3 Statements on Assurance of Salvation | Challies Dot Com

Today I would like to make 3 statements about a subject that is always relevant to Christians: assurance of salvation. This is an area of great confusion for many believers and an area that can lead to great discouragement. I am going to make 3 statements about assurance and then, Lord willing, follow up tomorrow with a word about the true basis for assurance.

1. It is possible and even normal for the Christian to experience assurance of salvation. MORE: 3 Statements on Assurance of Salvation | Challies Dot Com

Firing Rome’s Canon - R.C. Sproul Jr.

I remain, even in these feel good days, a Protestant. What I protest is what my fathers protested—the folly of the Roman Catholic church. Such can get you in great deal of hot water these days. Everyone wants to go along to get along. Trouble is, Rome still teaches a false gospel, still calls for the damnation of people like me who preach the true gospel. Now I am happy to confess that explaining the nuances that separate infusion from imputation, distinctions between justification and sanctification can require a bit of theological training and historical understanding. I’m sorry to confess that Christians generally have precious little of either. If we can’t see what the big deal is with a little contemporary modalism, if we want to open the tent wide to welcome in those nice Mormons, what chance do I have for making the case that Rome is outside the pale?

  MORE: Firing Rome’s Canon - R.C. Sproul Jr.

Three Tips on Being a Friend of Sinners | Desiring God

Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners. That was the word on the street in first-century Palestine.

The precise phrase — “friend of sinners” — is mentioned twice in the Gospels, in Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34. The naysayers of the day, the religious aristocracy, criticized Jesus as a “glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

MORE:  Three Tips on Being a Friend of Sinners | Desiring God

Good news in the fight against abortion | the Cripplegate

If Wendy Davis and Planned Parenthood are the face of the pro-abortion movement, then there may yet be hope that this is the last generation for legal abortion in the United States.



First some background: Yesterday the 5^th-Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and allowed Texas’ new restrictions on abortions to remain in effect. This case will certainly be heard by the US Supreme Court, and is probably the most significant case in the struggle to end legal abortion.

The case started last year when abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of eight counts of murder for botched abortions. Essentially, Gosnell ran what was described by a grand jury as a “house of horrors” where young women were drugged, labor was induced, and if any babies were old enough to survive delivery, they had their spines cut with scissors. He continuously infected patients with STD’s, reused dirty instruments, and misused drugs. Cats roamed the halls, and the place was a urine and blood-soaked mess.

More: Good news in the fight against abortion | the Cripplegate

If All Religions Are True, Then God Is Cruel

The short film Most made its way onto the big screen more than 10 years ago. A brilliantly moving piece of cinema, the film tells the story of a single father who lives with his son in the Czech Republic. The pair share simple yet content lives together. The father works as a bridge engineer—he is responsible for raising and lowering a massive draw-bridge that allows ships and trains to pass at scheduled times. One day, the boy happened to be at the bridge with his father. As he's playing outside, he notices a train rapidly approaching the station.

It was an hour early. The bridge was up. And the train was heading right toward it.
MORE: If All Religions Are True, God is Cruel

A "Gospel" that Almost Killed Me | 9Marks

I’m in a bathtub. I can’t get up. I feel like I’m about to die. Mercury poisoning.




The water in the tub has grown cold. Maybe that’s why I feel so cold. I’ve been marinating in my own soup stock for the past two hours. I’m floating in and out of consciousness. Whenever I can concentrate I begin to pray.

“Jesus, please, save me. Please, heal me. I repent, I put my whole heart into prayer right now, and I cast out any doubt or fear. I know you can heal me. Please heal me!”

My mom’s keys are rattling in the doorknob now, and I hear the door thud shut in the distance. I hear her purse sliding across the counter and her keys landing next to it. I barely recognize her figure as she tries with all of her wiry might to pull me out of the tub. I spend the next two days in the hospital. My mom wants to know why I didn’t let her know, why I didn’t want to go to the hospital, why I didn’t do something.

MORE...A "Gospel" that Almost Killed Me | 9Marks

The Star of Bethlehem from a Christian View - Probe Ministries

Dr. Bohlin looks at the familiar story of the star of Bethlehem and provides several possible ways that God created this sign announcing the birth of the Christ. From a Christian worldview perspective, we know a bright light in the sky was able to lead the magi to the Christ child. Dr. Bohlin considers several ways God may have chosen to announce the coming of the Christ.

