06.27.07
A Sinner’s Prayer
Hopeful’s account of his conversion from the Pilgrim’s Progress
“Hope. He bid me go to him and see. Then I said it was presumption; but he said, No, for I was invited to come. Then he gave me a book of Jesus, his inditing, to encourage me the more freely to come; and he said, concerning that book, that every jot and tittle thereof stood firmer than heaven and earth. Then I asked him, What I must do when I came; and he told me, I must entreat upon my knees, with all my heart and soul, the Father to reveal him to me. Then I asked him further, how I must make my supplication to him? And he said, Go, and thou shalt find him upon a mercy-seat, where he sits all the year long, to give pardon and forgiveness to them that come. I told him that I knew not what to say when I came.And he bid me say to this effect: God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see, that if his righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that thou art a merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus Christ should be the Saviour of the world; and moreover, that thou art willing to bestow him upon such a poor sinner as I am, (and I am a sinner indeed;) Lord, take therefore this opportunity and magnify thy grace in the salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Chr. And did you do as you were bidden?
Hope. Yes; over, and over, and over.
Chr. And did the Father reveal his Son to you?
Hope. Not at the first, nor second, nor third, nor fourth, nor fifth; no, nor at the sixth time neither.
Chr. What did you do then?
Hope: What! why, I could not tell what to do.
Chr. Had you not thoughts of leaving off praying?
Hope. Yes; an hundred times twice told.
Chr. And what was the reason you did not?
Hope. I believed that that was true which had been told me, to wit, that without the righteousness of this Christ, all the world could not save me; and therefore, thought I with myself, if I leave off I die, and I can but die at the throne of grace. And withal, this came into my mind, Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. So I continued praying until the Father shewed me his Son.
Chr. And how was he revealed unto you?
Hope. I did not see him with my bodily eyes, but with the eyes of my understanding; and thus it was: One day I was very sad, I think sadder than at any one time in my life, and this sadness was through a fresh sight of the greatness and vileness of my sins. And as I was then looking for nothing but hell, and the everlasting damnation of my soul, suddenly, as I thought, I saw the Lord Jesus Christ look down from heaven upon me, and saying, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
But I replied, Lord, I am a great, a very great sinner. And he answered, My grace is sufficient for thee. Then I said, But, Lord, what is believing? And then I saw from that saying, He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst, that believing and coming was all one; and that he that came, that is, ran out in his heart and affections after salvation by Christ, he indeed believed in Christ. Then the water stood in mine eyes, and I asked further. But, Lord, may such a great sinner as I am be indeed accepted of thee, and be saved by thee? And I heard him say, And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Then I said, But how, Lord, must I consider of thee in my coming to thee, that my faith may be placed aright upon thee? Then he said, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. He loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He is mediator betwixt God and us. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. From all which I gathered, that I must look for righteousness in his person, and for satisfaction for my sins by his blood; that what he did in obedience to his Father’s law, and in submitting to the penalty thereof, was not for himself, but for him that will accept it for his salvation, and be thankful. And now was my heart full of joy, mine eyes full of tears, and mine affections running over with love to the name, people, and ways of Jesus Christ.
Chr. This was a revelation of Christ to your soul indeed; but tell me particularly what effect this had upon your spirit.
Hope. It made me see that all the world, notwithstanding all the righteousness thereof, is in a state of condemnation. It made me see that God the Father, though he be just, can justly justify the coming sinner. It made me greatly ashamed of the vileness of my former life, and confounded me with the sense of mine own ignorance; for there never came thought into my heart before now that shewed me so the beauty of Jesus Christ. It made me love a holy life, and long to do something for the honour and glory of the name of the Lord Jesus; yea, I thought that had I now a thousand gallons of blood in my body, I could spill it all for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”
G.B.
