Man, I haven't had a good laugh in a long time. This fixed that! I guess you have to know how crowded the NYC subways can be at times, but this blows the NY subways out! :=)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Don't just apply, implement!
If there’s been one thing I’ve learned this semester in my effective sermon delivery course at seminary, it’s been to help people to not only apply the text of Scripture but we are to help them implement the text of Scripture. Let me explain.
It is one thing if from my pulpit I tell my people “Read your Bibles!” That’s application. They know what to do. But we – as preachers – must take this one step further. If we merely stop here that’s still insufficient. We must give them implementation helps. We must tell them how to do what they know they need to do. If we tell them to “Read your Bibles!” we must also tell them “How to read your Bible.”
In a sermon we could say, “Perhaps there is someone here who is struggling with their daily Bible reading. Perhaps the mornings are so busy and the alone time with God is crowded out with the normal engagements of getting ready for work, showering, eating, watching the news and, of course, sleeping late.” But what if we as preachers give them helpful (as practical as it gets) helps as to how they can change:
1) Get up 20 minutes earlier than you usually do and make your coffee and then read the Bible (tell them what to read; start with John, Psalms, etc).
2)Begin your prayer time praying through a psalm, praise God, confess sins to God, thank God, present your requests to God (A-C-T-S prayer).
3)End the quiet time with a prayer thanking God for the clarity of His word and commit the day to Him for His glory. Ask that He may use YOU for His glory in being a witness for Him wherever you find yourself throughout the day.
I hope this helps us bear in mind that we must not only apply the text for our hearers in the sermon but we must also implement it for them (or, show them how to implement it).
It is one thing if from my pulpit I tell my people “Read your Bibles!” That’s application. They know what to do. But we – as preachers – must take this one step further. If we merely stop here that’s still insufficient. We must give them implementation helps. We must tell them how to do what they know they need to do. If we tell them to “Read your Bibles!” we must also tell them “How to read your Bible.”
In a sermon we could say, “Perhaps there is someone here who is struggling with their daily Bible reading. Perhaps the mornings are so busy and the alone time with God is crowded out with the normal engagements of getting ready for work, showering, eating, watching the news and, of course, sleeping late.” But what if we as preachers give them helpful (as practical as it gets) helps as to how they can change:
1) Get up 20 minutes earlier than you usually do and make your coffee and then read the Bible (tell them what to read; start with John, Psalms, etc).
2)Begin your prayer time praying through a psalm, praise God, confess sins to God, thank God, present your requests to God (A-C-T-S prayer).
3)End the quiet time with a prayer thanking God for the clarity of His word and commit the day to Him for His glory. Ask that He may use YOU for His glory in being a witness for Him wherever you find yourself throughout the day.
I hope this helps us bear in mind that we must not only apply the text for our hearers in the sermon but we must also implement it for them (or, show them how to implement it).
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Quote on "simplicity in preaching"
J.C. Ryle notes:
Amen.
All the simplicity in the world can do no good, unless you preach the
simple gospel of Jesus Christ so fully and clearly that everybody can understand
it. If 'Christ crucified' has not His rightful place in your sermons, and 'sin'
is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they
ought to believe, and be, and do - your preaching is of no use!
Amen.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Can a believer abide in sin?
I found this quote this morning in a colleague's paper; good reminder:
“Whereas the sinner lives in sin and loves it, the saint lapses into sin and loathes it. He cannot, being a sheep, enjoy the filth which the hog rolls in.”[1]
1 John 3:9 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
[1] Douty, Union With Christ, 188.
“Whereas the sinner lives in sin and loves it, the saint lapses into sin and loathes it. He cannot, being a sheep, enjoy the filth which the hog rolls in.”[1]
1 John 3:9 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
[1] Douty, Union With Christ, 188.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
What is a preacher?
These are some notes that I took from my professor today in my "Effective Sermon Delivery" class at seminary. This was in response to a student's question as to whether preachers should use the 2nd person "you" in outlines and application or the 1st person "we" (to include himself) in the sermon. Here is what Dr. Jack Hughes said:A preacher is not someone who is there among his congregation as someone who is just to share some concepts about God. He is there to preach w/ boldness, authority, the authority inherent in the word of God and to command people.
Paul says: “Prescribe (i.e. “command”) these things” – military connotations
Don’t fear using the 2nd person.
Yet, you don’t want to preach as someone totally apart from the congregation.
Cf. JC Ryle’s sermon – tons of “you … you… you… you”
When you’re preaching it is authoritative, bold, one-way preaching to them from the authoritative text.
