Friday, March 1, 2013

The glory of God in redemption. The gospel of grace in every book of the Bible.

CFBC Men!

The entire Bible is the Word of God and the entire Bible is sufficient to lead us to the knowledge of the Truth (2 Tim 3.15). That is why we as the Christ Fellowship Bible Church men are starting a new study on Friday mornings at 6AM (at the Des Peres Schnucks) on the Glory of God in Redemption.  Specifically, we'll see how the gospel of grace occurs in every book of the Bible!

Each week we'll take a book of the Bible and examine how and where the gospel is found.

We're starting today with the book of Genesis!  See you there!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A Pastor Must Never Omit Preaching His Sermons to Himself.

Thomas Murphy writes:

"It is important for [the preacher's] own sake, it is important for his people's sake, that he should preach every sermon to himself as one of the chief auditors ... even when he is addressing the [unbeliever], for their hearts and his are by nature alike, and the gulf from which he would draw them is the gulf from which he has only narrowly escaped himself."

As quoted by Jerry Wragg, Exemplary Spiritual Leadership (Day One Publications, 2010), 43.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

why pastors must incorporate prayer in sermon preparation.

Why Pastors Must Incorporate Prayer in Sermon Preparation
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Prayer is the single most important factor in a man’s sermon preparation and yet I fear that many neglect this preeminent element. Many are too busy. Many claim they have to work with the original languages and that simply takes a lot of time. Many work at application and spend time on the outline. And, let these not be underestimated, the preacher should work hard at all of these. However, prayer as the most supernatural and powerful part of a preacher’s sermon preparation is, shamefully, one of the most oft neglected and pushed-aside parts of sermon construction.

All preachers know prayer is important. But how many really spend adequate time poring over his text on his knees before God in fervent prayer? How many pulpiteers are men of prayer during the week? How many shepherds bring their sheep before the throne of God in applying that specific sermon text to their own life as he intercedes for them before the throne of grace? How many heralds take hold of God and wrestle with God and beg God for His glory to overwhelm the preacher and the hearers? How many spokesmen for God wrestle with God like Jacob did begging the Spirit of God to supernaturally move and sovereignly draw dead sinners to Christ and His glorious gospel of grace as the Word goes forth?

Why must pastors incorporate prayer in sermon preparation?

1. A Preacher Must Pray and Ask the Spirit to Illumine the Correct Meaning and Appropriate Application of a Text.

2. A Preacher Must Pray and Worshipfully Meditate and Overwhelmingly Bathe and Pore Over His Word So as to Internalize It.

3. A Preacher Must Pray So That He Preaches to His Own Soul That Which He Will Soon Preach to His Hearers.

4. A Preacher Must Pray Because It Forces The Frail Man to Trust in His Sovereign God for Any and All Efficacy of the Spoken Word.

5. A Preacher Must Pray Because God Promises that When We Ask Anything in His Name, He Hears and He Will Do It.

6. A Preacher Must Pray With Humble Reliance on the Spirit of God to Give Him Insight into the Meaning of the Text, the Correct Application of That Text, and the Most Profitable Way to Structure and Herald That Text.

7. A Preacher Must Pray So That God Receives the Glory.

8. A Preacher Must Pray To Ensure that the Message He Gives is Divine and Not Human.

Download the pdf article here.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Kill Your Secret Sins!

But I have here some true Christians who indulge in secret sins. They say it is but a little one, and therefore do they spare it. Dear brethren, I speak to you, and I speak to myself, when I say this—let us destroy all our little secret sins. 

They are called little and if they be, let us remember that it is the foxes, even the little foxes, that spoil our vines; for our vines have tender shoots. Let us take heed of our little sins. A little sin, like a little pebble in the shoe, will make a traveller to heaven walk very wearily. Little sins, like little thieves, may open the door to greater ones outside. Christians, recollect that little sins will spoil your communion with Christ. Little sins, like little stains in silk, may damage the fine texture of fellowship; little sins, like little irregularities in the machinery, may spoil the whole fabric of your religion. The one dead fly spoileth the whole pot of ointment. That one thistle may seed a continent with noxious weeds. Let us, brethren, kill our sins as often as we can find them. 