06.15.07
Christ Wholly to be Loved – A letter from Samuel Rutherford
Reproduced below is a letter of Samuel Rutherford to Elizabeth Kennedy
“Mistress,—
Grace, mercy, and peace he to you.—I have meant to write to you for a long time, but I have been hindered. I heartily desire that you would think about your country, and consider to what quarter your soul sets its face; for not all come home at night who suppose that they have set their face heavenward. It is a woeful thing to die and miss heaven, and to give up lodging with Christ at night: it is an miserable journey where travellers are forced to sleep in the fields. I persuade myself that thousands will be deceived and ashamed of their hope. Because they cast their anchor in sinking sands, they must lose it. Till now I knew not the pain, labour, nor difficulty that there is to win at home: nor did I understand so well, before this, what this means, “The righteous shall scarcely be saved.” Oh, how many a poor professor’s candle is blown out, and never lighted again! I see that a mere profession, and to be ranked amongst the children of God, and to have a name among men, is now thought good enough to carry professors to heaven. But certainly a name is nothing but a name, and will never last through a blast of God’s storm. I counsel you not to give your soul or Christ rest, nor your eyes sleep, till you have gotten something that will endure the fire, and stand the storm. I am sure, that if I had one foot were in heaven, and then He should say, “Take care of yourself, I will keep my grip on you no longer,” I would go no farther, but presently fall down in broken pieces of dead nature.
They are happy forevermore who are over head and ears in the love of Christ, and know no sickness but love-sickness for Christ, and feel no pain but the pain of an absent and hidden Well-beloved. We run our souls out of breath and tire them, in chasing and galloping after our night-dreams (such are the rovings of our miscarrying hearts), to get some created good thing in this life, and on this side of death. We would rather stay and spin out a heaven to ourselves, on this side of the water; but sorrow, poverty, changes, crosses, and sin, are both woof and warp in that ill-spun web. Oh, how sweet and dear are those thoughts that are still upon the things which are above! And how happy are they who are longing to have little sand in their hour-glass, and to have time’s thread cut, and can cry to Christ, “Lord Jesus, have over; come and fetch the sorrowful passenger!” I wish that our thoughts were more frequently than they are upon our country. Oh, but heaven gives a sweet smell afar off to those who have spiritual smelling! God has made many fair flowers; but the fairest of them all is heaven, and the Flower of all flowers is Christ. Oh! why do we not fly up to that lovely One? Alas that there is such a scarcity of love, and of lovers, to Christ amongst us all! Fie, fie, upon us, who love fair things, as fair gold, fair houses, fair lands, fair pleasures, fair honours, and fair persons, and do not pine and melt away with love to Christ! Oh! would to God I had more love for His sake! O for as much as would lie betwixt me and heaven, for His sake! O for as much as would go round about the earth, and over the heaven, yea, the heaven of heavens, and ten thousand worlds, that I might let all out upon fair, fair, only fair Christ! But, alas! I have nothing for Him, yet He has much for me. It is no gain to Christ that He gets my little, inconstant span-length and hand-breadth of love.
If men would have something to do with their hearts and their thoughts, that are always rolling up and down (like men with oars in a boat), after sinful vanities, they might find great and sweet employment to their thoughts upon Christ. If those frothy, fluctuating, and restless hearts of ours would come all about Christ, and look into His love, to bottomless love, to the depth of mercy, to the unsearchable riches of His grace, to inquire after and search into the beauty of God in Christ, they would be swallowed up in the depth and height, length and breadth of His goodness. Oh, if men would draw back the curtains, and look into the inner side of the ark, and behold how the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily! Oh! who would not say, “Let me die, let me die ten times, to see a sight of Him?” Ten thousand deaths were no great price to give for Him. I am sure that sick, fainting love would heighten the market, and raise the price to the double for Him. But, alas! if men and angels were auctioned off, and sold at the dearest price, they would not all buy a night’s love, or a four-and-twenty-hours’ sight of Christ! Oh, how happy are they who get Christ for nothing! God send me no more for my part of paradise, but Christ: and surely I will be rich enough, and have as much heaven as the best of them, if Christ will be my heaven.
I can write no better thing to you than to desire you, if ever you need to count up the worth of Christ, than to take Him up and count over again: and weigh Him again and again: and after this have no other to court your love, and to woo your soul’s delight, but Christ. He will be found worthy of all your love, howbeit it should swell upon you from the earth to the uppermost circle of the heaven of heavens. To our Lord Jesus and His love I commend you.
