May 17, 2008
Wilberforce on the Wasted Life
Over at the Desiring God Blog, Lukas Naugle reminds us through the writings of William Wilberforce not to waste our lives. You can find the post here http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1230_wilberforce_on_the_wasted_life/ .
Read it… remember that Wilberforce wrote this back in the 18th century… then ponder how the sinfulness of humanity never changes…
May 15, 2008
What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
Yesterday I reflected on the first question from the Heidelberg Catechism… today I will reflect on Question # 2 (along with support from Questions # 3-5)…
Question 2
Question: What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
Answer: First, how great my sins and misery are; [1] second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; [2] third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance. [3]
[1] Rom_3:9-10; 1Jo_1:10.
[2] Joh_17:3; Act_4:12; Act_10:43.
[3] Mat_5:16; Rom_6:13; Eph_5:8-10; 1Pe_2:9-10.
There are three things necessary to fully appreciate the comfort which we have in Jesus Christ.
1) We must understand how great our sins are.
We are so prone to think of ourselves as basically good. But this is not the biblical evaluation of humanity. We are sinful…
Genesis 6:5 (ESV) – 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) – 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Romans 3:9-11 (ESV) – 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Not only do we commit wicked acts… we also fail to commit righteous acts. We fail to do that which God has commanded of us. Jesus summarized God’s expectations for all mankind in Matthew 22:37-40 (see Question # 4 of the catechism):
Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV) – 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Until we know and remember how far we fall short of the glory of God… we cannot fully appreciate the comfort which is ours in Christ Jesus. In fact, until we know this, we will never even begin to seek our comfort in Christ Jesus, because we will see no need of a Savior.
From where do we learn the extent of our sins? (This is Question # 3 of the catechism.) We learn of our sinfulness from the Law of God.
Romans 3:20 (ESV) – 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
If we meditate on the Law of God and prayerfully examine ourselves in the light of it, then it won’t be long until we see the depravity of our own hearts and lives.
We cannot be “saved” until we realize our danger. We cannot be “found” until we are “lost.”
2) We must know how we are delivered from our sins.
We cannot save ourselves. There is nothing good in us (Rom 7:18.) Salvation from sin and its consequences is a gracious gift of God (Eph 2:8-9) and this salvation comes through one Source alone… through Jesus Christ. There is only one Mediator between God and man and that is Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all His people (I Tim 2:5-6.) Deliverance from our sinful state and the consequences of sin is to be found in Jesus Christ alone.
Acts 4:12 (ESV) – 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6 (ESV) – 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If only we would remind ourselves of this more often. We are so prone to think far too highly of ourselves. Our salvation is wholly the work of Jesus Christ.
3) We are live lives expressing our gratitude to God for this great salvation which He has provided for us.
The knowledge of our true, natural state and the salvation which God has provided for us should do more than simply stimulate our thinking. It should stimulate our hearts to love and good deeds. It should affect us deeply and eternally.
1 Peter 2:9-12 (ESV) – 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
God has saved us for the glory of His grace (Eph 1:6, 12, 14.) Our lives should reflect the work which God has done in us and we should shine brightly as God’s workmanship so that the world may glorify Him (Eph 2:10, Matt 5:16, Eph 5:8-10.)
This is the purpose behind our salvation… the glory of God! In order to fully appreciate the comfort which is ours in Christ Jesus, we must be striving to fulfill the purpose behind our salvation… that God Himself might be honored and praised for the work which He has done in us.
“…To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5b-6 (ESV))
May 7, 2008
Cosmic Treason – By Dr. R.C. Sproul
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Dr. R.C. Sproul in the May 2008 issue of Tabletalk Magazine:
““The sinfulness of sin” sounds like a vacuous redundancy that adds no information to the subject under discussion. However, the necessity of speaking of the sinfulness of sin has been thrust upon us by a culture and even a church that has diminished the significance of sin itself. Sin is communicated in our day in terms of making mistakes or of making poor choices. When I take an examination or a spelling test if I make a mistake, I miss a particular word. It is one thing to make a mistake. It is another to look at my neighbor’s paper and copy his answers in order to make a good grade. In this case, my mistake has risen to the level of a moral transgression. Though sin may be involved in making mistakes as a result of slothfulness in preparation, nevertheless, the act of cheating takes the exercise to a more serious level. Calling sin “making poor choices” is true, but it is also a euphemism that can discount the severity of the action. The decision to sin is indeed a poor one, but once again, it is more than a mistake. It is an act of moral transgression…”
Dr. Sproul goes on in this article to state that Scripture describes sin in at least three broad categories:
1) Sin is a debt owed to God.
2) Sin is an expression of enmity against God.
3) Sin is a crime committed against God.