I am commanded by God to teach w/ all authority, to teach the whole counsel of God and let no one disregard me”
It has nothing to do w/ you looking down upon people. That is not the case. If you are preaching God’s Word, you are speaking DOWN – from God – to them.
If you’re preaching God’s word, then tell them what they need to hear.
In Hebrews it says, “Today if you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts…” – well how do they hear? By a preacher.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Marriage and the glory of God
I'm not sure if you saw Dr. Mohler's blog yesterday but it was phenomenal! He wrote on marriage and how it is to be for life and the key components for marriage.Dr. Mohler says near the beginning of his article:
Marriage is about our happiness, our holiness, and our wholeness--but it isMay we all read and be exhorted and recommitted to our spouses for the glory of God.
supremely about the glory of God. When marriage is entered into rightly, when
marriage vows are kept with purity, when all the goods of marriage are enjoyed
in their proper place--God is glorified.
Our chief end is to glorify God--and
marriage is a means of His greater glory. As sinners, we are all too concerned
with our own pleasures, our own fulfillments, our own priorities, our own
conception of marriage as a domestic arrangement. The ultimate purpose of
marriage is the greater glory of God--and God is most greatly glorified when His
gifts are rightly celebrated and received, and His covenants are rightly honored
and pledged.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
What does it mean to "glorify God"?
"To glorify God means to make His name famous. His honor and His reputation become more important than our own. It is equivalent to the following well-known purpose statements":
Deuteronomy 6:4 4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
Matthew 22:39 39 "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
Leviticus 19:2 2 "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Galatians 5:6 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
Matthew 28:19 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
So, therefore, my brethren, go glorify God.
Source: Edward T. Welch, "Counseling Those Who Are Depressed," The Journal of Biblical Counseling 18, no. 2 (Winter 2000): 27.
Monday, March 31, 2008
A good day in the "blog-o-sphere"
Here are three excellent blogs I read today that I will post for you to check out. I'm not gonna even try to blog today after reading these three excellent blogs.
First, Chuck Lawless, of Southern Seminary, has a fabulous post today imagining if he were Satan and how he would attack Christians today. You can read the whole post here. It's excellent and sobering.
Second, Michael Patton has a very helpful post (with a picture!) of proper exegesis (that is, biblical interpretation). This is a clip to wet your appetite (and hopefully convince you to read the whole post!):
The problem with the “What-does-it-mean-to-you” approach is that it is purely
subjective. It turns the Scripture into a wax nose that can be shaped into what
ever our our current situation demands. The Bible becomes subjective magic
book through which we serve as mediums to its message.
It does not matter
what it means to you.
It does not matter what it means to
you.
It matters what it means. Yes, there are various ways in which the Bible
can apply to you, but it is not going to apply outside its objective
meaning. It means what it means.
“But the Bible is God’s
word,” you may say. ”It is powerful. You should not limit it. God can
speak directly to me through it.” This is true. The Bible is powerful. It is
God’s word. It can speak to you. But it is not going to give you a different
meaning than it gives to everyone else.
Third, Doug McMasters just gives some notes from Spurgeon which are phenomenal! It is Spurgeon's charge to Trinity Road Chapel. Here's a clip (so, again, you'll read the whole thing):
You need power; not the power of money, or mind, or influence, or numbers;
but “power from on high.” All other power may be desirable, but this power is
indispensable. Spiritual work can only be done by spiritual power. I counsel you
in order to get spiritual power in all that you do to keep the King’s
commandment, for “where the word of a king is, there is power.”
And a little more...
If you want power, keep the King’s commandment, keep close to it in all
things, and make it the law of your house and the motto of your flag. Wherein
you go beyond the word. you go beyond the power, and wherein you stop short of
the word you also stop short of the power. In the King’s word there is power,
and you will have power as long as you keep to it: but real power is nowhere
else to be found. Let us take care that we do not look elsewhere for power, for
that will he leaving the fountains of living waters to hew out to ourselves
broken cisterns which hold no water. I fear that some Christian people have been
looking in many other directions for the power which can only be found in the
word of the King.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The character of an on-fire Christian
Today I had a great opportunity -- to preach at church. I found great joy in studying Acts 1 all week and unveiling some of its truth to God's people this morning.As I studied I was confronted with the glories of Christ, the ascension of Christ and the guarantee of his return, the absolute necessity of bearing witness of Christ not only globally but also locally in every life situation that we may find ourselves in, and finally, the need to be absolutely committed to Christ.