One said—"The heart is full of unclean birds; it is a cage of them." "Ah, but," said another divine, "you must not make that an apology, for a Christian's business is to wring their necks." And so it is; if there be evil things, it is our business to kill them. Christians must not tolerate secret sins. We must not harbour traitors; it is high treason against the King of Heaven. Let us drag them out to light, and offer them upon the altar, giving up the dearest of our secret sins at the will and bidding of God. 

There is a great danger in a little secret sin; therefore avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and shun it; and God give thee grace to overcome it!

Sirs, will ye keep your secret sins, and have eternal fire for them? Remember it is of no use, they must all be given up, or else you cannot be God's child. You cannot by any means have both; it cannot be God and the world, it cannot be Christ and the devil; it must be one or the other. 

Oh! that God would give you grace to resign all; for what are they worth? They are your deceivers now, and will be your tormentors for ever. Oh! that your eyes were open to see the rottenness, the emptiness and trickery of iniquity. Oh! that God would turn you to himself. Oh! may God give you grace to cross the Rubicon of repentance at this very hour; to say, "Henceforth it is war to the knife with my sins; not one of them will I willingly keep, but down with them, down with them; Canaanite, Hittite, Jebusite, they shall all be driven out."

From CH Spurgeon

Monday, February 11, 2013

Why I Believe Open-Air Preaching Is Effective

Why I Believe Open-Air Preaching Is Effective
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

I love open-air preaching.  Do I get scared? Are there times when I am tempted to fear man? Of course. But I must remind myself time and time again that it is not about me anyway; it’s all about Christ and His sufficient gospel.

I want to provide a number of reasons why I personally am convinced that open-air preaching is effective.

1. Open-Air Preaching Obeys Christ’s Command to Compel Sinners to Come to Him in the Highways.
In a parable, Jesus says to “go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). I believe that in my standing up in the public plazas outside where nonbelievers pass by or congregate together, I am endeavoring to follow Christ and what He spoke to His disciples.

2. Open-Air Preaching Takes the Biblical Gospel to the Pagans Who Probably Don’t Know the Biblical Gospel.
Many nonbelievers think they know what Christians believe. Sadly, many have grown up in churches or have been taught an unbiblical gospel. I desire to take the biblical gospel — as rarely as it is preached today — to the pagans who need to hear this biblical gospel so that they may be saved. The biblical gospel is that God is so holy that His wrath currently rests upon all unbelievers. His wrath will soon be kindled and all His enemies will eternally perish under His hand. The problem they have is that God’s wrath needs to be appeased; it needs to be diverted. And this is precisely the gospel as God initiated and solved this problem as Jesus Christ humbled Himself and lived a sinless life perfectly obeying the Law of God and yet God the Father crushed His Son on Calvary’s cross. He poured out His infinite wrath and eternal judgment upon Jesus Christ when He was on the cross. This is the doctrine of propitiation. God’s wrath is appeased and turned away only in Christ. A person must repent of sin and believe in the gospel and thus evidence true Spirit-given regeneration by living a life following Christ, loving Him, and abiding in Him. This is the gospel message that pagans must hear!

3. Open-Air Preaching Allows Many Who May Never Step Foot in a Bible-Teaching Church to Hear the Gospel.
Let’s face it, there are many who enjoy the darkness, masses who run their way into eternal hell because they love their sin & hate Jesus as a Savior. They have exchanged eternal life for temporary and passing pleasures. They live in sin and damn their souls forever. Many unbelievers will not walk into a Bible-teaching Church and so I believe that open-air preaching takes the biblical gospel to them rather than waiting for the pagans to come to us.

4. Open-Air Preaching Demonstrates the Urgency of the Gospel Message.
Many churchgoers believe that ‘friendship evangelism’ is a biblical methodology for sharing Christ with non-Christians. This, however, is unbiblical and there is no example in the Bible of making a relationship with someone first so that the door will then be open and the friendship established to share Christ at a later point. This presumes that we will have a ‘tomorrow’ to share Christ with someone. No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Far from friendship evangelism, we have evangelistic begging. We have urgent pleading. We have statements such as: “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2) and “We beg you to be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20) and “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb 3:7, 15; 4:7). This is urgent! Hell is hot and wrath is waiting to receive all those who die in their sin and have not repented. There is a profound earnestness that must characterize our evangelism and ministry. Open-air preaching is one way that the urgency of the gospel message is demonstrated as the preacher stands and urgently, passionately, and lovingly begs sinners to repent of their sin, believe in the gospel, and be spared from judgment. He is a watchman crying out to the people warning from coming danger!