Read the whole thing here http://www.ligonier.org/tabletalk/2008/5/1058_Cosmic_Treason
Psalm 130:3-4 (ESV) – 3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
May 6, 2008
Sin: What We Do Or What We Are
Tim Challies has posted an excellent discussion on our tendency to think of sin as simply what we do rather than the fruit of what we are (i.e. sinners.) Here is an excerpt:
“I have met countless people who consider themselves Christians and who admit to sin in their lives and feel guilt and remorse for individual sins, but who seem unable or unwilling to admit the incontrovertible fact that their hearts are in rebellion against God. The Bible tells us in plain terms that we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. And I don’t think we can overstate what a fundamental difference this is! We do not need to seek forgiveness merely for the sins we commit, but for our fundamentally evil and rebellious hearts—hearts that, in their natural state, hate God and are fully and completely and gleefully and willingly opposed to Him.” (read the whole thing here http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/sin-what-we-do-or-what-we-are.php )
Well said…
We must remember the following about ourselves…
Genesis 6:5 (ESV) – 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) – 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Psalm 53:1-3 (ESV) – 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
Romans 8:7-8 (ESV) – 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) – 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
It is only when we remember how sinful we are in essence that we can truly appreciate the grace of God in Christ Jesus!
Solus Christus! (Christ Alone!)
May 1, 2008
How Do You Remain Humble?
Proverbs 11:2 (ESV) - 2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
Isaiah 66:1-2 (ESV) – 1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
Dr. John Piper has an excellent post on how to cultivate humility in the Christian life. You can find it here http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/66/2739_How_do_you_remain_humble/
April 30, 2008
The Christian Life – “God’s Broken Image” – Sinclair Ferguson
“We will never properly understand the work of God which takes place in the Christian life unless we first of all have some kind of grasp of why we need the grace of God” (Sinclair Ferguson, “The Christian Life”, Banner of Truth, pg 11.)
If we are to even begin to appreciate the greatness o f the grace of God in the gospel, then we must grow in our understanding of sin.
In his book, “The Christian Life”, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson discusses four aspects of the fallen and sinful nature of humanity:
1) The image of God in man is defaced.
God created all things for His glory (Rom 11:36, Rev 4:11, I Cor 6:20, I Cor 10:31.) However, human beings are unique among all creation for we are created in the image of God to reflect His character within creation (Gen 1:26-27.) However, the sin of Adam brought death upon humanity (Gen 2:17, Gen 3) and a defacement of image of God within us. The image of God is not completely destroyed (Gen 9:6), but it is seriously defaced (Rom 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…”)
The gospel offers us hope in light of this problem, for in the gospel we have the promise of God that we are “a new creation” in Christ Jesus (II Cor 5:17.)
We have no ability to recreate ourselves… this work must come from God… and it is a consequence of regeneration (John 3:1-8, cf. Ezek 36:25-27.)
2) People are under the dominion of sin and death.
The apostle Paul says it better than I ever could…
Human beings under the dominion of death:
Romans 5:12 (ESV) – 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Romans 6:23a (ESV) – 23 For the wages of sin is death…
Human beings are under the dominion of sin:
Romans 7:18-20 (ESV) – 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
The gospel alone is the answer to this problem…
Romans 6:6-11 (ESV) – 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
3) Human beings are guilty before God.
Read Romans 1-3 carefully. In this passage, the apostle Paul brings a devastating indictment against all humanity. All human beings, without exception, are guilty before God.
Romans 3:10-11, 23 (ESV) – 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God… 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
There is a consequence for our guilt before God…
Romans 6:23 (ESV) - 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 1:18 (ESV) - 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Only through the work of Christ Jesus can the consequences of our sin be removed…
Isaiah 53:6 (ESV) – 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 8:1 (ESV) - 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
4) Human beings are naturally in the grip of Satan.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) – 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
The answer to this problem is found in the saving work of God alone…
Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV) – 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
“We need recreation by Christ in order that the image of God, once distorted by sin, may be restored. We need deliverance form the dominion of sin in order that we may live freely for God. We need to be rescued from the power of Satan so that our lives may be given to Christ the Lord as His glad bondslaves. We need to be saved from the wrath of God so that, released from this most terrifying of all prospects, we may live the life of forgiven sinners. It is the glory of the gospel that it meets our need” (Sinclair Ferguson, “The Christian Life”, Banner of Truth, pg 16.)
April 25, 2008
What makes grace so amazing???
What makes grace so amazing?
Dr. Sinclair Ferguson once wrote, “… grace makes sense to us only in light of the sin to which it provides remedy. Consequently, only those made sensitive to sin, its greatness, misery and danger, will grasp clearly the wonder of God’s salvation. Grace is only ‘amazing’ when we see that it is a ‘wretch like me’ that it saves” (Sinclair Ferguson, excerpted from “The Compromised Church”, edited by John Armstrong, page 273.)
