(HT)

In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

—Zechariah 13:1

277 There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Loose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious Blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing thy pow’r to save,
When this poor lisping stamm’ring tongue
Lies silent in the grave.

—The Concordia Hymnal (Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Hymn 57. (c. m.)
Original sin. Rom. v. 12, &c.; Psa. li. 5; Job xiv. 4.

Backward with humble shame we look
On our original;
How is our nature dash’d and broke
In our first father’s fall!

To all that’s good averse and blind,
But prone to all that’s ill
What dreadful darkness veils our mind!
How obstinate our will!

[Conceived in sin, O wretched state!
Before we draw our breath
The first young pulse begins to beat
Iniquity and death.

How strong in our degen’rate blood
The old corruption reigns,
And, mingling with the crooked flood,
Wanders through all our veins.]

[Wild and unwholesome as the root
Will all the branches be;
How can we hope for living fruit
From such a deadly tree?

What mortal power from things unclean
Can pure productions bring?
Who can command a vital stream
From an infected spring?]

Yet, mighty God! thy wondrous love
Can make our nature clean,
While Christ and grace prevail above
The tempter, death, and sin.

The second Adam shall restore
The ruins of the first;
Hosannah to that sovereign power
That new-creates our dust!

—from The Psalms & Hymns of Isaac Watts. Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Book I: Collected from the Holy Scriptures (Soli Deo Gloria, 1997).

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer . . .

—Romans 1:28

They quickly forgot His works . . .

—Psalm 106:13

God has well remembered man; remembers him every day. God might easily forget man; he is so insignificant, worthless, unloveable. But He does not. He has never done so. This world, evil as it is, has been truly, what one has called it, “His well-beloved world,”—His well-remembered creation. Each of us, however poor, however sinful, is a fragment of that world, that race which He has never forgotten: “Thou shalt not be forgotten of me.” Each moment’s mercies are tokens of the divine mindfulness. He ever retains us in His knowledge and memory.

God desires to be remembered by man. He has taken unspeakable pains to keep Himself before His creatures, so as to make forgetfulness on their part the greatest of all impossibilities. In everything that God has set before our eyes or ears, He says, Remember me. In every star, every flower, every mountain, every stream,—in every joy, every comfort, every blessing of daily life,—God says, Remember me. How affecting this desire of God to be remembered by man! Yet how has man responded to it? We shall see. The world’s history, and Israel’s history not less, have shewn how God’s wish to be kept in affectionate remembrance by the creatures He has made has been met. “They gave me hatred for my love.” They did not “like to retain Him in their knowledge.”

It is not, however, merely a “deity,” a divine being, that is to be remembered. It is the one living and true God. Every departure from this is idolatry and dishonour. This true God wishes to be remembered,

(1.) Reverently. He is great and glorious; to be had in reverence of all creature hood. Reverence and godly fear are His due.

(2.) Confidingly. His character is such that He deserves to be trusted. Trustful, childlike remembrance, is what He expects of us.

(3.) Joyfully. Not by constraint, or through terror, or hope of profit; but with the full and happy heart.

(4.) Lovingly. We love Him because He first loved us. Loving remembrance He would fain have. Nothing less will do.

(5.) Steadfastly. Not by fits and starts; at certain “devotional seasons,” but always. “Perpetual remembrance” is what God asks,—”everlasting remembrance.”

This God, whose name is Jehovah, is worthy to be remembered, He is so infinitely glorious, and good, and great, and loveable. The wonder is, how one so great should ever for a moment be forgotten. That He should forget us, so insignificant, would not be surprising; but that we should forget Him, so great and mighty, is inconceivably marvelous. We may suppose a creature, an atom of the dust, sitting alone and admiring this great Being, and saying, He may not think of me, or notice me, who am such a grain of sand, but I cannot help continually thinking of Him, looking up to Him, praising Him, loving Him, whether He cares for me or not; whether I am overlooked or not,—if He will only allow me thus to praise and love. But can we suppose the opposite? the worm of the earth never thinking of this great God at all, and yet this God continually thinking of Him!

Yet man forgets God! He hears of Him, and then forgets Him. He sees His works, and then forgets Him. He acknowledges deliverances, and then forgets Him. Thus it is that man deals with God. For his fellow men man’s memory serves him well, but towards God it is utterly treacherous.

Israel is frequently charged with such things as these:

(1.) They forgot His words. All that He had spoken, in grace or righteousness, as warning or as love, they forgot. His words were to them as idle tales. Thus we treat our God.

(2.) They forgot His works. Miracle on miracle of the most stupendous kind did He for Israel, in Egypt and in the desert, as if never wearied with blessing them, yet the work was no sooner done than it was out of mind. They sang His praise, and then forgot His works.

(3.) They forgot Himself. Yes, Himself! Their God, their Redeemer, their Rock, their Strength! They thrust Him out of their thoughts and memories. He and they were to live apart; to have no intercourse with each other. They were to live in His world, and forget Himself; to enjoy His gifts, but not Himself; to breathe His air, bask in His sunshine, drink His rivers, climb His mountains, sail over His wide sea in storm or calm, and forget Himself? “They did not like to retain God in their knowledge.”

Forgetfulness of God is God’s charge against His creatures. He does not exaggerate their guilt, or bring out into view the gross and hideous crimes of the race. He simply says, “You have forgotten me.” That is enough. “My people have forgotten me.” It is they who forget God that are turned into hell. This may seem to some a small sin, a negative evil, a sin of omission; but God places it in the foreground of iniquity. “Consider this ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces when none can deliver” (Psalm 50:22).

God lays great stress upon remembering Him and His works. Often did He use that word to Israel, “Remember.” “Remember the way that the Lord led thee.” “Remember the commandments of the Lord.” “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” “Remember thy Creator.”

In the New Testament the words of the Lord himself must occur to every one, “This do in remembrance of me”; amid the response of the church, “We will remember Thy love more than wine.”

Forget not, O man, the God that made thee. He has given thee no cause to forget Him. He ever keeps thee in mind; keep Him in mind.

Amid all thy forgetfulness let not Him be forgotten. Amid all thy remembrances let Him be ever uppermost. His remembrance will be joy and peace, fragrance, and refreshment, and strength. Retain Him in thy knowledge; root Him in thy memory; fix Him in thy heart forever.

—Horatius Bonar, Light & Truth: Bible Thoughts & Themes

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key, 1814

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation;
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Yes, we had a nice Independence Day; thanks for asking. It ended a little late, though. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of the geniuses* who cooked up Daylight Savings Time and the even greater geniuses* who decided our county should be on Central Time, the sun didn't set until 10:46 PM. Then came the fireworks. Morning came at the usual time. I'm tired.

I normally fall asleep reading. Last night, I picked up my book and fell asleep before I could even open it. What would Al Mohler say?†

I've already posted these videos on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and now I'm posting them here for those who come via RSS, Kindle, etc. That's how important reading, and exhorting you to read, is to me. I'm always discouraged to hear Christians, and even many in positions of leadership, say they don't like to read. This is entirely unacceptable. It is as Mohler said:

Reading is not an end in itself. Growth into godliness is the end. Being conformed to the image of Christ, that’s going to happen by Scripture, by the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, and it’s going to happen by reading. And so reading is not the thing; it’s not the end in itself; it is the way God has chosen to help his people grow, and it’s been that way from the beginning. The Jews were dependent upon the scrolls. Paul says to Timothy, “Bring the books and parchments—in a hurry.” And it’s just important we realize we’re not going to grow if we’re not reading and studying, and that means sitting in the chair and getting it done, but honestly, it’s appetitive. The more you do it, the more you love it. (emphasis added)

* Idiots

† Go ahead, say it: “Clever segue, David!”