5. Open-Air Preaching Follows an Example Set by Jesus and the Early Apostles (and Many Others in Church History).
Jesus Himself taught in the open (Mark 4; Matthew 5-7). John the Baptist preached in the wilderness (Matt 3:1-10). Paul preached on Mars Hill (Acts 17; cf. Acts 26). Jonah preached in the open city (Jonah 3:1-5). Jeremiah lifted his voice in the Temple courts (Jer 7:1-4). Whitefield, Wesley, Spurgeon, Edwards, and many others in church history have heralded the gospel of Christ in the open fields, in parks, in city squares, in plazas, and on street corners. To lift up one’s voice and loudly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in the open to nonbelievers present (or passing by) continues the example set forth by many in the Bible and in church history.

6. Open-Air Preaching Trusts Completely in the Glorious Sovereignty of the Spirit of God to Awaken a Sinner and Grant Him Repentance and Faith.
Like any biblical form of evangelism, open-air preaching fully relies on the sovereignty of God to awaken a dead sinner and grant him new life in Christ. When an open air preacher proclaims Christ in the open, it is not a smooth presentation that will win souls, nor is it a fancy oratory, nor is it a manipulative method of evangelism of decisionism seeking to get ‘converts.’ There is a robust and unshakeable reliance on the sovereign regeneration that the Spirit of God imparts to the utterly deadened sinner with the subsequent repentance from sin and faith in Christ that the sinner will have. Open-air preaching demands a complete trust in the Spirit of God who will open the hearts of the ungodly so that they may hear the truth, believe the truth, and follow the truth.


7. Open-Air Preaching Builds Boldness and Encourages Other Believers in Evangelism & Soul-Winning.
Every time the open-air preacher ascends the “box” upon which he will preach, spiritual battles rage. No open-air preacher is immune to fear. However, as the preacher stands in the open fields and in the public squares and lifts his voice to the glory of God and exalts the gospel of grace, he builds boldness in his bones. Furthermore, he encourages other believers to see that God works through faithful messengers who take the biblical gospel and impart it faithfully to sinners so that they may hear the truth.

8. Open-Air Preaching Shouts the Gospel of God to the Glory of God as an Act of Worship to God with Profound Joy in Christ!
If for no other reason at all, open air preaching is effective because the man of God preaches the gospel of God to God. God loves to hear His own Word. God cannot refuse to listen to His own Word when His servants speak it back to Him! When a man takes the gospel and has the sole passion to glorify God in the lifting up of His voice, God will be glorified. In this kind of spiritual service, it is an act of worship on the preacher’s part to God and thus God is honored and magnified. Furthermore, the evangelist has an unspeakably wonderful and a supernaturally profound joy in Christ as he preaches the gospel. Even if no one outwardly repents and even if there are no seeming visible changes on the street at that time, the open-air preacher can confidently assert that he uplifted God’s gospel and that Christ was magnified and worshiped. When this happens, this guarantees the effectiveness of open-air preaching.

Download the pdf article here.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Avoiding Dissension in Your Marriage

Excellent biblical counsel from Richard Baxter:

Both husband and wife must mortify their pride and strong self-centered feelings. These are the feelings which cause intolerance and insensitivity. You must pray and labor for a humble, meek, and quiet spirit. A proud heart is troubled and provoked by every word that seems to assault your self-esteem. 

Do not forget that you are both diseased persons, full of infirmities; and therefore expect the fruit of those infirmities in each other; and do not act surprised about it, as if you had never known of it before. Decide to be patient with one another; remembering that you took one another as sinful, frail, imperfect persons, and not as angels, or as blameless and perfect. 

Remember still that you are one flesh; and therefore be no more offended with the words or failings of each other, than you would be if they were your own. Be angry with your wife for her faults no more than you are angry with yourself for your own. Have such an anger and displeasure against a fault, as will work to heal it; but not such as will cause festering and aggravation of the diseased part. This will turn anger into compassion, and will cause you to administer care for the cure. 
Lastly, help each other by an exemplary life. Be yourself, what you desire your husband or wife should be; excel in meekness, and humility, and charity, and dutifulness, and diligence, and self-denial, and patience.
Amen!

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Gospel & Marriage -- More Resources

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Love your spouse. How?