Yours in his sweet Lord Jesus,
S. R.
Aberdeen, 1637″
G.B.
06.12.07
Where is the Free Church of Scotland Going?
The following clip reporting the historic visit of a Free Church delegation to the Church of Scotland General Assembly is very sobering. The snowball is rolling and it seems everyone is laughing. It makes me the more thankful for the stand my brethren took in 2000. May God have mercy on Scotland.
If anyone is wondering how far the Church of Scotland is from Scripture simply listen to some more of the Assembly reports, their stand on the ordination of women is obvious with a female moderator, they leave the subject of same sex relationships to the individual conscience of each office bearer… the list goes on.
If you would like to hear what Rev Ivor Martin said when addressing the Assembly email me at ayr@fccontinuing.org and I will send you an audio file of his speech.
G.B
06.11.07
The Person of Christ
The Saviour once asked the Pharisees ‘What think ye of Christ, whose Son is he?’ Matt 22:42. This is arguably the most important of all theological questions because if a man errs in answer to this question, he errs fatally. Two millennia of controversy in the Christian Church regarding the answer to this question has been the cause of much grief and also much blessing, for we now have clarity as to what the Bible teaches.
His Eternal Sonship
It is clear from scripture that the one who was born in Bethlehem and was called Jesus was also called the ‘Son of God’ (Rom 1:4). But was this something he became or something that he always was? The consistent testimony of the Word of God is that Christ is eternally and essentially the Son of God.
Scripture establishes that the Word was with God in the beginning and that he was God (John 1:1-2). This same Word in time was made flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:14) whom we are told was the Son of God (Rom 1:3). John also identifies him as ‘the Only-begotten (monogenes) of the Father’ (1:14). This term, together with the analogy of scripture, demands that we embrace the doctrine of eternal generation which can be defined as ‘the communication of the divine essence by the Father to the Son from all eternity.’ Christ was the Son of God ‘from of old, from everlasting’ Micah 5:2. Therefore it is no surprise that the scripture reveals the Father giving his pre-existent, only begotten Son for the salvation of sinners (John 3:16), and likewise sending one who was already his Son (1 John 4:14). Christ then came as the Son of God.
Therefore we reject the errors that Christ became the son of God by his birth, his baptism, his resurrection or his exaltation. These events can only be rightly viewed as declarations or manifestations of the Sonship Christ had from eternity.
His Incarnation and Theanthropic Person
The Shorter Catechism teaches that Christ ‘…being the eternal Son of God became man and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures…’ This defines his Theanthropic person which he had by virtue of his incarnation. In the fullness of time the Son of God became man through conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:27, 31, 35). He thus took into union with his divine nature a perfect humanity consisting of a true body and reasonable soul (John 1:14; Heb 2:14-17). This was not a transubstantiantion where one nature was changed into another, it was a union of two natures, after which the Word possessed human characteristics in addition to his divine. He was and is truly God and truly man – the Godman.
The two natures in Christ are distinct. They are in no way mingled or confused in order to form a third nature. We contend for the theoanthropic person of Christ and not a theanthropic nature. The Orthodox position was established by the Council of Chalcedon (451A.D.) which shaped the formulation of our Westminster Standards which assert that ‘…the whole perfect and distinct natures, the Godhood and manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion…’ This union made no change to the Godhead who remained a Trinity, the Son having assumed only a nature not a person. Likewise there was no incarceration or confinement of the Son who remained in heaven and was on earth simultaneously.