The Magi and the Star of Bethlehem

O, Star of wonder, star of night
Star of royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.
This familiar and haunting chorus from the Christmas carol, "We Three Kings of Orient Are," introduces us to what seems to be the only ubiquitous biblical symbol during the Christmas season, the star of Bethlehem.

MORE: The Star of Bethlehem from a Christian View - Probe Ministries

The Gospel According to Christmas Carols | the Cripplegate

It’s that time of year. Turn on the radio, take a trip to the mall, or simply stroll down the aisles of the local grocery store, and you’re likely to hear songs about Jesus’ birth playing in the background. Though we call them “Christmas carols,” they are really just Christian hymns celebrating the incarnation of our Lord and Savior. For a few weeks each December, these profound songs of worship become a ubiquitous part of the holiday atmosphere. And our society’s pervasive interest in them provides us with a unique opportunity to share the gospel. After all, it’s the perfect time to explain the meaning of these songs to those who don’t know Christ.
MORE: The Gospel According to Christmas Carols | the Cripplegate

Gospel-Centered Sex?

I recently read an article from a prominent blogger on the subject of the new “gospel-centered” emphasis in books. He commented on various books that applied the gospel to every area of life from the ivory towers of theology, to the mom caught up in the chaos of home and family. One quote at the end of his blog got me thinking: “There is not yet a “Gospel-Centered Sex” book; however, it is probably on the way and may well be very helpful! If a couple consistently applies the implications of the gospel to the marriage bed, they will inevitably have a healthier marriage.¹ "

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The Poverty of Nations | the Cripplegate

Global poverty is simple in its explanation but complicated in its solution. People are poor because they lack the ability to produce their own wealth. Solving that requires a complex solution consisting of at least 78 different factors that can only really be implemented on a national level.


At least that is the view put forward in The Poverty of Nations by Wayne Grudem and Barry Asmus. This book is a clear explanation of what governing principles lead to the production of wealth, and it also serves as a refutation of immoral practices that lead to poverty. Grudem (a theologian) and Asmus (an economist) make a formidable combination, and the case they lay out for how countries should run their governments is convincing.

Grudem and Asmus take complex economic theory and explain it in an accessible....MORE ...
The Poverty of Nations | the Cripplegate

The Wardrobe Door: 3 Biggest Regrets of Billy Graham's life

Proclaiming the gospel - is there any other way Billy Graham would celebrate his 95th birthday?


With the My Hope America campaign, Graham continues to demonstrate his ultimate desire is to see those who are far from God come near through the cross of Christ.

There will never be "the next Billy Graham" because God only created one. We should not attempt to blindly copy his methodology, but we can definitely learn from the principles that have guided him and his heart that has been shaped by His love for Christ and the lost.

Perhaps even more significantly, we can learn from what Graham would say he regrets the most.

Thinking back over the decades of service to his Savior, we don't often associate regrets with Billy Graham and his ministry. As he neared the end of his life, however, he has shared those things that brought him the most regret. MORE:  The Wardrobe Door: 3 Biggest Regrets of Billy Graham's life

ENDA and the Christian Response | Denny Burk

Editor’s Note: This week the Senate is poised to take up the Employment Non-Discrimination of Act of 2013 (ENDA). The law would prohibit some religious business owners from the freedom to hire individuals who share the values of their business. President Obama blogged at The Huffington Post over the weekend in favor of ENDA. This law has wide-ranging implications that directly affect religious liberty. Andrew Walker, Director of Policy Studies with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, has graciously provided an interview to help readers think through this controversial law. Read it below.
Q: What is ENDA?

This week, the Senate is poised to vote on S. 815, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013, an act that makes it illegal for employers to refuse to hire, fire, or otherwise discriminate if a person identifies as homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, or transgender. It specifically relies on the categories of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” (SOGI).

MORE - ENDA and the Christian Response | Denny Burk

9 Things You Should Know About Persecution of Christians in 2013 – The Gospel Coalition Blog

Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today. As we pray for the persecuted church, here are nine things you should know about the plight of believers around the globe:

1. Christian churches around the world have set apart the month of November to remember and pray for the persecuted church, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).