What does a commitment to serve your spouse in love look like?

Well, it looks like getting up in the morning and committing to searching for concrete ways to love your husband or your wife. Where does he tend to be discouraged or overwhelmed? What are the daily tasks in which she could use assistance? In what special way can you communicate your affection? Perhaps an unexpected card in a lunch bag, or a delivery of flowers, or a call in the middle of the day just to say, "I love you." Maybe you communicate love by not turning on the flat-screen and being willing to talk instead. Maybe love gets communicated by fixing something broken, just because fixing it would make the other's life easier. Maybe it would be best communicated by your willingness to take over a duty that has usually fallen to the other. There is no want for opportunities to love; the issue is, do we see them and are we committed to respond to them when we do. Would your spouse call you a loving person?

From, Paul Tripp, What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage, p.123-24 (emphasis added).

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

an admirable summary of the uniqueness of the preaching of the Word.


Written by Matthew Simpson nearly over a century ago speaking about the uniqueness of the sermon event & the awesome responsibility that the preacher has:

His throne is the pulpit; he stands in Christ's stead; his message is the word of God; around him are immortal souls; the Saviour, unseen, is beside him; the Holy Spirit broods over the congregation; angels gaze upon the scene, and heaven and hell await the issue. What associations, and what vast responsibility!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Sermon audio from the Beauty & Glory of Christ retreat

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Counsel in the dark nights — how to find hope in hopeless times (Biblical counseling from Ps 13).

Counsel in the Dark Nights: How To Find Hope in Hopeless Times.
Biblical Counseling
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Pastor, Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The Text:
Psalm 13:6 [13:5-6 Eng]:
 6 וַאֲנִי בְּחַסְדְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי יָגֵל לִבִּי בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה כִּי גָמַל עָלָי
Author’s Translation:
But as for me, in your covenant love, I have trusted; my heart rejoices in your salvation. And I sing to the LORD because He has dealt bountifully with me.

In the context of Psalm 13, David cries out to God four times with the identical question: How Long? In essence, David finds himself gravely perplexed about his life circumstances. To name a few, David faces tremendous hardships such as: feeling forsaken by God (v.1a), feeling isolated or separated from God (v.1b), feeling burdened by excessive counseling in his soul (v.2a), weighed down with much sorrow and depression (v.2b), suffering from anxiety, bad relationships, and many enemies (v.2c), drawing near death or some life-threatening circumstance (v.3b), and fearing humiliation, loss of integrity, or defeat from foes (v.4).

In a state of utter helplessness and, perhaps, hopelessness, David lifts his voice to God and asks: “How Long?” this must all continue. He cannot bear under it any more. He feels abandoned by God. He feels overwhelmed by the situation. And he feels as though death will imminently strike. His heart feels crushed by the excessive weight of anxiety, relational discord, sorrow, depression, and humiliation. 

At the end of the psalm, the tone changes dramatically and it is marked by a very significant particle that grammatically shows that David has altered his thinking. Verse 6 begins with: “But as for me” (וַאֲנִי). The mood changes. The entire tone alters. The focus and perspective of the psalm dramatically shifts. David resolves to trust in the covenant-keeping love (בְּחַסְדְּךָ) of Yahweh. Not only that, he insists that his own heart (לִבִּי) which was excessively burdened with sorrow earlier (v.2) now rejoices (loudly!) in God’s salvation for surely God has dealt bountifully with him. What changed? What prompted this radical shift? A few points deserve mention.

1. The focus shifted away from David and onto God — and His gracious work in salvation.
2. The meditative thoughts were no longer on David’s enemies but now on God’s covenantal and, thus, His unbreakable love.
3. The resolve in David’s heart was not to permit angst and depression but now he demands that his heart gladly rejoice and loudly exult in God’s salvation wrought on his behalf.
4. David resolves to sing to the Lord as heartfelt songs dispel anxious thoughts in the heart.
5. David remembers what God has done for Him and how God has dealt so bountifully and, of course, undeservedly, on his behalf which further casts him into fervent, God-oriented worship.

May God direct our hearts away from the excessive burden of dwelling on the painful feelings of the here and now and insist that our heart look upward to Christ & His graciously loving work on our behalf. Then, when the attitude of the heart changes, the lips will follow in heartfelt praise, and the life will be transformed in hope.