Two days ago, July 4th, we in the United States of America celebrated our independence. I posted the lyrics to our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. This, I think, is a good patriotic song, acknowledging God as sovereign in battle and the builder and preserver of nations. But not all of our patriotic songs are good. Some are down-right atrocious, reflecting self-congratulatory pride rather than humble gratitude for the blessings of liberty we have been granted by our merciful creator. One such song is the Sousa march, Stars and Stripes Forever. I wrote a little piece on that about this time last year, which I think is a good reminder still of the perils of proud patriotism. Read it here: By Might and Right.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

—Romans 5:15

It may indeed be justly inferred, that since the fall of Adam had such an effect as to produce the ruin of many, much more efficacious is the grace of God to the benefit of many; inasmuch as it is admitted, that Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy.

—John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries Volume XIX, Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Baker Books, 2009), 206.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

—Romans 5:15

Jesus Christ broke the power of sin and death, but the converse is not true. Sin and death cannot break the power of Jesus Christ. The condemnation of Adam's sin is reversible, the redemption of Jesus Christ is not. The effect of adam's act is permanent only if not nullified by Christ. The effect of Christ's act, however, is permanent for believing individuals and not subject to reversal or nullification. We have the great assurance that once we are in Jesus Christ, we are in Him forever.

—John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 1–8 (Moody, 1991), 304.

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

—Matthew 7:25

This is one of my favorite choir hymns. The Concordia tune is How Fair the Church, in my opinion, a very beautiful tune, but definitely not chipper enough for today’s 7-eleven singers. Unfortunately, I can’t find a recording online. The tunes below are the traditional Solid Rock, and my favorite, Melita.

283 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to veil His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In ev’ry high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil;
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood:
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found;
Dress’d in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

—The Concordia Hymnal (Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.

Solid Rock

Melita

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Petitionary Hymns
Poem XXXII.
Where two or three are gathered together in my name, &c.
Augustus Toplady (1740–1778)

Jesus, God of love attend,
From thy glorious throne descend;
Answer now some waiting heart,
Now some harden’d soul convert:
To our advocate we fly,
Let us feel Emanuel nigh:
Manifest thy love abroad,
Make us now the sons of God.

Hover round us, King of kings,
Rise with healing in thy wings;
Melt our obstinacy down,
Cause us to become thine own:
Set, O set the captives free,
Draw our backward souls to thee;
Let us all from thee receive
Light to see and life to live.

Prostrate at thy mercy seat
Let us our beloved meet;
Give us in thyself a part,
Deep engraven on thine heart:
Let us hear thy pard’ning voice,
Bid the broken bones rejoice;
Condemnation do away,
O make this the happy day!

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Join to seek and save the lost:
Raise some sinner to thy throne,
Add a jewel to thy crown!
Are we not, without thy light,
Darken’d with Egyptian night?
Light of light, thy pow’r exert,
Lighten each benighted heart!

Prayer can mercy’s door unlock;
Open, Lord, to us that knock!
Us the heirs of glory seal,
With thy benediction fill:
Holy Spirit, make us his,
Visit ev’ry soul in peace;
Give our vanquish’d hearts to say,
Love divine has won the day!

Give the heavy laden rest,
Christ make known in ev’ry breast:
Void of thee we quickly die,
Turn our sackcloth into joy:
Witness all our sins forgiv’n,
Grant on earth a glimpse of heav’n;
Bring the joyful tidings down,
Fit us for our future crown.

Let us chaunt melodious hymns,
Loud as those of cherubims;
Join with heart and tongue to bless
Christ our strength and righteousness:
All our praise to him belongs,
Theme of our sublimest songs;
Object of our choicest love,
Thee we laud with hosts above.

Thee we hail with joint acclaim,
Shout the glories of thy name;
Ever may we feel thee thus,
Dear Immanuel, God with us!
Prince of peace, thy people see,
All our thanks we aim at thee;
Deign our tribute to receive,
Praise is all we have to give.

—The Complete Works of Augustus Toplady (Sprinkle Publications, 1987).

For there is no partiality with God.

—Romans 2:11

This cannot mean that God makes no difference between man and man. He does make a difference; and not one, but many. Our world is a world of differences; nor would it be the fair, orderly, and goodly world it is, were it not for these. Heights, depths, colors,—mountain, valley, rock,—sea, forest, stream,—sun, moon, and stars,—“one star differing from another star in glory”: these are some of the material or physical differences that make our world what it is. Then in man there is race, nation, color; gifts of body and mind; riches and poverty; fame and obscurity; ranks, degrees, circumstances, sorrows, joys, health, sickness: these in themselves constitute a vast variety, and then they subdivide themselves into minor varieties, which increase, ad infinitum, the differences between man. God has given to every man something of his own, in respect of mind, body, parentage, possessions, gifts, feelings, country, age, health, constitution, which belongs to no other. Thus in many respects He does make a difference between man and man.

Nor can this mean that He treats men at random, without reason or plan; irrespective of character, or doings, or believings, as if His dealings were all chance dealings, blind and arbitrary. No. His treatment of His creatures is sovereign, for He is God; but they are not unreasonable; nay, they are most just, wise, and reasonable,—infinitely so.

Nor does it mean that He has no fixed plan, but takes every man as he comes, allowing each to do as he pleases, and accepting every one because of sincerity, or earnestness, or amiableness, irrespective of error or unbelief.

These are the things which men have often assumed; on which they have acted; on which they presume that God acts. These are the things on which the unbelief of the present day lays great stress; resolving every difficulty as to truth, and righteousness, and judgment to come by the reiteration of the text, “God is love.” Whether such men really believe in a God at all may be questioned; at all events, the God in whom they believe is not the God of the Bible; the “Jehovah” of the Old Testament, and the “Lord” of the New; the God of the deluge, the God of Sinai, the God of the great white throne, the God of the second death; but a God who plays fast and loose with law, and morality, and truth, and holiness; whose pardons are the result of mere indifference to sin,—if there be such things as pardon at all; whose coming assize of judgment will be a mere form or mockery, perhaps the proclamation of universal amnesty to men and devils, with the abolition of hell itself as the summing up of the whole.

But let us consider what the apostle means by saying that God is no respecter of persons. It means two things.

1. That God has no respect to the outward appearance or circumstances of a man in dealing with him. God takes him for what he is, not for what he seems. The word translated, “person,” means mask or face covering; that which disguises a man, and makes him look different from what he is. God regardeth not the person or appearance of a man. To God the man is just what he is exactly, and neither more or less. False pretences or disguises are vain. The crown of the king is no thing to him; the gems of the wealthy add nothing to the man’s acceptance; the power of the statesman does not overawe the Judge of all; the Briton is not favored because he is such, nor the Chinese disfavored because he is such. In regard to all these externalisms, or shows, or masks, there is no respect of persons with God.

2. That in regard to justice and grace, God does not follow man’s estimates at all, either outward or inward. God has His own standard, His own estimate, His own way of procedure in treating the sinner, whether for condemnation or acceptance. The usual elements which decide man’s judgment have no place in God’s.

(1.) God’s estimate or rule in regard to justice, is that the doers of the law, the whole law, the unmodified law, shall live by it. So that if any man, whoever he be, Jew or Gentile, Briton or African, can come to God, and shew that he has kept the whole law, he shall be accepted without any abatement made in consideration of outward circumstances whether national or personal.

(2.) God’s estimate or rule in regard to grace, is that any man, whoever he be, who will consent to be indebted to the Son of God and His work for acceptance, shall be accepted. This is the way in which grace shews itself to be no respecter of persons. He that has a personal claim, shall have that claim fairly considered and weighed; he that has none, but is willing to take instead the claim of another, even of Christ, shall be received according to that divine claim; whatever he may be, or may have been, in respect of sin, or demerit, or nation, or intellect, or circumstances.