“Amazing grace!
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.” (John Newton, “Amazing Grace.”)
When was the last time you truly pondered the sinfulness of your own sin? It is only as we remember our wretchedness that we begin to grasp the amazing grace and love of God in Christ Jesus.
“And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood!
Died He for me who caused His pain!
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” (Charles Wesley, “And Can It Be.”)
How can we meditate on our own sinfulness? Here are a couple of suggestions:
1) Examine yourself in light of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20.) Don’t make excuses for yourself. Remember and admit your sin… both to yourself and before God.
2) Examine yourself in light of the Beatitudes (Matt 5:3-10.) Ask yourself, “Am I poor in spirit? Do I mourn over sin? Am I gentle? Do I hunger and thirst for righteousness?” You get the idea. Walk through the Beatitudes and examine yourself in light of what Jesus says makes a person “blessed.”
Take some time in the days ahead to reflect on your own sinfulness… but don’t stop there. Remember that, if you are a Christian, then all the sins you have ever committed and all the sins you ever will commit were paid for by Jesus Christ. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” (I Cor 15:3.) He suffered and died because of my sins… and yours. Remember the gospel… and rejoice!!!
Remember Dr. Ferguson’s words cited at the beginning of this post, “… grace makes sense to us only in light of the sin to which it provides remedy. Consequently, only those made sensitive to sin, its greatness, misery and danger, will grasp clearly the wonder of God’s salvation. Grace is only ‘amazing’ when we see that it is a ‘wretch like me’ that it saves” (Sinclair Ferguson, excerpted from “The Compromised Church”, edited by John Armstrong, page 273.)
Remember your sin… and rejoice in God’s amazing grace!
April 23, 2008
How Do I Know If I’m a Christian – Part 2
“Do Not Love the World”
This is the second installment in a series entitled “How Do I Know If I’m a Christian?”
Read Colossians 4:7-14 and Philemon 1:23-24. Notice what the apostle Paul says about the man named Demas. He is included in the list of Paul’s faithful co-laborers in the gospel. To all onlookers, Demas appeared to be a mature Christian involved in ministry.
But read II Timothy 4:9-10a…
2 Timothy 4:9-10a (ESV) – 9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica…
Did Demas abandon the faith? The Greek term translated “deserted” (ἐγκαταλείπω, pronounced egkataleipo) is a strong term which implies that he utterly forsook Paul and presumably the gospel.
What was it that caused Demas’ false profession to become visible? His love of the world.
Can we know if we are a Christian? John’s first epistle seems to have been written to provide Christians with several tests which can be used to help us have assurance of whether or not we are indeed Christians. In a previous post we discussed three tests of whether or not we are a Christian:
1) Fellowship with God.
2) No habitual, unrepentant sin.
3) Love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The fourth test we will look at from First John is found in chapter 2…
1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) - 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
“Do not love the world…” What does John mean by “the world” (κόσμος, pronounced kosmos)? He doesn’t mean planet earth… and he doesn’t mean people. When John speaks of the world, he means the sinful world system which is in active rebellion against God.
Notice how John describes the world:
1) It does not know God (I Jn 3:1).
2) It is full of false prophets who are actively proclaiming falsehood (I Jn 4:1).
3) It lies in the power of the evil one (I Jn 5:19.) (Compare this to Matt 4:8, Jn 12:31, Jn 14:30.)
But doesn’t God love the world? In John 3:16, Jesus says, “For God so loved the world…” Yet here we are told not to love the world. What is the difference? Finish out John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God’s love for the sinful world system is a redemptive love, which seeks to save some out of the midst of this system (i.e. “not perish, but have everlasting life.”)
Let’s face it… we can’t love the world in this way. We have no means within ourselves to redeem the wicked world system in which we find ourselves.
“Do not love the world and the things in the world.” John commands Christians to not love the world. But notice that Christians are also commanded not to love the things in the world. This has particular relevance within the church, for many Christians would state that they do not love the world system… but “things in the world” are another story!
Christians are not to love the world or things that spring up out of this sinful world. John states that if a person does love the world, then the love of the Father is not in them. In other words, in his very blunt style, John says that a person who loves the world (the present tense verb implies continuously) is not a Christian.
Why is this so?
It is helpful if we reflect on the words of Jesus recorded for us in Matthew 6:24…
Matthew 6:24 (ESV) – 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Jesus states that it is impossible to serve two masters, for it is impossible to love two different masters. Notice that Jesus explicitly says that it is not possible to serve both God and money (mammon -earthly material treasures.) The implications of this passage are that human beings serve whatever it is that we love. We pursue that which we love and treasure it. If we love the things that are in the world, then we will pursue and treasure the things of this world, rather than God. How can we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk 12:30) if we are in love with the world and the things in the world? The love of God and the love of the world are mutually exclusive.