Download the pdf here.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity.

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity

Psalm 11.2 says that the wicked seek to destroy those who are “upright in heart” ( לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב). The LXX renders the Hebrew phrase as: τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ (“the straight ones [=upright] of heart”). The Aramaic Targum renders the phrase in its oft-expanded way:  תקיני  לתריצי לבא (“the firm stability of the upright ones in heart”). Why is this language used to speak about integrity? Why does this describe the godly?

I want to offer a few observations concerning this phrase.

1. This phrase refers to the godly person being one who is unbending and standing straight up for the Lord and for His Word.
The Hebrew root for “upright” (יָשָׁר) speaks of that which is straight and right. So then, the person who is upright in heart is one who is straight in his life, straight in his course, unbending in his convictions, unswerving in his conduct. Joshua was told not to turn away from the Law of God either to the right or the left (Josh 1.7; cf. Deut 5.32; 2 Kings 22.2). So then, this upright person is one who has a straight-course set before him on walking with God and not veering off the path of godliness.

2. This phrase includes the reality that one’s pattern of life is upright, straight, and consistently Godly.
Because the language speaks of one who is “upright” and unbending, unswerving, unalterable, it thus shows that this is more than a one-time act or decision. To be upright means that the length of one’s life is upright. It’s longer than a decision. It’s more durative than a choice. It consists of a pattern of life that is in perfect harmony with the standard of God’s holiness and righteousness. The Bible says in 2 Kings 22.2 in describing King Josiah of Judah, he did right ( הַיָּשָׁר) in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father David nor did he turn aside to the right or the left. This then speaks of the way Josiah lived, walked, conducted himself. In a word, he lived a godly life. That is contained in the idea of being “upright.”

3. This phrase forces the meaning of uprightness as beginning in the heart rather than focusing on mere externals.
Significantly, the entire phrase “upright of heart” ( לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב; Ps 11.2) shows that it is not mere externals or outward conduct alone that is most significant. The uprightness is sourced in the heart. It resides out of the heart. The uprightness of conduct is a result of being upright in one’s heart. One’s moral uprightness without internal uprightness is moralism and despicable in God’s eyes. God tests the “heart” (Ps 11.4-5).

This phrase occurs in the Psalms and those who are “upright in heart” are saved by God who is their shield (Ps 7.10). God continues His covenant-keeping lovingkindness and righteousness to the upright in heart (Ps 36.10). The upright in heart will glory in God because they rejoice in God and take refuge in God (Ps 64.10). The upright in heart follow God’s righteous judgment (Ps 94.15). And the upright in heart are called to rejoice in the Lord and shout for joy (Ps 32.11; 97:11).

Saturday, December 15, 2012

God's priority for your life.

From John MacArthur:

Christians must remember that sanctification is God's priority for their lives. It is His will for them (1 Thess 4.3; cf. Heb 12.14) and the result of Christ's death on their behalf — "who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2.14). All believers are to live for sanctification. They have no other goal in life than to be like Jesus Christ: "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked" (1 John 2.6).

From: John MacArthur, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, MNTC, p.210.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Definition of the Gospel.

What's the gospel?

Puritan Thomas Manton gives a very helpful summary:

"The sum of the gospel is this: that all those who by true repentance and faith do forsake the flesh, the world, and the devil, and give themselves up to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as their Creator, redeemer, and sanctifier shall find God as a Father, taking them for his reconciled children, and for Christ's sake pardoning their sin, and by his Spirit giving them his grace; and if they persevere in this course will finally glorify them and bestow upon them everlasting happiness; but will condemn the unbelievers impenitent and ungodly to everlasting punishment."

Thomas Manton, The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, II:102-3.

Monday, December 10, 2012

The modern gospel versus the biblical gospel.

From JI Packer's introduction to John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ:

There is no doubt that Evangelism today is in a state of perplexity and unsettlement. . . . Without realizing it we have during the past century bartered the gospel (the biblical gospel) for a substitute product which, though it looks similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing.

The new gospel conspicuously fails to produce deep reverence, deep repentance, deep humility, a spirit of worship, a concern for the church. Why? We would suggest that the reason lies in its own character in content. It fails to make men God-centered in their thoughts and God-fearing in their hearts because this is not primarily what it is trying to do. One way of stating the difference between it and the old gospel is to say that it is too exclusively concerned to be "helpful" to man — to bring peace, comfort, happiness, satisfaction — and too little concerned to glorify God. . . .