The apostle’s object is to declare these three things:—

1. God’s purpose of dealing with the sons of men. He is not going to let them alone, nor to allow them to have their own way.

2. God’s plan of dealing with them. He does so as God, sovereign and righteous, yet gracious. He will be fair and reasonable in all His dealings. He will not respect men’s persons, whether high or low.

3. His willingness to receive any. He has provided a method of reception; and He invites them. He is willing, infinitely willing, to receive any one of Adam’s sons and daughters, whoever or whatever he may be.

—Horatius Bonar, Light & Truth: Bible Thoughts & Themes

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We recently watched a movie in which an unlikely couple who don’t like each other are thrust into a working relationship (this was a drama, not comedy, so the usual “to hilarious effect” does not apply). You’ve seen that one, right? Yes, several times, under numerous titles. In this iteration, the couple was comprised of a late-thirties to forty-something man, experienced in their common profession, and a twenty-something woman, relatively new in the field. In one scene, the young woman has a nearly-fatal close call. Understandably traumatized, she breaks down in tears and falls into the arms of the stronger male character, who comforts her.

My immediate thoughts upon viewing the scene were, I wonder what feminist viewers think about this. Here are two professionals, equals (except for the difference in seniority and experience), supposedly interchangeable in all ways, but the woman is cast in an emotionally weaker role. Had the man dodged the bullet, even feminist Hollywood knows he would never have collapsed into his feminine partners embrace. That kind of power is normally wielded only by mothers (and mother figures), sisters, and wives — in other words, family. It is definitely not professional behavior, yet women can do it while men cannot and normally would not. And we all recognize these truths to be self-evident.

As we should. In a world obsessed with masculinizing women and feminizing men, we should be celebrating the differences, including those that seem less than admirable. As God has given the sexes different roles, he has given us different temperaments to fulfill those roles. The less-than-admirable characteristics I have in mind are 1) the insensitivity of men and 2) the emotional sensitivity of women, two opposites that cause immense frustration and conflict between the sexes. If you don’t know this, you’re obviously not married, and never had parents or opposite-sex siblings. You never had a crush on Susan in kindergarten and wanted to marry her (she said yes, by the way). You probably live alone on a remote island, where you were spontaneously generated from a stray speck of extra-terrestrial dust. Anyway . . .

Men are insensitive. So says the stereotype, and so observation proves. Men need to be insensitive. According to God’s design, men need to take the point in leading, protecting, and providing. They need to be able to roll with the punches, bind up their own wounds, and keep pushing forward. Men don’t have the luxury of stopping to cry over hurt feelings, or even actual harm. They need to move on, and the family and society are dependent on them to do so. God has given us calluses to enable us to fulfill his design. Our fallen natures makes inevitable the spreading of those calluses to undesirable places. So . . .

Thank God for women and their sometimes-maddening sensitivity. The maddening part is often a manifestation of sin’s corruption, but it very often is also maddening because it’s just very inconvenient to deal with. Maddening to us does not equal wrong. Just as men need, and are needed, to be insensitive, women need, and are needed, to be sensitive. God intends that women be the primary nurturers in the family. They need to be able to feel the pain of others, to bind up wounds of the heart as well as the flesh. If that tenderness bleeds over into moments of irrational emotion, it needs to be understood, just as men need understanding when they fail to empathize.

It is true that women often need men to tell them to get a grip on their emotions and get on with life, “shake it off and get back in the game.” It is equally true that men need women to remind them that empathy is a godly trait, one they would do well to develop as a part of loving neighbor as self and serving others as they should. However, on a fundamental level, these traits, though corrupted by sin, are complementary and a part of God’s design, and ought to be appreciated as such.

I expect this post has offended someone. Guess what? I’m a man — I don’t care! Ha!

Q. 25. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?

A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of that righteousness wherein he was created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually; which is commonly called original sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

—James 1:14–15

Adam and Eve lived in Eden, the only truly pristine environment ever known. Not only was the environment pristine, but the inhabitants as well. Perfect and pure, they lived in unspoiled health and happiness, and so they would have dwelt forever, but for the interference of an outsider. The first family fell to the temptation of an intruder, and having once fallen, were changed forever.

At this point, Satan could have retired, and the world still would have filled with wickedness. Mankind no longer needed an outside influence to sin, because now the sin was within. “The devil made me do it” would never be an excuse, because every sin is conceived in the heart of the sinner. Everything we do is a demonstration of “[our] own lust.” Whatever we want, that is what we do.

That is not to say that Satan is not active enemy. He certainly does do what he can to place temptation in our paths. But those temptations cannot tempt us without a corresponding internal desire to entice and carry us away. So if your prayers involve “binding Satan,” you may be fighting the wrong battle. Your worst enemy is not Satan; your worst enemy is you. Pray instead that God will continue sanctifying you, conforming you to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29, cf. Philippians 1:6).

Get your own copy of The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms here.

Paragraph two of the Preface to What Saint Paul Really Said:

I have lived with St Paul as a more or less constant companion for more than twenty years. Having written a doctoral dissertation on the letter to the Romans, a commentary on the letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, and a monograph on Paul’s view of Christ and the law — not to mention several articles on various passages and themes within Paul’s writings — I still have the sense of being only half-way up the mountain, of there being yet more to explore, more vistas to glimpse. Often (not always), when I read what other scholars way about Paul I have the feeling of looking downwards into the mist, rather than upwards to the mountain-top. Always I am aware that I myself have a good deal more climbing yet to do.

—N. T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really said (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1997), 7.

Allow me to paraphrase:

“I have been studying Paul for over twenty years. While I still have a lot to learn [Humblebrag!], I am pretty much the expert, the go-to guy if you want to understand Paul. Very few other Pauline scholars get him like I do. For two millennia, he has been a mystery. Only now, at this late day in the twentieth century, has one man begun to break the code. That man is me. So throw out all those useless commentaries and let me tell you what all those ignorant boobs have been missing: What Saint Paul Really Said.”

I found this among some of my old writing. I think I’ve posted it before, but it’s been a long time. I find myself in a Psalm 42 state of mind lately.

O God, I thirst for you; I long to be in your presence.
Surely, you have not forgotten me!

Lift up my downcast soul; still the turmoil within me.
Let the roar of your waterfalls thunder in my ears;
and let me be immersed in you
as your waves break over me.

I praise you for your steadfast love,
and the song you have given me—
a prayer to you, the God of my life.

Praise you, O Lord,
my rock,
my salvation,
my God.

The Lord expresses His rule in His church insofar as the Scripture is preached, explained, applied, and obeyed. To diminish the dominating role of Scripture in the life of the church is to treat the Lord of the Church as if His revelation were optional. It is nothing short of mutiny. And the seriousness of such revolt cannot be comprehended. Nonbiblical ministry, non-expository preaching, and non-doctrinal teaching usurp Christ’s headship, silencing His voice to His sheep. That kind of devastating approach steals the mind of Christ away from the body of Christ, builds indifference toward His Word, and quenches the work of His Spirit. It removes protection from error and sin, eliminates transcendence and clarity, cripples worship, and sows seeds of compromise. It deflects the honor due to the true head of the church, and the Lord does not take kindly to those who would steal His glory.

—John MacArthur, Slave (Thomas Nelson, 2010), 75.

Possibly Toplady’s best, humbly acknowledging absolute helplessness and dependence on Christ:

284 Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save me from its guilt and pow’r.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

—The Concordia Hymnal (Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.

Mahalia Jackson

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

The Assistance and Influence of the Blessed Spirit
Philip Doddridge (1702–1751)

Tis not in my weak pow’r alone,
To melt this stubborn heart of stone,
My soul to change, my life to mend,
Or seek to Christ, that gen’rous friend.