“If anyone loves the world, (then) the love of the Father is not in him.” What does John mean by “the love of the Father”? There are two ways to interpret this:
1) God’s love for us…
2) Our love for God…
I think both senses are probably intended here. Read I John 4:7-9…
1 John 4:7-10, 19 (ESV) – 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins…19 We love because he first loved us.
John says that whoever loves (specifically “one another”, but equally true where God is concerned) is (1) born of God (regeneration) and (2) knows God (specifically the love of God), because God has made His love known to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We naturally do not love God, but God has caused us to participate in His love through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we love God, because He first loved us.
Back in I John 2:15, if we love the world, then John says that we have not experienced the love of God in Christ Jesus, therefore we do not love God.
In I John 2:16-17, John provides us with reasons why we should not love the world… “For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
John describes “all that is in the world” through three separate phrases:
1) The desires of the flesh – (NIV – “the cravings of the sinful man.”) This refers to our innate, sinful desires for pleasure. In our present context it is epitomized by the cliché, “If it feels good… do it!”
2) The desires of the eyes – This likely refers to the temptation to delight in sin and that which is in the world. The Christian must remember that “all that glitters is not necessarily gold.”
3) The pride of possessions – Literally translated this is “the pride of living” (ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου). This is not the typical Greek word for “life” (ζωή, pronounced zoe). The term here is βίος (pronounced bios) and it refers to “the manner in which one’s life finds expression” (BDAG, βίος.) It “denotes life with respect to actions and possessions” (William Hendriksen, Commentary on James the Epistles of John, Baker, I Jn 2:16.) It is taking pride in what I am, what I do, and what I possess.
None of this is of God. It is of the world, that is, it is from the devil (I Jn 5:19), and ultimately it is all “passing away.” This world and all that is in it is temporary… it is winding down. To love that which is passing away would be utterly foolish. Commenting on this phrase, Dr. John Piper states, “Nobody buys stock in a company that is sure to go bankrupt. Nobody sets up house in a sinking ship. No reasonable person would lay up treasure where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, would they? The world is passing away! To set your heart on it is only asking for heartache and misery in the end.” (Piper, sermon on I John 2:15-17, entitled “Do Not Love the World.”)
It doesn’t matter how much of the world we may obtain, it is fading away. What does it profit us if we gain the whole world and lose our soul (Matt 16:26)?
How does one keep from losing their soul? “…whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
What is “the will of God” which John is speaking of in this paragraph? That we love God and not the world. Those who love God and not the world will “abide forever”… they will enjoy eternal life in fellowship with God.
Why is it so important to God that we love Him and not the world? Because to love anything more than God is idolatry. John closes out his first epistle with this warning…
1 John 5:21 (ESV) – 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
A Christian is not a habitual idolater. A Christian strives to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk 12:30.)
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Do you love the world? We all sin and we all have moments when we stumble into the sin of idolatry. But does a love of the world and the things in the world define the general tenor of your life? If so, then according to John, you might not be a Christian.
What can we do if this is an area where we struggle in the Christian life? The answer is not found in trying harder to not love the world. The solution is to be found in loving God more completely.
How can we grow in our love for God? John states that we know love only because God has loved us. We experience God’s love most powerfully in the gospel. If you want to grow in your love for God…
1) Meditate on who God is as described in Scripture (Isaiah 40-48 would be a good place to start.)
2) Ponder what it is to be a sinner (Read and meditate on Romans 1-3.)
3) Bask in the glory of Jesus Christ (Read the gospels. Meditate on Isaiah 53.)
4) Repent of your sin daily and constantly return to Jesus Christ, confessing your sin and trusting that He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn 1:9)… even the love of the world.
We can only serve one master. Will it be God… who has loved us and sent His Son to be the Savior of the world? Or will it be the sinful world which lies in power of the evil one and is in the process of passing away.
Take the example of Demas to heart… and love God, not the world and the things in the world.
For further study of this passage:
1) Read or listen to the sermon entitled “Do Not Love the World” by Dr. John Piper. You can find it here http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1985/481_Do_Not_Love_the_World/
2) Read and complete the three-part Bible study by John MacArthur entitled “The Love God Hates.” You can find all three studies here http://www.biblebb.com/brefindex/1jo.htm under I John 2:3-17.
April 22, 2008
Our Sinful Rebellion Against Authority
Tim Challies has posted some interesting (and convicting) thoughts on our sinful tendency to reject authority. It is worth the read. You can find the post here http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/hearing-and-heeding-gods-word.php