The old gospel was always and essentially a proclamation of divine sovereignty in mercy and judgment, a summons to bow down and worship the mighty Lord on whom man depends for all good, both in nature and in grace. Its center of reference was unambiguously God. But in the new gospel the center of reference is man. 

Whereas the chief aim of the old was to teach men to worship God, the concern of the new seems limited to making them feel better.  The subject of the old gospel was God and His ways with men; the subject of the new is man and the help God gives him. There is a world of difference. The whole perspective and emphasis of gospel preaching has changed.

O may we be faithful to the [old] biblical gospel!

This lengthy quote from Packer is included in Bruce Bickel's book Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit and The Focus of the Gospel in Puritan Preaching, pp. 90-91.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Preaching that is bold, direct, and most loving.

JC Ryle comments on the preaching of George Whitefield:

Whitefield was a singularly bold and direct preacher. he never used that indirect expression "we," which seems so peculiar to English pulpit oratory, and which only leaves a hearer's mind in a state of misty confusion. He met men face to face, like one who had a message from God to them, "I have come here to speak to you about your soul." The result was that many of his hearers used often to think that his sermons were specially meant for themselves. He was not content, as many, with sticking on a meagre-tail-piece of application at the end of a long discourse. On the contrary, a constant vein of application ran through all his sermons. "This is for you, and this is for you." His hearers were never let alone.

May the LORD raise up more Whitefield's in our day to passionately, directly, and faithfully address the hearers with the truth of Holy Scripture.

Source: J. A. Caiger, "Preaching — Puritan and Reformed" in Puritan Papers Volume 2: 1960-1962, ed. by J. I. Packer (Philipsburg; P&R Publishing, 2001), 183.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Ways you can biblically pray for your pastors/elders

Eight Ways to Use Scripture to
Pray for Your Pastor


1. Pray that he would conduct himself wisely in a life of obedience that remains above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2)

2. Pray that he would love and be faithful to his wife (Ephesians 5:25-33)

3. Pray that he would raise his children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4)

4. Pray that he would love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)

5. Pray that he would faithfully shepherd the flock of God (1 Peter 5:1-3)

6. Pray that he would flee temptation (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

7. Pray that he would be a man of unceasing prayer (Ephesians 6:18)

8. Pray that he would bind himself to the Scriptures and commit himself to expounding the Word of God rather than his own opinions (2 Timothy 4:1-4)

“A commitment to expository preaching takes a firm belief in the power of God’s Word and a humble recognition that the God-appointed means of preaching is better than whatever impressive or efficient model we might devise.”

Taken from: James Hamilton, Jr. And Matt Damico, “Worthy of Double Honor” in A Guide to Expository Ministry, edited by Dan Dumas (Louisville: SBTS Press, 2012): 91.

Download PDF here.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

May this never be said to a preacher

There are some lines that a preacher hopes he never hears. In a sermon on Psalm 7 entitled: "Turn or Burn," Spurgeon noted how the topic of the wrath of God was seldom preached. Then he pondered how despicable it would be if, in eternity, one would approach him and say the following statement.

From Charles Spurgeon:

"Sir, you flattered us; you did not tell us of the solemnities of eternity; you did not rightly dwell upon the awful wrath of God; you spoke to us feebly and faintly; you were somewhat afraid of us; you knew we could not bear to hear of eternal torment, and therefore you kept it back and never mentioned it!"

May we as preachers be faithful to the Word of God — all of the glories of the Word of God!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thursday, November 8, 2012

What is true repentance? Is there a false repentance that leads to hell?

WHAT IS TRUE REPENTANCE?
Is There a False Repentance That Sends to Hell?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

To use the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, godly grief “is to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it” (#89).

To answer the question of what the repentance that sends to hell is, we need to examine the biblical truth concerning marks that will accompany true repentance. In other words, a professed repentance without these marks indicating change shows that the repentance is not genuine, real, and lasting. Godly sorrow is an earnest desire. It is a passionate pursuit. It is a zealous pursuit.

2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

Here are some marks of what biblical, godly, real repentance looks like in one’s life.