’Tis God’s own Spirit from above
Fixes our faith, inflames our love.
And makes a life divine begin
In wretched souls, long dead in sin.

That most important gift of heaven
To those that ask and seek is given;
Then be it my immediate care
With importunity of prayer,

To seek it in a Savior’s name,
Who will not turn my hopes to shame.
God from on high, His grace shall pour,
My soul shall flourish more and more.

Press on with speed from grace to grace,
Till glory end and crown the race.
Since then the Father and the Son,
And Holy Spirit, three in one,

Glorious beyond all speech and thought,
Have jointly my salvation wrought;
I’ll join them in my songs of praise,
Now and through heaven’s eternal days.

—Worthy Is the Lamb (Soli Deo Gloria, 2004).

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets

—Romans 3:21

It is of sin and righteousness that the apostle speaks so fully and so minutely throughout this whole epistle. Up to the verse from which our text is taken, he has been settling this point, that man is a sinner, and needs a righteousness, else he cannot stand before God. Circumcision cannot give a righteousness; it merely tells us that a righteousness is needed, no more. The law cannot give a righteousness; it is merely a declaration of what righteousness is, and that the unrighteous shall not stand before God. It condemns, it cannot justify. By the law is the knowledge of sin, and thus every mouth is stopped, and the whole world brought in guilty before God. But, notwithstanding this, there is a righteousness; a righteousness which meets the case of the unrighteous in every part; a righteousness which can reverse even the verdict of the law against the unrighteous; a righteousness on the footing of which we can stand with boldness in the presence of the holy God without either shame or fear. It is of this righteousness that he proceeds to speak in the words of our text. Let us hear what he affirms regarding it.

I. First, it is the righteousness of God. It is a divine, not a human righteousness. That righteousness which we had lost in Adam was, after all, but a human thing, finite hike him who lost it; but that which we gain is a divine righteousness, and by being divine, forms an infinite compensation for that which Adam lost for us; and we, in receiving it, are made partakers of a most glorious exchange. It is called the righteousness of God, because it is a righteousness provided by Him; a righteousness which was conceived by Him, set on foot, and carried out in every part by Him, entirely and by Him alone; a righteousness, in the providing of which we had nothing to do, even in thought or in desire, far less in execution; a righteousness, the origin and accomplishment of which are wholly and purely God’s, not man’s at all. Again, it is called the righteousness of God, because it is a righteousness founded on the sufferings of the Son of God. It behoved Him, who is the only-begotten of the Father to take flesh and suffer, ere the very first step towards the providing of that righteousness could be taken. And He has suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God; and thus the foundation of a divine righteousness has been laid.

Again, it is called the righteousness of God, because it is a righteousness made up of time doings of the Son of God. It is not merely with His sufferings that this righteousness has to do, but it is with His doings as well. These two things enter into its composition, so that, without both of them, it would be imperfect. What He did on earth in magnifying the law and making it honourable; what He did on earth in obeying the Father’s will in every jot and tittle, makes up this righteousness. These doings of His were infinitely pleasing to the Father, infinitely glorifying to the Father’s holiness, and infinitely honouring to that law which our unrighteousness had violated and dishonoured.

Further, it is called the righteousness of God, because it provides such a compensation for human unrighteousness, that it not only takes it all away, but brings in a new and far higher and surer footing for the sinner to rest on. It introduces a new standing of acceptance, so that the man who becomes a partaker of this provided righteousness becomes divinely accepted, divinely righteous, divinely blessed. It is not a mere simple righteousness that God sets forth; it is a super abounding one, an infinite one, one which can leave no room for doubt on our part at all, one that is most amply sufficient to meet our case were we the very guiltiest on whom the sun has ever shone.

II. Secondly, it is a righteousness without the law. He does not mean that it is in any sense an unlawful righteousness,—a righteousness not based on law,—a righteousness, in providing which, law has been set aside in any sense; but it means a righteousness which, in so far as we are concerned, has nothing to do with law at all. It is not a righteousness which asks any doing, or working, or obeying, on our part, in order to complete it, in order to make it what it is—“the righteousness of God”; for did it require anything of this kind on our part, it would cease to be what it is here represented to be, “the righteousness of God,” and would become, to a large extent at least, “the righteousness of man.” This righteousness does not send us to the law in order to be justified; it does not throw us upon our own works, either in whole or in part; it proceeds from first to last upon such principles as these, announced elsewhere in this epistle, and in the Epistle to the Galatians: “By time deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified.” And again, as it is written “To him that worketh not, but believeth in Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” In no sense, and at no time, does it say to us, “Do this, and thou shalt live; do this, and thou shalt be saved.” In no sense does it give us the idea of a thing far off, but of a thing nigh, at our very side; not of a thing to be toiled for, a thing to be waited for on our part. In no such sense has this righteousness anything to do with law, or with our doing of the law. For what is the whole of the Epistle to the Galatians but a protest against the idea that this righteousness of God has anything to do with the law, in so far as the sinner is concerned? In so far as God is concerned, in so far as the Son of God is concerned, it had everything to do with law; but in so far as we are concerned, it has nothing to do with it; it is a righteousness without the law. Let us, brethren, hold fast then this truth of the gospel, this foundation truth; righteousness without law, righteousness founded in no sense upon our keeping of the law; but wholly and absolutely upon this fact, that another has kept the law for us, and that other no less than the Son of God Himself.

III. Thirdly, This righteousness has been “manifested” acceptance. “Now,” he says, “the righteousness of God is manifested;” it has been clearly brought to light, so that there can be no mistake concerning it, and no mystery in it. It is not a thing hidden, wrapped up, reserved, held back, veiled from our view. It is a thing clearly brought out today, and shone upon by God’s own light, so that the difficulty seems to be, not how to see it, but how to miss seeing it, how to keep ourselves from apprehending it. It has been clearly manifested. God has been at infinite pains to bring it forward to view, both on our own account, and on account of Him whose righteousness it is. In every way He has sought to guard it against the possibility of being mistaken by man. In every way has He taken precautions against this being hidden from view, or darkened by the words of man’s wisdom. He has set this righteousness as a star in the firmament above us, that every eye may see it, that no mountains of earth may come between us and the heavenly vision; He has made it peculiarly bright, that every eye may be attracted to it. He has removed other stars from around it, that it may not be mistaken, but stand alone in its brilliance. It is to this star we point the eye of each sinner here; the Star of Bethlehem, the brightest in God’s firmament, the bright and morning star, the star which God has set there as His light to the world. He presents it to each one of you, that on recognizing it you may not walk in darkness, but have the light of life, and that, knowing it as it has been manifested, you may no longer stand in doubt as to your relationship with God, as to your personal acceptance. He so puts this righteousness at your disposal that you may come to Him in confidence, using it as if it were entirely your own.

IV. Fourthly, This righteousness is a righteousness “to which the law and the prophets bear witness.” By this expression, we understand the whole of the Old Testament. It is not something (he means to tell us) now come to light for the first time, not understood in the ages gone by; it is something which has been proclaimed from the beginning hitherto. To these oracles the eye of every saint, from Abel downward, has been directed; on this righteousness the feet of every saint from the beginning have stood; of this righteousness every prophet has spoken; to this righteousness every type has borne witness; and this righteousness every sacrifice has set forth. It is this Star which shone down upon the pilgrimage of Old Testament worthies, and in the light of which they walked. It is this Star which sheds light on every page of their history; it was to this Star that they, with one consent, age after age, pointed the eye of all around. They knew none but this; they cared for none but this; to them, as to those who believe now, Christ was “all and in all” On this righteousness they rested, in it they rejoiced. It is no new righteousness which we preach. It is no new foundation of which we tell. It is the old one, the well-proved one. It has been abundantly sufficient in past ages, and it has lost none of its efficiency now in these last days. It was enough for the saints in former ages, it is enough for us now. They who found salvation, ages and generations ago, found it here; and he who finds salvation now finds it also here.

