How Do You Bleed?

Charles Spurgeon:

Oh, that you and I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into ourselves! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume it, so ought we to do with the Word of the Lord—not crawl over its surface, but eat right into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts; but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavored with the words of the Lord.

I would quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like the reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and, though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim’s Progress—that sweetest of all prose poems — without continually making us feel and say, “Why, this man is a living Bible!” Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.

—”Mr. Spurgeon as a Literary Man,” in The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon, Compiled from His Letters, Diaries, and Records by His Wife and Private Secretary, vol. 4, 1878-1892 (Curtis & Jennings, 1900), p. 268.

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Is Same-Sex Attraction Sinful? A 5-Part Audio-Blog Series

Recently, I put together a 5-part audio-blog asking the question: Is Same-Sex Attraction Sinful? Among evangelical Christians, there is a general consensus that rightly affirms that homosexual activity and behavior is sinful. 

But what about those that struggle with same-sex attraction? Is that sinful? In this audio-blog, I endeavor to show from the Word of God that same-sex attraction is sinful.

THE AUDIO BLOG SERIES
Part 1: It Opposes God's Creative Order

Part 2: God Looks at the Heart & Not Merely the External Behavior

Part 3: The Outward Act of "Homosexual Activity" Does Not Begin the Sin

Part 4: The Desire on the Part of Men in the Old Testament Is Called "Wickedness/Evil"

Part 5: The Strong Desire of Romans 1:27 (2 Peter 2:8) Is Seen as Sinful

You can also listen to an mp3 sermon from Christ Fellowship Bible Church recently that affirms CFBC's position on homosexuality & clearly addresses the issue of same-sex attraction.

You may also download CFBC's position paper on homosexuality here:
May the church of the Lord Jesus Christ stand upon the true and unchanging Word of God so as to call sin sin and proclaim the gospel to all people that are in desperate need of the gospel — both heterosexuals and homosexuals.

 "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.
                                                                                     — 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

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Biblical Parenting: Foundational Essentials for Faithful Dads and Moms

Biblical Parenting —
 Foundational Essentials for Faithful Dads and Moms
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

My son, keep my words, And treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye.     
                                                                             —Proverbs 7:1–2

No one can overstate how important parenting is. God entrusts the important duty and joyous privilege of caring for His precious creatures by pointing them constantly, passionately, urgently, and Christocentrically to the gospel of grace. But how could one summarize biblical parenting? What are some foundational essentials for faithful dads and moms? This essay will provide a few.

1. INSTRUCT your children.
Teachers disseminate information to their pupils. Parents must, in like manner, pass on God’s truth to their children. The parents have the primary duty and responsibility in all of life’s ambitions and endeavors to take biblical truth and teach the next generation to fear the Lord. If parents do everything else and yet fail in this area, they have utterly failed as parents. God commands parents to teach the next generation (Ps 78:1-8) and teach them the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7) and train up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4).

2. INTERCEDE for your children.
A parent can do nothing more powerful and beneficial for the children than to pray regularly for their conversion. To intercede means that a parent brings the child before God’s almighty throne pleading for God’s grace to touch their souls, for God’s mercy to regenerate them, for God’s power to control them, and for God’s beauty to satisfy them. Parents must pray that Christ would savingly touch their children. Parents must pray that the children must pursue Christ as their supreme and highest ambition in life — above all else. Parents, if you neglect anything, neglect not the duty of praying and interceding for your children.

3. IMPLORE your children.
To implore is to beg and exhort. God commands all men everywhere to repent. On behalf of God, parents must use His Word and implore each of their children to repent and be reconciled to God. Parents must instill this in their children from the earliest days and implore them to trust in Christ and turn from their sin to be saved. Parents must implore each child to think rightly about God, to turn solidly from sin, to trust unreservedly to Christ, and to follow passionately the risen Christ. Parents must implore individually, at family worship, and in both planned and unplanned settings.

4. IMITATE for your children.
To imitate Christ is one of the most powerful tools that a parent has. As children see their parents pursue Christ and the knowledge of Him, and as they see the parents imitate Christ, walk as He walked, love what He loved, hate what He hated, obey just as He obeyed, pray as He prayed, children will be indelibly impacted by this. Parents must repent when they’ve sinned. They must ask for forgiveness whenever needed. They must imitate Christ before they can pass it on. Parents can never pass on to the children what they do not possess themselves — a Christlike and holy life.

5. INFORM your children.
No greater need could ever be taught to the children than the coming reality of heaven and hell. Parents must inform their children of the wrath to come and and the blessedness of heaven. Parents must urgently and passionately plead with their children to see God’s fury at sin and to fly to Christ quickly and unhesitatingly for refuge from the coming storm and then, and only then, will they find God’s mercy abundantly poured out and richly available to cover their sin and Christ as a propitiatory sacrifice. Parents have a duty to inform the children that life is short and eternity is long. Parents must declare to their children that as long as heaven endures, so will hell endure. As powerful and as overwhelming as God’s love and grace is in heaven, so powerful and overwhelming will his hatred and punishment be in hell. As glorious will it be to be in the immediate presence of God’s glory in the eternal beauty of heaven, so horrible will it be to be in the immediate presence of God’s wrath in the eternal torments of the Lake of Fire. Parents, if you love your children, tell them regularly to think often of eternity and their destiny.


Download the pdf article here.