His Unipersonality
Having described the two distinct natures in Christ we proceed to consider their union together in one person. This is established by scripture which declares that one person, Jesus Christ, was made of the seed of David (human nature) and declared to be the Son of God (divine nature) Rom 1:3 (see also Phil 2:6-11, 1Tim 3:16, Gal 4:4). Whereas the Trinity is spoken of in the plural Gen 1:26 ‘let us…’, Christ only ever speaks of himself as a single person ‘I’ or ‘me’. Furthermore the fact that human attributes are attributed to the person designated by a divine title (Acts 20:28, Rom 8:32) and divine attributes are ascribed to the person designated by a human title (John 6:62, 1Cor 2:8) prove that there are not two different persons each having its own particular nature and attributes. Therefore whatever may be affirmed of either nature may be affirmed of the person. This union of natures in one person is described as ‘Hypostatical’ where one person (or hypostasis) of the Godhead became incarnate.
His Impeccability
Although all reformed theologians acknowledge the sinlessness of Christ, the question arises could he have sinned? Two answers have been given to this question.
(i) Posse non peccare
This means that Christ was able not to sin, and it is certainly true as far as it goes. However it leaves the possibility that Christ could have sinned. Charles Hodge held to this position.
(ii) Non posse peccare
This means that it was not possible for Christ to sin because of his unique constitution as the Godman. He was not only able to resist and overcome temptation to sin but in fact it was impossible that it should overcome him.
The second view is the scriptural one. We affirm not only the sinlessness of Christ but his impeccability – It was impossible for him to sin. In this way he differed from Adam who was only posse non peccare. Scripture abounds with evidence that Christ was sinless (John 8:29, 18:38; Heb 4:15; 1Pet 2:22). Likewise it is clear that he is immutable (Heb 13:8). To say then that he was holy but that it was possible for him to be unholy is incompatible with his immutability. Furthermore it conflicts with the fact that he is omniscient (John 2:24-25, 21:17) and omnipotent (Matt 28:18; Rev 1:8) to say that he could have been deceived or overcome by the Devil. The scripture declares that in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily (Col 2:9) if this be true how then can we entertain the idea the he could sin?
This is the Christ of the Bible and surely we testify with the Shualmite ‘Yea he is altogether lovely, this is my beloved and this is my friend.’ Song 5:16.
G.B.
06.08.07
More persecution of Homeschoolers in Germany. Is The UK next?
A court in Saxony in March ruled on the future of five members of the Brause Family. Legal custody of the children was taken away from parents and given to the local youth welfare office. The court order was based solely on the parents decision against sending their children to public school. The family must pay costs of over £2000. The judge conceded that all five children were ‘well educated,’ but noted that ‘one of the daughters expresses the same views as her father [and presumably not the atheistic state which would be the goal of that system of education G.B] showing they have not had the chance to develop independent personalities…. The Saxon court ruled that ‘The well being of the children can only be acheived by their attendence in the public schools.’
Reports such as this have caused homeschoolers and Christian educators in the UK to fear. Under British Law the right of parents to educate their children ‘other than school’ is preserved. However the department for Education and Science has announced a 12 week consultation exercise that is expected to recommend that all homeschooling parents be registered, and would rigorously define what is meant by giving children a ’suitable education.’ Monitors would be appointed to ensure that home educators were providing this ’suitable education’ and the state curriculum would be rigorously enforced.
Adapted from a report in the British Church Newspaper 30th March Edition
G.B
06.06.07
Blush Daily
The following is found in Day by Day with the English Puritan – a devotional I highly recommend for private or family worship – the author is Richard Alleine. Calvinists above all others should blush for their sins – personal and corporate.
“Friends, whatever your faults are, do not mince the matter, do not count your errors little errors, your sins, little sins. Be sure of this, that mincing is not the way to mending. Shame yourselves before the Lord, abase yourselves in his sight; study the greatness of those you count your little sins; rip open your hearts, and find out what a nest of iniquity is there; ransack your ways, and see what a course of folly and vanity is to be found there, and do not go about to hide them. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper’ (Prov. 28:13). Do not go about to hide them, but confess them, and spread them before the Lord, till your soul is ashamed. O that this word might send us to our homes, every one of us with an aching heart, and a blushing face, that it might make us fall down before God, with Ezra’s words in our mouth, ‘O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespasses are grown up unto the heavens’ (Ezra 9:6). Let us blush at our hypocrisy, let us blush at our lukewarmness, let us blush at our worldliness and carnality; let us blush in our prayers, let us go blushing home, and weeping as we go…”
There is too little of this in our religion today; even among those of us who read the Puritans.
