He Alone Has Power!

I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a methodology, in a technique, in anything and everything but that in which God has placed it – His Word. He alone has the power to change lives for eternity, and that power is focused on the Scriptures.” – R.C. Sproul

I find these words simply amazing. “He alone has the power to change lives for eternity.” Why then do we have to try to make everything so gimmicky? Why don’t we just preach the gospel. It is the gospel that brings salvation, sanctification and the hope of eternal life.

God Does not Repent!

When God calls a man, He does not repent of it. God does not, as many friends do, love one day, and hate another; or as princes, who make their subjects favourites, and afterwards throw them into prison. This is the blessedness of a saint; his condition admits of no alteration. God’s call is founded upon His decree, and His decree is immutable. Acts of grace cannot be reversed. God blots out His people’s sins, but not their names.
— Thomas Watson

Oh, what comfort there is in the fact that God is nothing like us! Our love is so often based on the merits of the object. If our spouse, children, friends, co-workers are lovely that particular day, we bless them with affection. The minute conflicts arise, fellowship is broken and reconciliation must take place. Jesus’ love for his bride is unconditional. He has brought reconciliation once and for all through the blood shed for us. Our sins have been forgiven and He will not bring charge against us ever again. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) His decree is immutable, and thus His love and our salvation is secure. “God blots out His people’s sins, but not their names.” May His great love with which He has loved us transform us in our everyday lives. May we be filled with this sacrificial, unconditional love for our brethren.

Are there Prerequisites to Salvation?

A new book that I started reading is The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by puritain Walter Marshall. I picked it up thinking that any book dealing with the subject of sanctification  powered by the Gospel must be a keeper. Of course I haven’t been disappointed in my expectations though I am still just in the introduction. The book is divided into 14 different directions to the reader focusing on the sanctification through our unity to Christ.

Here’s a quote from his 7th direction as he lays down the foundation:

We are not to imagine that our hearts and lives be changed from sin to holiness in any measure, before we may safely venture to trust on Christ for the sure enjoyment of Himself, and His salvation.”

He continues on explaining:

To try to make ourselves fit for Christ is to be led away from Christ by a satanic delusion.”

Indeed we are not saved by our repentance or our good works. Those are the overflow of faith; The free gift of God. We simply come as broken sinners. Joel Beeke adds on in his Introduction to Marshall’s work:

Such people become spiritually distressed when they think they must have more love for God, more godliness of heart, more thoughts of God’s attributes, more victory over lusts, more cleansing of their hearts, more impressions of the wrath of God, more confession of sin, and more heart-felt prayer and praise before they trust in Christ for their salvation. Such erroneous ideas only keep people away from Christ.”

and again Marshall says:

While we endeavor to prepare our way to Christ by holy qualifications, we do ratheer fill it with stumbling blocks, and deep pits, whereby our souls are hindered from ever attaining to salvation of Christ.”

We cannot be sanctified before we are justified, for sanctification comes as we are united to Christ. Come to Christ broken as that taxcollector did, who would not dare raise his eyes to the heavens but beat his breast and cried out for mercy. I tell you, this man went to his house justified.

J. C. Hahne

R. C. Sproul on Pure Worship

As long as we entertain delusions of our own merit or compliment ourselves on our own contributions to salvation, we block our hearts from pure worship.”

– R. C. Sproul, The Souls Quest for God, pg. 187

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

The Purpose of the Law

“There is no healing a man till the law has wounded him, no making alive till the law has slain him.”

-C. H. Spurgeon

Truly if we never look into the mirror of the law, we will never see the ugliness of sin, and thus never see the need to become cleansed.

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”  –Galatians 3:24.

Have you been slain by the law? Have you seen that all your ways slander God’s Holy name? Until you see and understand this, you will never treasure Jesus. You will never understand his love and grace. You will never taste of salvation.

O God, open the eyes of the blind who see no need for the healing of their souls. Open their eyes to see the beauty of Christs love in dying for the sins of the world. May your holy law pierce their hearts and may they be drawn to the Savior.

J. C. Hahne

Quote of the Day #27 – C. S. Lewis

“We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world. “

– C.S. Lewis

Indeed all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God, yes, all have gone astray like sheep. Behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. Praise be to the Lamb who has washed our hypocritical hearts. Give us humble hearts that boast only in the grace of God.

Quote of the Day #19 – R. C. Sproul

“As long as we entertain delusions of our own merit or compliment ourselves on our own contributions to salvation, we block our hearts from pure worship.”

R. C. Sproul

Now of course you have to add Ephesians 2:8-9 as it magnifies God’s grace and shows that in us there really is nothing to boast about. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Quote of the Day #18 – John Stott on the Gospel

I found this great definition of the gospel over at William Anderson’s blog God’s Will. I thought I’d share it with you all as well advertise his blog a little bit… He’s got lots of good Gospel centered stuff so check it out.

“The Biblical gospel of atonement is the good news of God satisfying himself by substituting himself for us. The concept of substitution may be said then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation…For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God; while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone”

John Stott, The Cross of Christ

Why Does God Save People?