stein) grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended Montgomery Blair High School. He graduated from Columbia University in 1966 with honors in economics. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1970 as valedictorian of his class by election of his classmates. He also studied in the graduate school of economics at Yale. He has worked as an economist at The Department of Commerce, a poverty lawyer in New Haven and Washington, D.C., a trial lawyer in the field of trade regulation at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., a university adjunct at American University in Washington, D.C., at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. At American U. He taught about the political and social content of mass culture. He taught the same subject at UCSC, as well as about political and civil rights under the Constitution. At Pepperdine, he has taught about libel law and about securities law and ethical issues since 1986.”

See the rest of his Biography here.

 

Divorce Recovery 101

As a soon to be husband it is hard to imagine anyone in this position. Jess and I have come to a “divorce is not an option” agreement as laid out in scripture. The boundaries of a covenant leave no room for the possibility of divorce. However, we understand from close friends and loved ones and as agents of grace and mercy that we ought to be sympathetic and in prayer for those suffering with the issue of divorce or a potential divorce. Winston Smith of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation has written a hopeful and insightful article on recovering from divorce. Click here for the whole thing.

Excerpt:

God Will Restore You

God recognizes how damaging and painful a divorce is. When God created the one-flesh relationship of marriage, it was intended to last a lifetime. That’s why he said, “I hate divorce” (Malachi 2:16 NIV). But God also recognizes that, in a fallen world, sin sometimes destroys a marriage. When Israel left her marriage-like devotion to God, broke her promise of faithfulness, and pursued relationships with other gods, God described himself as issuing a certificate of divorce to his people (Jeremiah 3:8). Though it grieved him, after years and years of warnings, God could not let their unfaithfulness to him continue, so he sent Israel away, divorcing her.

It may seem odd that God’s marriage with his people was broken. But God didn’t break the marriage; sin did. Yet sin didn’t have the final word. God chose to repair the marriage rather than walk away from it. That tells us something important about God: he delights in restoring what’s broken. To God, the repaired is more beautiful than the new. That doesn’t mean God will restore your previous marriage, but it does mean God will restore and improve you through the wounds of divorce

Another excerpt:

God Understands Your Grief

No matter how badly you were wounded by your spouse, you will grieve the end of your marriage. You are facing two painful things: the loss of your spouse and the end of the hopes and dreams you had for your life together. If your marriage was long and difficult, especially if your spouse was abusive, others might not understand your grief. But God does understand, and he is not surprised or offended. Like you, Jesus grieved when he saw the effects of sin on this world. When his friend Lazarus died, Jesus stood outside of the tomb and wept, even though he knew that in a few moments he would raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:28-37).

Why did he weep? Because sin and death are ugly and painful. Yes, it is profoundly comforting to know that God is bigger than our problems and that he will be with us and even make us better because of them. But knowing God’s comfort doesn’t mean pretending to be untouched by sorrow. Let God’s love comfort you and be the container that holds your grief. Your grief will not destroy you because it is contained within God’s love and promises to you (Romans 8:18-39).

Part of the grieving process is putting your loss into words. Talk to a friend or family member about your grief. If you’re not ready to talk to someone, make a list of all the different ways you are grieving. Go ahead and remember the good times. Remember the hopes you had for your marriage. Grieve for the dreams that never came true – the trips, the projects, maybe even the children and grandchildren. Allow yourself to feel the emotions and sadness and put it into words. As you do this, remember that God is listening to you. Don’t forget that he, too, understands the pain of broken relationships.

P.S. If your divorce is not yet final and you have a church that is willing to get involved, your pastor might find some helpful encouragement and guidance in this article on How Churches and Preserve and Heal Marriages. (HT: Peacemaker)

Exposed By the Cross

“The deeper I go into the gospel, the more I comprehend and confess aloud the depth of my sinfulness. A gruesome death like the one that Christ endured for me would only be required for one who is exceedingly sinful and unable to appease a holy God. Consequently, whenever I consider the necessity and manner of His death, along with the love and selflessness behind it, I am laid bare and utterly exposed for the sinner I am.

Such an awareness of my sinfulness does not drag me down, but actually serves to lift me up by magnifying my appreciation of God’s forgiving grace in my life. And the more I appreciate the magnitude of God’s forgiveness of my sins, the more I love Him and delight to show Him love through heart-felt expressions of worship.”

- Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer (Focus Publishing, 2008), 33.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Easter and Commercialism

Sorry I couldn’t resist putting up this creepy picture! On another note Slate magazine has posted an interesting article on the Easter holiday and commercialism titled: Happy Crossmas!: Why Easter stubbornly resists the commercialism that swallowed Christmas. Click here for the whole article.