V. Fifthly, This righteousness is a righteousness which is by the faith of Jesus Christ: “Even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference.” He means to say by this expression, that it is a righteousness which comes to us by believing in Jesus Christ. It is not our faith that is our righteousness; it is not our act of believing that justifies. If your faith were your righteousness, then faith would be just reduced to the level of all other works, and would be itself a work. If it were our faith, our act of faith, that justified, then should we be justified by our own acts, by our own deeds. The expression, then “the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ,” means simply that it is a righteousness which passes over to us, and becomes available for us, by believing in Him whose righteousness it is; that is, by believing the Father’s testimony concerning Jesus Christ. It is by believing that we are identified with Him, so that His doing becomes our doing in the eye of God, and in the eye of the law; His suffering becomes our suffering; His fulfilling of the law becomes our fulfilling of the law; His obedience to the Father’s will is our obedience to the Father’s will. Such is the position into which we are brought by being made, in believing, one with Him. Thus “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ,” is presented to us, that in believing on Him, He may become ours. Righteousness is here laid down at our feet. It is there, whether we receive it or not. It is there, whether we believe it or not; whether we reject it or receive it. Your receiving it does not create it; your receiving it does not complete it; it is all created, it is all completed, it is all free, it is all at our feet, whether we take it or thrust it away; and our condemnation hereafter, if we be lost, will be not that there was no righteousness, not that we refused to complete a righteousness which had been begun, but that we rejected the righteousness which was completed, and which was so presented to us by God himself. It is in believing, or, as the apostle expresses it, by faith in Jesus Christ, that this righteousness, with all its privileges, and with all its results, passes over to us. For in believing, what are we saying but just this: “I have no works to bring to God; I am a sinner, but I take this work of the Son of God, and I ask to be dealt with by God according to its value, and just as if I had done the work, and not He.” Or, it is just as if we were saying, “I have no righteousness, seeing I am wholly a sinner; but I take this righteousness of the Son of God, and I draw near, expecting to be treated by God, just as if I and not He were the righteous person. I cannot present any suffering to Him in payment of penalty; bat I take this suffering of the Son of God, and I claim to have it reckoned to me as payment of my penalty.” Thus it is, “Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

VI. Sixthly, This righteousness is a righteousness for the unrighteous. It “is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” It is righteousness for the unrighteous. It is not righteousness for the good, but for the evil. It is not righteousness for the worthy, but for the unworthy. It is our unrighteousness that fits us for this righteousness. It is the evil that is in us that fits us for the excellency that is found in it. How foolish, then, to say as men, when convinced of sin, or when going back into former iniquity, are sometimes found saying, “I am too great a sinner to be for given.” Why, if you were not such a sinner, you would not need such a righteousness. It is the extent of your unrighteousness that fits you for a righteousness so infinite, so divine. If the righteousness were not the righteousness of God, if it were a human and not a divine righteousness, if finite and not infinite, your fear would be natural; but seeing it is divine not human, infinite, not finite, can anything be more foolish, more presumptuous, more profane, than to say, “My unrighteousness is too great for the righteousness of the Son of God”? This righteousness for the unrighteous is said by the apostle to be “unto all.” It is a righteousness which is like the sun in the heavens. It is one sun; yet it is enough for every one, it is free to every one. God works out a righteousness, and then sets it down on this fallen earth, that every one may avail himself of it. We are, therefore, not to say, Is this righteousness provided for this one or for that one, for many or for few? but there it is, there is the righteousness, go and take it. That is the gospel. Looking at the natural sun, do you ever think of asking, Is it for me, for this man or for that, the many or the few? You open your eye and enjoy its beams without asking any questions. Your making such inquiries would indicate a very unhealthy state of body; and so your asking such questions regarding God’s intention as proposed in this righteousness, indicates an unhealthy state of mind. To every sinner here, we preach the good news of this righteousness; a righteousness not only suitable and sufficient, but glorious and free; righteousness for the unrighteous; righteousness for the most unrighteous of the children of men.

Again, it is a righteousness which is “upon all them that believe”: It is “unto all”; but it is only “upon” them that believe. The moment that we believe through grace, we are accepted in the Beloved, redeemed from condemnation and from wrath. Till then the wrath of God abideth upon us. It is in believing that this righteousness is put upon us; and in believing what? In believing what God has testified concerning this righteousness, and concerning Him whose righteousness it is.

Again, the apostle affirms regarding this righteousness for the unrighteous, that “there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” There is no difference as to its fitness for the sinner, whatever his sin may be; and there is no difference as to the fitness of the sinner for the righteousness. There is this twofold fitness: the fitness of the righteousness for the sinner, and the fitness of the sinner for the righteousness. “There is no difference”; there is no man more fit than another; all are equally fit or equally unfit, equally qualified or equally unqualified, for “all have sinned”; and it is this that brings down all to the same level, and down to this level it is that the righteousness comes. For it is not a righteousness which has only come down to a certain level,—which has lighted upon earth, but only upon some of its highest peaks; it is a righteousness which has come down to the very lowest valleys, a righteousness which may be found out without climbing, and even beside our very dwellings. No one, then, can say, “I deserve it, therefore it is for me”; and no one, on the other hand, can say, “I do not deserve it, therefore it is not for me.” There is no difference, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Thus it suits the case of all; so that no one can put it away, and say, “It does not suit my case, but it may suit others.” Nay, friend, if you are not an unrighteous man it will not suit you, I grant; but if you are an unrighteous man it must suit you. There is no question as to the kind of your unrighteousness, the length of time, the amount or degree; there is no question about that, the simple question is, Are you an unrighteous man? Then it suits your case. And it is a righteousness near to each one of you; it is not afar off: it is not in heaven above, so that you have to climb to the seat of God to obtain it; and it is not down so low that you must dig to earth’s center to find it: it is near, it is at your very side; and if you reject it, it cannot be because of its distance. God has brought it near. He ells you it is near. “I bring near my righteousness.” God says that; and who are you that you should say, It is far off? Nay, more, it is free,—“Without money and without price.” There is no payment asked; no payment can be taken. The very idea of payment is insulting to the righteousness, and insulting to Him whose righteousness it is. Yet many seek to buy it,—not perhaps by their gold and silver, but by other things equally worthless. Some would buy it by their penances and fastings, some by their confessions; some would buy it by their repentance, some by their prayers, some by their self-mortification and privations, some by their fair lives and excellent deeds.

It is righteousness for the unrighteous that we proclaim, the righteousness of God, a righteousness which has come down from heaven to earth on very purpose that it may be presented to you. It is God’s wish that you should take it. Do you refuse it? He hinders not. Where then lies the hindrance? In you, not in Him. The refusal will not be on His part; it must be on yours; and if you perish, you perish, not because He would not be reconciled to you, but because you would not be reconciled to Him; not because there was not a provided righteousness, but because you rejected it; not because there was not sufficient love in God to give you that righteousness, but because you willfully put away from you both the righteousness and the love.

—Horatius Bonar, Light & Truth: Bible Thoughts & Themes

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John MacArthur on the marks of genuine faith:

Clearly, not all who claim to know the Lord actually do. Those who truly “belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). Rather than walking in the flesh, they now “walk by the Spirit” (v. 25), being characterized by a growing desire to obey the Word of God. As Jesus told the crowds in John 8:31, “If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” After all, “each tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:44); and genuine conversion is always marked by the fruit of repentance and the fruit of the Spirit. Loving obedience is the defining evidence of salvation, such that the two are inseparably linked; as the author of Hebrews explains: “he became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (5:9).