2. According to the U.S. Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Christ.

9 Things You Should Know About Persecution of Christians in 2013 – The Gospel Coalition Blog

A Brigham Young University Professor’s Escape from Mormonism - The Daily Beast

The summer of 2006, my husband and I mustered the courage to drive two hours away from our largely Mormon community in Utah to attend a non-Mormon church on a Saturday night. That way, no Mormon friends or priesthood leaders could possibly see us. We were paranoid, worried that if someone from Brigham Young University saw me at a non-denominational Christian church, I would lose my ecclesiastical clearance and my job as a professor.
A Brigham Young University Professor’s Escape from Mormonism - The Daily Beast

Where Christian Persecution Is The Worst | World Watch List

Where Christian Persecution Is The Worst | World Watch List

75 Astonishing Things that Happen at Conversion | Counseling One Another

What words could we use to describe God’s grace toward sinners like us? Amazing? Yes. Extravagant? For sure. Astonishing? Absolutely!
The apostle Paul was a man who never got over the grace of God…and neither should we. As the Holy Spirit guided him along, he edified the believers at Ephesus by expounding on “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7). I want to do the same in today’s post.
Recently, I spent some time thinking about all that God accomplishes in an instant, at the moment of conversion, and what He continues to work to its ultimate completion in the day we see Him in glory (Phil 1:6). The result was a list of 75 amazing works of God. With a list that long, and interconnected, categorizing them into smaller chunks was quite a challenge. But I finally had to decide on a manner of grouping, inadequate as it may be.
MORE: 75 Astonishing Things that Happen at Conversion | Counseling One Another

On the Incarnation: Avoiding Heresy and Pursuing Humility | the Cripplegate

…Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men.
- Philippians 2:6–7 -

 

That phrase, “He emptied Himself,” is chief among the many issues in this passage that have caused a lot of students of Scripture to stumble in the most unfortunate of ways. “Of what did Christ empty Himself?” so many theologians have asked. And unfortunately, the answers to that question almost always indicate Christ emptied some form of His deity—that in some manner He ceased to be fully God in His incarnation. Some believe that Christ emptied Himself of His essential equality with God, such that during the incarnation He was a true man but limited His deity to such a degree that He was no more than a man. Others believe that Christ retained His “essential attributes” of deity, like holiness and grace, but gave up what they call His “relative attributes,” such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and immutability. These are examples of what is called “kenotic theology” (from the Greek word kenóō, which is translated “He emptied” here in verse 7).

Avoiding Kenotic Theology
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On the Incarnation: Avoiding Heresy and Pursuing Humility | the Cripplegate

Baptist Press - WORLDVIEW: Declassify the Gospel - News with a Christian Perspective

EDITOR'S NOTE: Visit WorldView Conversation, the blog related to this column.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- The scandals currently engulfing the IRS, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Justice Department and other government agencies have something in common: information.

Who has certain information and for what purpose? How should they be able to obtain it? What should they know and when should they know it? And so on.
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Baptist Press - WORLDVIEW: Declassify the Gospel - News with a Christian Perspective

Blemishes in Christian Character: a List for Self Examination

(Tim Keller) For years I’ve been haunted by one of John Newton’s letters, which was later titled “Blemishes in Christian Character.” Newton was an 18^th Century Anglican minister who had once been a slave trader. After a dramatic conversion, he went into the ministry and became one of the wisest and most insightful pastors of his time. His hundreds of pastoral letters are masterful and many are in print to this day.
In the letter I’ve referred to, Newton points out that while most Christians succeed in avoiding the more gross external sins, many nonetheless overlook blemishes on their character by passing them off as mere “foibles.” They “may not seem to violate any express command of Scripture” and yet, they are “properly sinful” because they are the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit that believers are supposed to exhibit. While our faults always seem small to us due to the natural self-justification of the heart, they often don’t look so small to others. As a result, these “small faults” cause large swaths of the Christian population to have little influence on others for Christ. Newton lists these faults that we tolerate in ourselves, and which do great damage to our public witness as well as to our relationships within the Body of Christ.
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The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards in Categories

(What's Best Next / Blog) As I’ve been working on my book on gospel-centered productivity, Jonathan Edward’s resolutions have been very relevant and significant. Edwards is an example to us of true productivity — he shows us that true productivity is about a life well lived and that, even more, a life well lived is a God-centered life.
Edwards also shows us that a well lived life doesn’t just happen; it requires intentionality. And intentionality manifests itself in certain “mechanisms” that help us maintain our intentionality. Edwards’ resolutions are one example of such a “mechanism.”
So Edwards is a good example not just of a life that is lived well, but also of the “practical side” of how to actually build that intentionality into our lives, rather than just letting it remain a vague wish that never takes deep root and makes a real difference.
Toward that end, it’s worth reflecting on and giving some thought to his resolutions. Many of you are familiar with them, I’m sure. What I’ve tried to do here is put them into a few categories that can perhaps help shed some additional light on the resolutions and how Edwards lived his life.  MORE