Slate Magazine:

“Unlike Christmas, whose deeper spiritual meaning has been all but buried under an annual avalanche of commercialism, Easter has retained a stubborn hold on its identity as a religious holiday. This is all the more surprising when you consider what an opportune time it would be for marketers to convince us to buy more stuff. Typically arriving around the beginning of spring, Easter would be the perfect time for department stores to euchre customers into buying carloads of kids’ outdoor toys, warm-weather clothes, and summertime sporting equipment. And while Christmas is forced to contend with Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, there is little holiday competition around Easter time. (Passover and Easter, despite their proximity in the calendar, don’t seem to interfere with each other much.) All in all, the church’s most important feast day comes at a terrific time of year for Madison Avenue.”

(HT: The Shepherd’s Scrapbook)

Carson on 2 Thessalonians

Andy Naselli:

D. A. Carson preached a short series on 2 Thessalonians at College Church in Wheaton for the last three Sundays:

1. The Supremacy of Christ (2 Thess 1) [March 2, 2008]
2. Waiting for the Last Time (2 Thess 2) [March 9, 2008]
3. Waiting in the Mean Time (2 Thess 3) [March 16, 2008]

Lifeway Research: Young Adult Dropouts

I believe this was published early last year.

Ed Stetzer:

“LifeWay research recently undertook a groundbreaking study of when, why, and how many teenagers, active in church during the High School years, drop out in the years after.”

Click here for the whole thing.

Spurgeon on the Cross

The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is builded with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly cordials is founded upon the riven rock, riven by the spear which pierced its side. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like the scene on Calvary. Nowhere does the soul ever find such consolation as on that very spot where misery reigned, where woe triumphed, where agony reached its climax. 126.153

The cross is the focus of all human history—I was almost going to say it is the centre of the life of God, if such a thing can be. All the ages meet in Calvary. Jesus is the central Sun of all events. 786.700

The heart of Christ became like a reservoir in the midst of mountains. All the tributary streams of iniquity, and every drop of the sins of his people, ran down and gathered into one vast lake, deep as hell, and shoreless as eternity. 258.271

Praise Report: Mohler recovering from surgery

BP reports:

“R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has undergone successful surgery for the removal of a pre-cancerous tumor from his colon.

The surgery was performed in Louisville, Ky., on March 20. Results of pathological testing on the tumor are not yet available, but doctors expect Mohler, 48, to have a full recovery.

The tumor was discovered during a routine colonoscopy in February.The Mohler family has expressed appreciation for all concern, prayer and encouragement.”

Sovereign Grace: Come Weary Saints Due out in April

As you probably already know I have been playing nothing but Sovereign Grace Music lately in my CD player. I’m looking forward to this release.

Bob Kauflin:

“Next month we’ll be releasing our next CD, Come Weary Saints. The project is an invitation to each of us, whatever season we find ourselves in, to redirect our focus to the God whose love has been forever demonstrated at the cross of Calvary. Whether you’re going through trials or know someone who is, these songs are a reminder of the Father’s sovereign, loving care.

Contributing song writers include myself along with Mark Altrogge, Steve and Vikki Cook, Pete Gagnon, Todd Twining, Joel Sczebel, and Stephen Altrogge. Ryan Baird, from Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena, CA sang half the tracks. He was joined by Kyle Davis, who has sung on other Sovereign Grace projects. We also welcome two new singers: Melissa Farmer from the Covenant Fellowship Church near Philadelphia, PA, and Tamara Baker from Sovereign Grace Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Both were a joy to work with.”

Food Court Musical

This is great stuff! My fiance loves musicals so I thought I would post this in honor of her. Love you babe! I about died at 2:26.

(HT: Z)

The Physical Pain and Death of Jesus

Justin Taylor:

“Written over 20 years ago and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this article goes into graphic detail about the physical pain that Jesus would have endured in his beatings and crucifixion–which pales, of course, to the spiritual and emotional pain of bearing the wrath of his Father on behalf of God’s children.”

An Intimate Gospel: A dying man’s hopelessness

39One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” – Luke 23:39-43

I am reminded and have always been struck by how personal and intimate the gospel is in this passage. There is sometimes the tendency to lay the gospel out only in general terms leaving out the beauty of its focus on the individual. Imagine your last moments on earth in total acknowledgement of your sin and in agreement with the punishment that has been sentenced to you and you hear an unexpectedly and agonizingly sweet answer, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Criminal #1:
· Selfish (v.39)
· May have recognized his sin but did not want to pay his penalty.
· Prideful – Did not fear God and may not have realized he was under the same condemnation.
· May have been mocking Jesus. – “Are you not the Christ?” (v.39)