Vindication — The idea of vindication comes from the word meaning to give a defense (ἀπολογίαν) and here it speaks of the penitent sinner who verbally acknowledges, confesses, and recounts what happens. Rather than denying his sin the repentant person acknowledges, affirms, and confesses his sin verbally. It is an earnest and verbal desire to clear oneself of any fault. It is an eagerness to clear oneself of any fault.

Indignation — The word Paul uses here refers to a kind of outlash/vehement assault (ἀγανάκτησιν). It is not an outrage at a person but the outlash is directed toward the sin. There is a violent indignation with that particular sin. The repentant person will abhor, detest, be angry at the sin into which he fell.

Fear — This speaks of a fear (φόβον) lest the sin be repeated again. There must be a little trembling lest the evilness of that particular sin be the cause of stumbling yet again. And negatively, there should be a fear lest the sin should not be entirely removed from the penitent person’s life. There should be great fear of falling into sin again. A mark of repentance is the person’s godly fear that he might fall into that sin yet again. Not only this, the fear includes the notion that if the sin would persist, one would be the recipient of God’s Almighty wrath. There is a right, holy, trembling fear that must be present at the acknowledgement of God’s violent hatred of sin — all sins. All impenitent sinners will face the wrath of God.

Longing — This speaks of a vehement desire, a longing, a passionate desire. Paul uses the word (ἐπιπόθησιν) that can refer to an intense longing, craving of something (the word usually refers to sexual lust/longing). There must be a fervent wish to be made right in God’s eyes. There must be a passionate desire to be made right in the eyes of others. There must be a passionate desire so that the sin does not trap the repentant person again. There must be a passionate pursuit and readiness to do our duty and a willingness to obey the Lord in all things — including doing that which is hard during the course of repentance. Without a fervent longing and desire to extract the sin from one’s life and all its recourses that lead up to the committing of a particular sin, repentance has not occurred.

Zeal — This word for zeal speaks of deep concern (ζῆλον). There is almost a “jealousy” that takes place here. What passionate ardor and concern is there when the beginning touches of that particular sin begins to show its hellish face again? What zeal is there to kill it? What deep concern is there to assure and ensure that the sin is exterminated quickly and violently? Is there a jealousy for the LORD and for Him alone? Is there a jealousy to be wed to Him and to him alone? One cannot be married to both Christ as Lord and to sin as Lord. These masters are mutually exclusive. Is there a zealous, concerned, jealous pursuit to be rid of the sin and turn to the LORD?

Avenging of Wrong — This strong word that Paul uses refers to the idea of vindication, punishment, revenge (ἐκδίκησιν).  There must be a ready spirit to see justice done. In other words, there must be a passionate desire rooted in and stemming from the heart to do the right thing in the future and slaughter the sin from one’s life. The severer we are toward ourselves and the harsher we see our sin, the deeper we shall then look at the grace of God and the mercy of the Lord outpoured upon evildoers.

These marks reveal for us, then, that apathy cannot coexist with repentance. No easy-way out thinking demonstrates true repentance. There must be an earnest, consuming, passionate, humble, God-focused, shamed, grace-embracing desire to “perform deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20). Repentance itself is even a gift from God (2 Tim 2:25; Acts 5:31). Nevertheless, for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who has been washed, justified, saved, regenerated by God’s Holy Spirit, he can — and must! — demonstrate true marks of repentance over the sin in his life. No sin is to be taken lightly. Sin slaughtered the Savior! Even one complaint in the history of the world would have demanded an eternity of God’s furious wrath because of the vileness of that God-hating sin. Thus, believers should continue to practice the duty of repentance (not to get re-saved) but to put to death the deeds of the flesh in our lives as we grow in Christ.

So, what is that repentance that sends to hell? It is a repentance that does not bear these marks. If there is no change in one’s life, in one’s conduct, in one’s affections, in one’s zeal for holiness. If there is no outward change that manifests itself, if there is no humility and fear before the awesomeness of God’s holiness, if there is no anger and hatred over that sin and all its manifestations (and steps leading up to that sin), then one can be assured that repentance has not taken place.

Guard against false marks of repentance! May we as Spirit-indwelt, Bible-believing, grace-empowered saints practice the duty of repentance so that we may slay sin by the power of God’s Spirit & present all of the members of our body as instruments of righteousness to God. May we be those who genuinely repent, biblically repent, and effectively change by the powerful help and God-given grace of God’s Spirit!

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