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Constructing a Clear Christology — Gleanings from Hebrews 1:1-13

Constructing a Clear Christology —
Gleanings from Hebrews 1:1–13
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Hebrews 1:1-14 catapults one into heavenly, triumphant, awe-inspiring Christological thinking. One cannot read Hebrews chapter one without being amazed at the glorious, divine, eternal, righteous, and sufficient Christ. God has spoken in His Son. Let the text construct a clear Christology for for the reader. It is impossible to have a Christology that is too lofty, too biblical, too robust, and too glorious. So let the text speak for itself.

Twenty Essential Features (in this text) in Building This Edifice of Biblical Christology:

1. God Has Spoken In Jesus, the Son (2a).
Of old, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways. But now, in these last days, God has manifested Himself, revealed His glory, spoken His will, and made His character visible in Christ.

2. God Appointed Jesus Heir of All Things (2b).
The person of Jesus Christ is so glorious that He is heir of all things. He is, in fact, the one who will receive a future inheritance — a purchased people, bought with His own blood, surrounding His throne worshiping Him.

3. Jesus Made the World (2c).
God made the world. The Father created the heavens and the earth. The text affirms also that Jesus made the world. He is the Creator, the Founder, the Lord and the Author of all creation. Nothing has been made apart from Christ’s sovereign and powerful finger.

4. Jesus Is the Radiance of God’s Glory (3a).
Jesus radiates God. Jesus puts the brightness of the glory of God on display for all to see. If anyone sees the Son, Jesus said that he sees the Father. Whoever sees the Son has seen the Father. God’s glory is in Jesus.

5. Jesus Is the Exact Representation of God’s Nature (3b).
The exact representation of God’s nature is manifested in Jesus Christ. Jesus perfectly, clearly, and exactly portrays the character of God’s being, substance, and nature. Jesus precisely and gloriously represents the divine nature because He is, in fact, God Himself.

6. Jesus Upholds All Things by His Powerful Word (3c).
The power of Jesus finds expression is that He upholds all things by His Word. In fact, Jesus carries all things by the Word of His power. There is nothing in the universe, on any mountain, in any galaxy, in any meadow, in any ocean, or contained in any human being that Jesus does not actively uphold and carry by His powerful Word.

7. Jesus Made Purification for Sins (3d).
The greatest need in all human history is for someone to make purification for sins. No one could ever do this finally, fully, and eternally. But Jesus came and made purification for sins. He brought cleansing and purity through the sacrifice of Himself.

8. Jesus Sat Down at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High (3e).
After Jesus completed His work of redemption, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. No priest ever sat because his work was never complete. But Jesus has sat down at the place of divine honor.

9. Jesus Is Better than the Angels with a More Excellent Name Than They (4).
As revered as the angels were in ancient Jewish thinking, Jesus is far better. He is better than they since God gave Him a more excellent Name! They mediated the Law; Christ fulfilled it and accomplished redemption.

10. Jesus Is the Son of God (5a).
Using language from the Psalms, God affirmed to Jesus that He would be God’s Son. He would have an intimate, eternal, unending, and covenant-bound relationship with the Father. He is the Son since He is God.

11. Jesus Is Begotten of God (5b).
The Father has begotten the Son signifying that whatever God the Father is, God the Son is. The Son has the very likeness, divinity, glory, and blessedness that the Father has. The Father begat the Son since they are One.

12. God Commands All the Angels to Worship Jesus (6).
God commands all the angels of God to worship the Son. God demands that the Son be worshiped. The Father receives worship and He requires that all His created beings — including angels — worship Jesus, the Son.

13. The Throne of Jesus Is Forever and Ever (8).
In a marvelous statement explicitly stating the deity of Jesus, God says that His throne is forever and ever. God even states that Jesus is God. His kingship and sovereignty shall remain forever and cannot end or fail.

14. Jesus Loves Righteousness and Hates Lawlessness (9a).
As the sovereign King and glorious God, Jesus combines two necessary and corollary truths: He supremely loves righteousness and He vehemently hates lawlessness. He blesses truth and He punishes all unholiness.

15. God Anointed Jesus With the Oil of Gladness (9b).
Christ lives forever as God and is joyfully consumed with righteousness. For this reason, God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness above all His companions. Christ rejoices in holiness and is glad in righteousness.

16. Jesus Laid the Foundation of the Earth in the Beginning (10a).
Affirming the power and eternality of Christ, the author affirms that Jesus is the Lord and that He laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning. When all things were created at the outset, it obeyed Christ’s word.

17. Jesus Remains Forever (11).
The heavens will perish one day. But Jesus Christ remains forever. The heavens will grow old, will be rolled up, and will be changed. But Jesus Christ is the same and His years can never end. He remains the same eternally.

18. Jesus Is the Same and His Years Shall Never Come to an End (12).
Everything changes. The planets rotate and orbit. The seasons change. Humans age and change. But God never changes. Christ is the same and shall never be altered, moved, changed, or defeated. He is the first and the last.

19. Jesus Sits at the Father’s Right Hand (13a)
Having purchased redemption and being raised victoriously, Jesus now sits at the Father’s right hand. That position of honor, blessing, glory and power is once for all and eternally given to Jesus, the blessed Son of God.

20. Jesus Will Rule Over All His Enemies (13b)
Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand till all His enemies will be defeated. The day will come when Christ will rule over all His enemies and triumph over them under His feet as the Sovereign King and the reigning Lord of all. The kingship, faithfulness, righteousness, and the glory of Jesus Christ will reign forever over all His foes.

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