Criminal #2:
· Acknowledged sin – “…under the same sentence of condemnation” (v.40b)
· Recognized Jesus as he really was, namely innocent and God. – “..this man has done nothing wrong.”
· Willing to face eternal judgment – “Jesus, remember me…” may have been implying that he was not going to be going where Jesus was going therefore may have expected something that was not of joy.
· Hopeless – He only asked that Jesus remember him and not rescue him.
· Feared God (v.40a)
· Humble – “…we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (v. 41)
· He knew that there was more than an earthly life – “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus Christ:
· Bore the wrath of God – He suffered the “same sentence of condemnation” (v.40b)
· Willingly took the place of sinners – (v.40b)
· Suffered and died as a sinner
· Showed compassion, grace, and mercy to undeserved men — “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (v.43)
· Gave hope to man
· Displayed the grace of God by showing that there is nothing that man can do to merit his way into the kingdom. We don’t know whether criminal #2 was in outright defiance towards God until now or whether he struggled to believe. Regardless we can say that he was deserving of his punishment based on his statement in verses 40 and 41 yet in his last moments Jesus showed him grace.
· Gives grace just at the right time.
· Grants hope filled unexpected answers. – (vv.42-43)

What you have in this passage is the process of the imputation of Christ, justification, propitiation, and expiation flowed through forgiveness, mercy, compassion, hope, grace, relief, joy, love, identity, peace, and salvation all while criminal #2 and Jesus were hanging on the cross. It is the “great exchange” during this moment of history. As believers we are not far off from criminal #2.

6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10or if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, Much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. –Romans 5:6-10

Ann Coulter a Fan of Keller?

If you look on the bottom left of the print screen she has links to Steve McCoy’s blog for resources on Keller.

(HT: Reformissionary)

Piper on The Intensity and Intentionality of Christ (A prep for Easter)

John Piper:

“The love of Christ for us in his dying was as conscious as his suffering was intentional. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). If he was intentional in laying down his life, it was for us. It was love. “When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Every step on the Calvary road meant, “I love you.”

Therefore, to feel the love of Christ in the laying down of his life, it helps to see how utterly intentional it was. Consider these five ways of seeing Christ’s intentionality in dying for us.”

Read the rest of it here.

A Quest For More

After reading Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands I have recently become a huge admirer of Paul Tripp and his ability to grasp the manners of the human heart through biblical lenses. I recently just ordered his latest book titled: A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger Than You.

Watch a short vid on Paul Tripp and A Quest for More

Update and Prayer Requests

Jessica and I have been doing undeservingly great as we get closer to the big day. Wedding plans have been coming together but we are starting to feel the pressure as we will be making some huge moves within the next 4 months. It’s crunch time folks! Here’s the game plan: July (Wedding day); July 6-18 (Honeymoon); July 19-30 (Goodbyes in Lynchburg); July 31 (Moving to Louisville). Here are some ways to pray for us:

· Jessica is graduating in May with a nursing degree and will be preparing to take her boards in transition to Kentucky. On top of planning a wedding you can imagine how overwhelmed one might feel. I have been trying and will continue to try and relieve her of any duties that I can take care of.

· Also she will be looking for a job as well as myself in Louisville. Baptist East? UPS?

· We will be looking for a place to live. We are hoping to live on campus for the first semester for convenience sake. (Until I buy my scooter!?)

· I will be starting school again and have about a 1 ½ to 2 years to finish up. We have a lot to think about concerning our future in ministry. Jessica and I are considering whether to go straight overseas to do mission work or to move to the Northwest to work in the local church.

· Jessica is also considering to pursue a MA in Biblical Counseling or possibly being a part of the Seminary Wives Institute.

· A quick and comfortable transition and adjustment for Jessica as she will be leaving her family. So you can expect that we’ll be having a lot of get-togethers at the Ignacio home for some good home-cooking and fellowship. Her brother David is currently at Boyce, which will be a blessing.

· Getting plugged in a local church once we move there.

· Please continue to pray that God would prepare our hearts and continue to be the motivation and center of this covenant that we are going to seal this summer. We have been blessed by our pastor and other loved ones who have guided us in preparation for this day through marriage counseling, small groups, etc. We acknowledge that marriage is to be one if not the brightest displays of the Gospel of our lord Jesus Christ to the world. Something we do not wish to take lightly.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day…

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Gospel in a Nutshell?

Here is the description from the sellers site:

Description: Commonly referred to as the “Gospel in a nutshell,” the words of John 3:16 are nestled inside this handy acorn ornament. Use in classroom settings Great giveaway for church members Reveal God’s simple yet life-saving message… — Resin with paper insert — 2″ H, w/30″ cord – $3.95 each, bulk purchase in 12 pks.

(HT: A Little Leaven)