The rest of the New Testament issues similar warnings to anyone who might claim to belong of Christ while persisting in unrepentant sin. The first epistle of John is especially clear in this regard. There John wrote, “If we say that we have fellowship Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:16). And later, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices Sin is of the devil. . . . No one who is born of God practices sin. . . . By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” (3:7–10). Though many call themselves “Christians,” the true condition of anyone’s heart is ultimately seen in how he lives. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. The profession of faith that never evidences itself in righteous behavior is a “dead” faith (James 2:17), being no better than that of the demons (v. 19). This is not to say that true believers never stumble. Certainly they do. Yet the pattern of their lives is one of continual repentance and increasing godliness as they grow in sanctification and Christlikeness.

—John MacArthur, Slave (Thomas Nelson, 2010), 91–93.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

—Romans 5:15

I have lately been stuck on Romans 5:15–21, particularly the “much more” statements in 15, 17, and 20.

If there was so much power and efficacy, as it seems there was, in the sin of a man, who was of the earth, earthy, to condemn us, much more are there power and efficacy in the righteousness and grace of Christ, who is the Lord from heaven, to justify and save us. The one man that saves us is Jesus Christ. Surely Adam could not propagate so strong a poison but Jesus Christ could propagate as strong an antidote, and much stronger.

—Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Hendrickson, 1991), 6:323.

Beneath the tyrant Satan’s yoke
Our souls were long oppressed;
Till grace our galling fetters broke,
And gave the weary rest.
Jesus, in that important hour,
His mighty arm made known;
He ransomed us by price, and pow’r,
And claimed us for his own.
Now, freed from bondage, sin, and death,
We walk in Wisdom’s ways;
And wish to spend our every breath,
In wonder, love, and praise.
Ere long, we hope with him to dwell
In yonder world above;
And now, we only live to tell
The riches of his love.

—John Newton, quoted in John MacArthur, Slave (Thomas Nelson, 2010), 114.

John MacArthur on the permanence of adoption:

The doctrine of adoption establishes the reality that believers, once saved, are always saved. As one scholar, commenting on Paul’s use of adoption imagery, has explained, “The important term ‘adoption’ bears a relationship to justification in that it is declarative and forensic (inasmuch as it is a legal term). Adoption bestows an objective standing, as justification does: like justification, it is a pronouncement that is not repeated. It has permanent validity. Like justification, adoption rests on the loving purposes and grace of God.

. . .

If our adoption were not permanent, we would have great reason to fear. Our sin might yet condemn us. But “contrasted with this inner sense of dread before God, the righteous judge, is the sense of peace and security before God, our heavenly Father, that is produced by God’s Spirit in the heart of Christians. Paul could hardly have chosen a better word than ‘adoption’ to characterize this peace and security.” Thus Paul’s point in Romans 8:15 is that the spirit of adoption casts out the spirit of fear that comes from slavery to sin. The Holy Spirit testifies to our spirits that we are the children of God (v. 16), and if we have the Holy Spirit, we have God’s unbreakable seal guaranteeing our future inheritance. Moreover, “adoption does not depend on any worthiness in us, but upon unmerited favor. It is all of grace.” We did nothing to earn our adoption into God’s family, and we can do nothing to lose it either.

—John MacArthur, Slave (Thomas Nelson, 2010), 170–171.

Like the cross, slavery is both paradigm and paradox. The cross, the most excruciating and pervasive symbol of suffering and death in the first century, has come to represent for the followers of Jesus the only way to peace and life. In the same sense slavery, which represents the total denial of freedom, becomes for the followers of Christ, the Servant Savior, the only means to the realization of the true freedom. . . . [Jesus] came in the form of a slave, not to offer us freedom from slavery but a new kind of slavery that is freedom.

—Michael Card, quoted in John MacArthur, Slave (Thomas Nelson, 2010), 197–198.

Continuing the theme from last week, this 1876 hymn is clearly inspired by Toplady’s Rock of Ages, written one hundred years earlier.

298 O Safe to the Rock that Is Higher than I

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine, would I be,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.

Refrain:
Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.

In the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,
In times when temptation casts o’er me its pow’r;
In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.

Refrain

How oft in the conflict, when press’d by the foe,
I have fled to my refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often, when trials like sea billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.

Refrain

—The Concordia Hymnal(Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

The Voice from Galilee.
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon my breast.
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting-place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Behold, I freely give
The living water: thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink, and live.
I came to Jesus and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
I am this dark world’s light,
Look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy day be bright.
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk,
Till travelling days are done.

—Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope, First Series (James Nisbet & Co., 1878).

Bonar

Kingsfold

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness

—Romans 4:3–5

Justification by faith is a very old doctrine,—one of the oldest dogmas on record. It is as old as Abraham; as old as Abel. The patriarchs knew it well, and lived thereby. It was as believing men that they were justified. The old pagans had not so much as a glimpse of this. It required a divine revelation to communicate even the idea or possibility of it, much more the actual thing.

The apostle goes back to Abraham for his illustration of this free justification, and reminds us that his faith was counted for righteousness, that is, his believing was reckoned instead of his working, in the great question of acceptance. He took God at His word, and in thus honouring Him, “pleased God.” Hence the apostle thus strongly puts the matter,—“To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

I. Who justifies? “It is God that justifieth.” The Judge, the Lawgiver, is the Justifier. Self-justification is as useless as it is impossible. To acquit myself is of no avail, unless the law and the lawgiver do the same. I must have my sentence of acquittal or justification from God Himself. It is only His verdict that can satisfy me now, or can avail me in the day of the great reckoning. “Not guilty” from my own hips or from man’s lips, will profit nothing; “not guilty” from His lips is altogether sufficient; I need no more to set my soul at rest, and to give me peace of conscience, tranquility of soul.

II. What sort of justification does He give? Man’s ideas of justification are vague and low; we must recognize God’s thoughts upon the question. His justification is,—

(1.) Righteous. The adjustment of the question between us and God is a righteous adjustment. Its basis is righteousness. Nothing but this would satisfy God or ourselves, or make us feel safe in accepting it in our dealings with a holy God. This righteousness is secured by the full payment of the penalty by a surety or substitute. He does what we should have done; He suffers what we should have suffered; He lives our life, He dies our death, He descends to our grave. Thus He exhausts the penalty, and so makes justification a righteous thing; and our justification is that of men who have suffered the law’s full penalty for our sins; our pardon is that of men who, in the person of their substitute, have undergone all that they deserved eternally to undergo. The Just One suffering for the unjust makes the justification of the unjust a just and righteous thing.

(2.) Complete. It extends to our whole persons; to our whole lives; to every sin committed by us. The whole man is justified. It is no half-pardon, no semi-acceptance, that we receive, but something complete and divine; perfect as God can make it; so perfect as to satisfy conscience here, and to stand the test of the judgment seat hereafter. Nothing in us or about us that goes to make up our character as sinners, is left unjustified.

(3.) Irreversible. No second verdict can alter our legal position. God is not a man that He should lie. Pardoned once, then pardoned forever. “Who is he that condemneth?” “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”

(4.) Divine. It is a justification worthy of God; a justification which shall place the justified on a far higher level than the first Adam stood upon; a justification which can only be likened to that of the Son of God Himself when He rose from the dead, being “justified in the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16).

III. For whom is it? For the ungodly. Yes; for such alone. Righteousness for the unrighteous is that which the Righteous One came to bring. In this matter of pardon and acceptance, the principle is not, “To him that hath shall more be given, but to him that hath nothing shall all be given. It is not partial or incipient godliness that attracts this justification to an individual. The only fitness or qualification is our need, our ungodliness, our unrighteousness, total and complete, without one particle of goodness or deservingness. It was for the ungodly that Christ died. It was for the ungodly that this righteousness was provided; and he who thinks to have it on any other footing save that of simple need or in any other character save that of unrighteousness or ungodliness, cannot possibly obtain it. The “good news” which we bring concerning this righteousness is that it is for the ungodly,—for the ungodliest; and he who would qualify or explain away that word ungodly, subverts and denies the whole gospel of the grace of God.

