the gate

This quote by B.B. Warfield is meaty, and should be chewed for a long while!

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only “when we believe.” It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in Christian behavior may be.

Read this next part very carefully and thoughtfully (notice especially the words “alone,” “always,” and “never”):

It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest. There is never anything that we are or have or do that can take His place, or that can take a place along with Him. We are always unworthy, and all that we have or do of good is always of pure grace.

– The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, 10 vols. (1991), vol. 7, p. 113

Salvation includes our growth. Anyone who says that any part of our salvation is the result of what we do, is teaching salvation by works. Anyone who says their obedience, or our obedience, makes us acceptable to God, is teaching salvation by works. Such teaching is unbiblical. It is not Christianity, because it contradicts the gospel of God’s pure grace. Warfield nails it — “all that we have or do of good is always of pure grace.”

(B.B. Warfield was professor of theology at Princeton Seminary from 1887 to 1921. J. Gresham Machen said of Warfield: “with all his glaring faults, he was the greatest man I have known.” His esteem and influence is seen in the fact that most of his books, collected essays and sermons are still in print today.)

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This is a very touching story of a man who’s car was stolen. In it he had several items. One in particular that he is giving a reward for. He has his priorities straight. How about you?

Please read it.
Car theft victim: I want my Bible back!

Posted using ShareThis

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Yes, we are.

The debates some people have about the end times are just silly. They think they have to identify when Jesus is coming back, and they think they need to know when the last days will begin. But the Bible tells us clearly and repeatedly that the last days have already begun.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said that the prophet Joel’s words were being fulfilled on that very day. “But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.’” (Acts 2:16-17) Peter tells the people he is talking to in the first century, “We are living in the last days.”

The writer of Hebrews makes clear that Jesus has already ushered in the last days. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

John writes, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18) John was saying in the first century that the last hour (or times) had already begun.

Paul said that he was living during the end of the ages. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.“ (1 Corinthians 10:11)

Peter says that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the last times had begun: “. . .but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” (1 Peter 1:19-20)

The beginning of the last days has nothing to do with events that are currently happening, or will happen in the future, in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. The period the Bible calls “the last days” began when Jesus came to this earth as a man, and will continue until he returns.

Does any of this matter? If you would like to know what practical relevance this has for your life, please see my comments regarding 2 Peter 3:11-13 (click here).

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I don’t know of any world leader that could do a better job of running this world than God. I don’t know of ANY other person, past or present, that could do a better job — certainly not the guy that stares back at me every day in the mirror. People complain about so many things, but honestly, I don’t know of anyone who could do as good a job as God is doing. So, yes, I’m glad and grateful God is in charge!

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

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it is a shame that there is such a push in our country to violate the sanctity marriage.  in fact, marriage is being threatened even from within the walls of the Church, which bothers me even more.  i expect the world to push the boundaries of sin, but not the Church.  we’re supposed to defend the Scriptures, right?

marriage is an amazing and beautiful thing, and it is a union that is blessed by God Himself.  He ordained it, He stands behind it and it should not be tampered with.  furthermore, He couldn’t think of a better way to describe the relationship of Jesus to His Church than to use the relationship of marriage.

so why are there so many within the Church that are trying to harm it, supporting bogus teachings about marriage that are nothing more than lies from the devil himself.  the very foundation of the Church is being modified by these acts, not because they are heresies about God, but because we are slowly choosing to allow what we think about marriage to be shaped by the thoughts of our cullture and not by the Scriptures.

and that is why i chose to write on this subject.  it know it’s difficult and controversial, a hot item among God’s people.  and most of us know someone who is on the wrong side of the Scripture regarding marriage.  it should touch us all.

so next time you have an opportunity, stand in defense of the Scriptures and of marriage.  when someone asks you what you think about the subject, be courageous and speak the truth as told by God.  when asked what the Scripture teaches, don’t beat around the bush or make excuses for it.  just say it.

“God hates divorce”.

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I know, I know . . . Jesus builds his Church. But he works through people. Sunday, I said church is not a spectator sport. We have to work at building relationships. We have to make time for each other. We must care for and about each other. No spectators allowed! (At least, that’s how I understand the Bible.)

I just read a good article by Jonathan Dodson (what is it with this guy? he keeps popping up on my radar screen in different places, and i keep quoting him. i assure you, i don’t have a mancrush on him. it must be providence.) In it, he makes one of the points I was trying to make on Sunday.

We say we want community, but are unwilling to make the sacrifices for it to happen. It’s too inconvenient and messy. We want the benefit of church without her demands. Something has to change.

Why not start with you? What if you started having people join you for meals, Christians and non-Christians. What if you started having family meals together? What if you began to serve your neighborhood in some way and invited some church friends to join you? What if you began to put others’ needs before your own? I wonder what would happen. Fewer acrobats and more brothers? Church would slowly become more of a family than an event.

It’s a good article. He’s honest about Bono (Bono has legitimate criticisms of the Church, but maybe he needs to realize God inhabits and uses communities of flawed people). He points out that building a dynamic church — not entertaining, but radically missional and communal — takes commitment and sacrifice from everyone. He has some great analogies for how churches miss the mark (fortresses, shopping malls, cemeteries). He makes the case that God did not create the Church to be an event. What he says, in other words, is that church is not a spectator sport.

At Gateway, we’re not trying to be “an event” church; we’re trying to build a family. Want to help?

Don’t just go to church; be the church! [click here to read Jonathan’s article]

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The Church seems to suffer from multiple-personality disorder when it comes to Halloween . . . it’s evil / it’s not evil / turn off your lights and hide / have a fall festival / hallelujah, free candy! / etc. Who’s right, and what’s it really all about?

Justin Holcomb has a good post (and this gory picture) on the Resurgence blog. He writes, “Why did Martin Luther nail his famous 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door on October 31, 1517? He was confronting two religious observances that promoted false saintliness and exploited people’s fear of judgment and purgatory. There’s a curious connection between Halloween and Reformation Day, and it’s more than just proximity on the calendar.” (click here to read the rest)

Then, at the Life2gether blog, Doug Wolter quotes Michael Patton:

I can’t believe I am going to say this but, WWJD? Really, what would Jesus do? Can you see it? Jesus with his lights turned off on Halloween? That would be the Jesus history never knew. That would be the Jesus of western fundamentalism. The one who is not a friend of sinners and tax gatherers. The Jesus that was never accused of being a drunkard. The Jesus who looked from a distance at the wedding of Cana waiting for the sinners to wipe the dust off their feet before he talked to them. The Jesus who saw a child dressed up as a Ghost and said, “I can’t take this anymore. It is not worth it. Give me that stone so that I can turn it into bread.”

Mark Young, my friend and former missions prof at DTS (now the president of Denver Seminary), used to talk about this in his missions 101 class. Oh the shame of all of us students who turned off the light. We left the class crying looking for little witches and ghosts to hug. His thesis: Christians are not Christians on Halloween. Not because they have compromised and participated, but precisely because they don’t participate. The one day of the year where children (”Permit them to come to me…” Mark 10:14) were attempting to come to us and we shut the door and turn off the lights.
(click here to read it all)

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God isn’t seeking our advice or opinion, but he listens to our prayers.

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“A community of missionaries created by the Spirit on the mission of Christ.”
– Jonathan Dodson

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“You will never lead consumers to be missional.”
– Alan Hirsch

(via Alan Cross)

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