G.M.
06.02.07
Counsels of the Aged to the Young (8)
This is part eight of our series by Archibald Alexander.
“15. CULTIVATE peace. Next to the blessing of peace with God and in our own conscience, is that of peace with our fellow man. ‘As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.’ And again, ‘Follow peace with all men.’… Every Christian temper is friendly to peace… All the adopted sons of God are sons of peace, and are peace-makers. ‘Live in peace,’ says Paul, ‘and the God of peace shall be with you.’ Humility, meekness, and benevolence must, from the nature of the case, have a mighty influence in producing and maintaining peace… No system was ever so well adapted to produce universal peace as Christianity, and the only reason why this effect has not followed its reception everywhere, is that its true spirit has not been imbibed… It teaches us not only to love our friends and brethren, but also our bitterest enemies, to return blessing for cursing, and kindness for ill treatment. Endeavour then to cherish those kind affections which lead to peace; and while you seek peace in your own souls, make it an object to promote peace in the world, and covet the blessedness which is pronounced to belong to peacemakers. Their high honour is to be denominated ‘THE SONS OF GOD’.
16. AS ‘man is born to sorrow as the sparks fly upwards’; as no situation is exempt from the arrows of adversity, I would give it as a necessary counsel, to learn to bear affliction with fortitude and resignation. To dream of escaping what is appointed unto all, would be to fall wilfully into a dangerous delusion… Those afflictions which are allotted to the people of God are necessary parts of salutary discipline, intended to purify them from the dross of sin, and prepare them for the service of God here, and the enjoyment of God in the world to come. They are, therefore, to them, not penal judgements, but Fatherly chastisements, which, though ‘not joyous but grievous’ for the present, ‘afterwards work for them the peaceable fruits of righteousness’…
It is indeed no part of wisdom to torment our minds with vain terrors of evils which are merely possible. Many persons suffer more in the apprehension of calamities, than they would if they were present. The imagination represents scenes of adversity in a hue darker than the reality. In regard to such evils, our Saviour has taught us not to yield to useless anxieties about the future, but to trust to providence… But that to which I would bring my youthful readers is a state of mind prepared for adversity, of whatever kind it may be; that they may not be taken by surprise when calamity falls upon them. And when the dark day of adversity arrives, be not dismayed, but put your trust in the Lord, and look to Him for strength to endure whatever may be laid upon you. Never permit yourselves to entertain hard thoughts of God on account of any of His dispensations. They may be dark and mysterious, but they are all wise and good. What we cannot understand now, we shall be privileged to know hereafter. Exercise an uncomplaining submission to the will of God, as developed in the events of Providence. Believe steadfastly that all things are under the government of wisdom and goodness. Remember that whatever sufferings you may be called to endure, they are always less than your sins deserve: and consider that these dispensations are fraught with rich, spiritual blessings. They are not only useful but necessary. We would perish with a wicked world if a kind Father did not make use of the rod to reclaim us from our wanderings. Besides, there is no situation in which we can more glorify God than in the furnace of affliction. The exercise of faith and humble resignation, with patience and fortitude, under the pressure of heavy calamity, is most pleasing to God, and illustrates clearly the excellency of religion which is able to bear up the mind, and even render it cheerful, in the midst of scenes of trouble. Bear then the with cheerful submission the load which may be laid upon you, and learn from Paul to rejoice even in the midst of tribulation. And not only bear your cross with cheerful submission, but endeavour to extract from sorrow a rich spiritual blessing. While enjoying such an effectual means of grace, improve it to the utmost, to promote growth in divine life. Be willing to suffer any pain which will render you more holy. Although we naturally desire uninterrupted prosperity, yet if the desire of our hearts was always given to us, it would prove ruinous.
And when schooled in adversity, you will be better qualified to sympathize with the children of sorrow, and better skilled in affording them comfort, than if you had no experience of trouble.”
Part Eight
G.M.