IV. How we get it. By believing. In accepting God’s testimony to the righteousness,—in crediting His word concerning this justification,—we are justified at once. The righteousness becomes ours; and God treats us henceforth as men who are righteous, as men who, on account of the righteousness which has thus become theirs, are entitled to be dealt with as righteous, out and out. Of Abraham it is said, “His faith was counted for righteousness”; that is, God counted this believing man as one who had done all righteousness, just because he was a believing man. Not that his act or acts of faith were substituted as equivalent to work, but his believing brought him into the possession of all that working could have done. Thus, in believing, we get the righteousness. Our believing accomplishes for us all that our working could have done. The apostle’s words are very bold, and the comparison between the working and believing which they embody, brings out the great distinction between man’s thoughts and God’s, man’s ways and God’s, “To him that worketh not, but believeth.” We are so apt to mix up the two together, the believing and the working, the believing and the feeling, that it is needful to have a strong statement like this thoroughly to clear up our thoughts, and to prevent confusion. The expression here, “believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly,” is another way of expressing the truth, “believing in the Lord Jesus Christ”; for it points us to God, who laid our sins upon His Son, that by this bearing of them, in the person of a divine surety, God might be just, and the Justifier of him who believes.

Come and be justified, is His message to the sinner. Credit my testimony, and be freely pardoned! For our gospel is not, “Do this” or “that,” but, Come, reap the fruits of what another has done. Come, and, without working, or waiting, or praying, or feeling, enter into the complete justification of him who believeth!

—Horatius Bonar, Light & Truth: Bible Thoughts & Themes

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

If John Owen’s The Mortification of Sin is a bit heavy for you, Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin by Brian Hedges might be a good place for you to start. Here is an early excerpt:

Putting to death sin is the duty of every Christian, but no one can become a Christian by mortification. The only sins we can kill are the sins that have been forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus. Owen said, “There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.” To attempt to kill sin without Christ will only delude us and harden us further in our sins. The first priority in dealing with sin is to look to the crucified Savior, Jesus Christ.

In one of the most interesting stories in the Old Testament, the newly rescued people of Israel sinned by murmuring against God and his servant Moses. Their unprovoked sin was so evil that the Lord judged them by sending poisonous snakes into their camp. These “fiery serpents . . . bit the people, so many people of Israel died.” Then the people came to Moses, confessed their sin, and begged him to ask God to take the snakes away. Moses prayed for the people, and God gave him a strange command: he was to make a serpent from bronze and place it on a pole in the middle of the camp. Then, if someone had been bitten by a snake, he or she had only to look at the bronze snake in order to be healed. The simple act of gazing at the brazen serpent brought life and healing (see Numbers 21:4–9).

But more amazing is how Jesus used this story on the New Testament: :And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:14–15).

The most important thing to understand in this first chapter is this: before you can kill sin, you have to look to the Lord who was lifted up on the cross for you. You cannot fight sin unless you have found rest in the inexhaustible sufficiency of the doing and dying of Jesus Christ in your place. You cannot mortify sin unless that sin has already been nailed to the cross of Christ. There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.

—Brian G. Hedges, Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin (Cruciform Press, 2011), 16–18.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire [. . .]. If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell [. . .]. If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

—Mark 9:42–48

In his book Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin, Brian Hedges recounts the story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who, in 2003, was forced to amputate his own arm to free himself from a fallen boulder. He then makes a connection between Ralston’s experience and Mark 9:42–48.

While sin cannot drag a true blood-washed believer in Jesus to hell, the basic lesson Jesus teaches in this passage is vital to the life of faith. Jesus’ words still hold true: sin is out to ruin us, as badly as t can, dragging us as far away from God as it can, in any way that it can. Just as Aron Ralston didn’t decide to sever his own arm until it was clear there was no other alternative, so we will not exert holy violence against our sins until we’re convinced that they really are dangerous.

—Brian G. Hedges, Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin (Cruciform Press, 2011), 22–23.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

—Romans 7:21–23

The problem of sin in the lives of believers is difficult to reconcile with the Bible’s teaching on the effects of regeneration. If we are dead to sin, why is sin still present? In the last verses of Romans 7, Paul struggles with this conflict. Brian Hedges, considering Romans 6–7, offers this summary explanation: “the bondage to sin is broken, but the conflict with sin continues.” Further, he offers this analogy:

Imagine that an undercover spy is lurking in the White House administration plotting an act of terrorism against the United States. There is a huge difference between the relative positions of the President of the United States and the seditious mole. Both are resident in the White House, but only the President has legitimate executive authority. The mole works by deception, manipulation, and subterfuge. But he has no right to be there, no rightful rank in the chain of command.

In much the same way, sin is resident, not president, in the believer’s heart. The dominion of sin has ended. Its authority to rule is removed, its stranglehold broken. It has influence, but no legitimate authority to rule over us. It is an insidious mole in the believer’s heart that works through manipulation, deception, and subterfuge.

—Brian G. Hedges, Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin (Cruciform Press, 2011), 37–38.

If you’ve followed this blog for long, you are probably aware that my attitude toward social media is, at best, ambivalent. I use both Facebook and Twitter, but mostly as feeds to this site. I have no intention of changing that. However, I’ve written down some bite-sized thoughts over the last week or so, each of them under the 140-character Twitter limit, and proffer them here.

You may ask, “Why not just Tweet them? Isn’t this just a sneaky way of tweeting while maintaining your aloof elitism?” Yes . . . er, no. Maybe. But seriously, I don’t think the Twitter format can support ideas of any size or importance. Standing alone, these are bare, unsupported assertions, provocations for conversations that can never take place without a great deal of space and time. Each of them require, at least, a few hundred words of explanation to become valid ideas. Here, at least, I can admit that. To do so on Twitter would use up my character limit (and my character is very limited).

So, here you go: some things I’ve thought. You should think them too, but only after you’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about them.

• Anyone can plant a church in the city or suburb. Come out to rural America, you “missional” types. I dare you.
• God has not called me to be radical. He’s called me to be faithful.
• If you have highly marketable talents and work hard, you might reap great rewards, bringing upon yourself the disdain of the holier class.
• Inner-city ministry to lower classes is not new. But genuine gospel ministries aimed at wealthy executives … ever seen one? Me neither.
• There is no virtue in poverty. Asceticism is just another vanity.
• Anything worth publishing is worth putting in hardcover. Anything worth passing on is worth sewn bindings in cloth or leather.
• Fantasy Church: I want to worship with Presbyterians on Sunday morning and study with Particular Baptists on Wednesday night.
• God’s Will, Part 1. Two wills of God: Revealed, and Undiscovered.
• God’s Will, Part 2. His revealed will is found in Scripture alone; learn it and obey it.
• God’s Will, Part 3. Love the Lord, love your neighbor, then do what you want.
• God’s Will, Part 4. His Undiscovered Will is now discovered, but only in hindsight.
• Hollywood writers are notoriously bad theologians. [How bad are they?] Almost as bad as typical evangelicals.
• I’d rather have a beer with an unbeliever than coffee with a Christian who thinks it’s a sin to have a beer with an unbeliever.
• On beer with an unbeliever vs. coffee with a legalist: WWJD?
• WWJD is very often the wrong question. Ask, rather, what has Jesus done, and how, then, shall I live?
• If you think your spouse is difficult, you’re certainly right. What did you expect?
• I’d rather read Tom Clancy than almost anything from a Christian bookstore. Both take the Lord’s name in vain, but Clancy is entertaining.
• If I had a boat, I’d go out on the ocean, and if I had a pony, I’d ride him on my boat.
• If you were smarter, you’d understand me; if I was smarter, I’d be easier to understand.
• Lean hopwards, please.
• Pentecostal/charismatic theology in all its shades is dangerous, and inherently non-Protestant.
• Roman Catholicism is not Christianity.
• Sausage, cheese, and salt & vinegar chips. Especially cheese.
• Six twenty-four hour days of creation is not secondary doctrine. It is essential to the gospel.
• There is no unique baby in any bathwater anywhere, including mine.
• Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?

These are, as I said, bare, unsupported assertions. Ask me to expand any, and maybe I will sometime.

On another social media-related topic, I’ve joined Google+. If Facebook had functioned like this, I might have actually used it for social connections. So connect with me on Google+, if you like. Now, which circle shall I put you in? I’ll have to consult my Dante . . .

It’s well past noon here, and I’ve really got nothing to say. I haven’t been reading, and I haven’t a creative thought in my head. I’ve had a lot on my mind. I’ve been thinking about a friend whose wife is recovering from major surgery and is having a difficult recovery, and another whose wife has been diagnosed with cancer. I’ve been thinking about children who don’t know the Lord, and friends with children who don’t know the Lord. I’ve been thinking of my own need for greater devotion to my Lord and Savior, and of my need to be more like him.

I’ve been praying for all of these, and thinking of how much more profitable my time is spent this way than blogging, and how much more profitable your time could be spent praying for the spiritual and material needs of others, and for your own growth in grace, instead of reading blogs.

This hymn of William Cowper was inspired by Genesis 5:24:

Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

317 O For a Closer Walk with God

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heav’nly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

—The Concordia Hymnal(Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Hymn LVIII.
O Lord, I will praise thee! Isaiah xii.
William Cowper (1731–1800)

I will praise thee every day
Now thine anger’s turned away!
Comfortable thoughts arise
From the bleeding sacrifice.

Here in the fair gospel field,
Wells of free salvation yield
Streams of life, a plenteous store,
And my soul shall thirst no more.

Jesus is become at length
My salvation and my strength;
And his praises shall prolong,
While I live, my pleasant song.

Praise ye, then, his glorious name,
Publish his exalted fame!
Still his worth your praise exceeds,
Excellent are all his deeds.

Raise again the joyful sound,
Let the nations roll it round!
Zion shout, for this is he,
God the Savior dwells in thee.

—Olney Hymns. Book I: On select Passages of Scripture.

6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,

And whose sins have been covered.

8

“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”

—Romans 4

The apostle asks, How was Abraham justified? He answers, “By believing.” Then he asks, How was David justified? And he answers, “By believing.” In both cases by the “righteousness of God”; a righteousness “without works”; a righteousness “without law” and yet a righteousness witnessed by the law and the prophets; a righteousness in accordance with all true law and government; a righteousness for the unrighteous.

Again, the apostle raises the question, What makes a blessed man? And he refers to David’s announcement respecting blessedness, and its cause or root. The blessed man is the man to whom “God imputeth righteousness without works.” To a sinner this is absolutely essential; it is a sine qua non, indispensable. There can be no blessedness in any other way. After the imputation has taken place, there are innumerable sources of blessedness, all pouring in their joy and peace; but this is the beginning. No blessedness without this divine reckoning of righteousness; but with this a man’s blessedness commences. Heaven is begun within him, the heaven that David tasted, and which he so often speaks of: “in His favor is life.” (Psalm 3:5.)

There is, then, blessedness on earth, even to a sinner,—true blessedness,—that which God calls by that name. In spite of weariness, sorrow, conflict, cares, fears, burdens, there is such a thing as blessedness. And this blessedness God freely presents to each unblessed, sorrowful, burdened son of Adam, without money and without price.

The apostle, in quoting the words of David, thus prefaces and interprets them: “David describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” Righteousness without works was that which David enjoyed. He obtained righteousness without working for it at all; righteousness by simply taking it from another, and using it as if it were his own.

We must have a righteousness, else we cannot stand before God; we cannot have a religion. God must deal with us, and we must deal with God, on the footing of righteousness; not simply of grace; for He is the righteous as well as the gracious God. When we go to Him we must do so with a righteousness in our hand, either our own or another’s. Our transactions with God must all be of this nature. They must be righteous transactions; dealings between a righteous God and men who are, at the same moment, in His eye, both righteous and unrighteous, and therefore needing both grace and righteousness. A personal righteousness on our part is an impossibility. We cannot work for it; and we cannot get it by working. In going to God we must begin, not encl with righteousness; so that we must have it before we can please God or do any good thing; in other words, it must be free, and it must come to us at once, and it must satisfy both God and our own conscience. Only the righteousness of another can do this; “righteousness without works”; righteousness which does not depend on our doing, or feeling, or praying, or repenting, but which comes to us at once from God, as the root and fountainhead of all working, and goodness, and holiness on our part. The prodigal did not work for the “best robe,” but got it all ready-made from his father’s hands; Joseph did not work for his coat of many colors, but received it as the gift of his father’s love; Adam did not work for the skins with which the Lord God clothed him: so is it with the sinner in his approaches to God, and in God’s approaches to him. “Righteousness without works” is given him; nay, put upon him as a raiment, a divine raiment, to fit him for drawing near to God.

There are three things noted here as making up this blessedness, and indispensable to its existence:

I. Iniquities are forgiven. It is “transgression” in the original Psalm. This is one kind of sin, and generally denotes the worst. There is then “transgression” or “iniquity”; but it is forgiven (or “borne,” as the word means); for there is forgiveness with God, that He may be feared; a complete, free, divine forgiveness; such as God delights to give, and the sinner to receive. “He forgiveth all our iniquities”; He forgives without reserve, or stint, or uncertainty. He removes our iniquities from us as far as east is from the west. He retains not one; He blots out all.

II. Sins are covered. There is, and there has been, sin; but it is no longer visible; it is buried; it is covered; it is put out of sight, as if God himself no longer saw it. It is God who covers, not man; He covers by means of the blood of atonement; He covers by burying it in the grave of Christ. Thus our sins are completely covered, hidden, forgiven. They are first “borne,” and then “buried.” Could any words more completely express forgiveness?

III. Sin is not imputed. There are three words in this passage expressive of sin, as in God’s first full announcement of Himself as the great forgiver (Exodus 34:6.); transgression, iniquity, sin; meaning every kind and form of sin. And there are three words used in reference to the putting away of sin,—forgiving (bearing), covering, not imputing. This last,—the non-imputation,—is said specially to be Jehovah’s doing. This non-imputation is without works; it is free; it is divine; it is perfect; it is sure; it comes as the consequence of believing.

Thus there are three foundation stones laid for the sinner’s blessedness; each of them ample; all of them together fully sufficient. On these he must rest. Without these he can have no joy. His belief of God’s testimony to these is that which connects him with this threefold foundation, and with the blessedness. He believes, and becomes a blessed man. The grace or free love of God, contained in these three things, is that which pours blessedness into his soul.

The Psalmist adds, and “in whose spirit there is no guile.” Forgiveness makes him a guileless man; it takes away all temptation to speak or act untruly and deceitfully with God, or with man, or with himself. He becomes an Israelite indeed. Pardon has made him such. Being fully forgiven, he has no longer any motive to conceal the very worst of himself. God’s forgiveness frank and ample has superseded the necessity of any palliation or excuse; has delivered him from the temptation to make the best of his case and of himself. He thinks, feels, acts, speaks honestly. He confesses sin, and he finds God faithful and just to forgive his sins.

—Horatius Bonar, Light & Truth: Bible Thoughts & Themes

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.