In a nutshell, here was my outline of Acts chapter 1. I wanted to reveal three essential characteristics of an on-fire Christian:
1. We must be witnesses for Christ (1-8)
2. We must be watching for Christ (9-11)
3. We must be committed to Christ (12-26)
I trust God and know that He used His Word to accomplish His sovereign will. He sure did His work (still in progress) in my life this past week in my study.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Fighting with spouse can be good for your health
According to Diane Mapes with CNN.com this is so. She notes in her lengthy article:For many couples, spats are a necessary evil, something to endure or avoid
(for the sake of the kids!). But new research at the University of Michigan
shows that hashing out marital disagreements is actually good for your health.
It's squelching anger, especially when you feel you've been wronged, that's
dangerous.
She continues by noting:
A study published in January followed 192 married couples in Michigan from
1971 to 1988 and found that those who kept their anger in when unfairly attacked
did not live as long as those who expressed their anger, says lead study author
Ernest Harburg, Ph.D., an emeritus research scientist at the University of
Michigan's School of Public Health and psychology department.
"We're all
interested in longevity," says Harburg, who's studied the health effects of
spousal sparring for over 30 years. "We watch our diet, we exercise. Now we need
to add 'express anger constructively' to that list."
So part of the counsel is simple and straight-forward:
...The first step is to let the person know you're mad -- the sooner, the
better.
"You can either express your anger directly or you can say, 'That
makes me angry, but I don't want to talk about it now; let's discuss it later',"
he says. "But in order to solve the problem, you need to first express your
emotions."
Perhaps one more quote will suffice. One lady noted:
"My blog has become my therapy," she says. "When I have issues, I'll write
a blog post and my husband will read it at work. And then he'll come home and
we'll talk about the problem and solve it. If we have issues, they never really
last longer than a couple of hours."
Harburg says both partners have to be
willing to listen and work toward a compromise; otherwise it's a no-go.
Unfortunately, this is what the godless mind is prone to think. Just let out the anger on your spouse -- it's better to do so; and sooner rather than later, and it goes on and on and on.
But is this really what husbands and wives should do? Before we look at what is "healthiest" for the body or what may "promote" a longer life we must see what God has to say about this.
God said through Peter to wives:
1 Peter 3:3-5 3 And let not your adornment be merely external-- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.
1 Peter 3:3-5 3 And let not your adornment be merely external-- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.
Then to the husbands:
1 Peter 3:7-9 You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. 8 To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
Listen to what the wisest man who has ever lived had to say about the tongue:
Proverbs 10:19 When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.
And Solomon continues,
Proverbs 17:27-28 27 He who restrains his words has knowledge, And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. 28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is counted prudent.
God says that believers must be those who love their spouses and are selfless rather than selfish. The godly character is that which produces a gentle and quiet spirit - not an outrageous and argumentative one.
Let it not be forgotten that God the Holy Spirit said through Paul to believers:
Ephesians 4:26-27 Though you may be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity (author's translation).
May we be those who take a stand holding firm to the authoritative and clear truth found in God's Word. If this article reflects the average marital counsel people are getting these days, then it is time for us to hold God's Word high with the God-honoring answers to our sinful hearts which can be angry. The answer is not outrage, or expressing your emotions, or to let it out, or to "compromise." Rather, the answer, no doubt, is Christlikeness.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Prayer, Preaching, and Parsonage
If you are a visitor to this blog and are wondering where I've been the last few days, I want to inform you that Elizabeth and I are moving down to the Valley closer to church and seminary to our church parsonage.
You can pray:
Blessings.
You can pray:
- That the move goes smoothly.
- That we continue to cultivate solid and deep friendships with people in our church.
- That I continue to keep up with all the schoolwork requirements (4 major semester papers due in the next three weeks).
- That Elizabeth finds a new job in the Valley in the next few weeks.
- That I preach with boldness and accuracy as I have quite a few opportunities to preach in coming weeks (at church and the rehab. center).
Blessings.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Good Friday Article
This is a helpful article on the physical pain and suffering of our Lord just hours before He was crucified. It is sobering and, at times, hard to read - but very helpful. Oftentimes the word "crucifixion" can become rote and, even, meaningless because we are so accustomed and familiar with the term. If that is the case with you, then read this article here on crucifixion from a medical standpoint.
Acts 2:24 24 "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
Acts 2:24 24 "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
Niagara Falls with a babe
I've been to cold places before, but this was a little too cold for my liking. I guess since I've been in LA my blood has really, I mean really thinned out! In fact, you can see just how cold it was by the fact that the river at the bottom of the falls was absolutely frozen solid.
Regardless, we had a great time together. We also had Tim Horton's donuts - which is a must if you go into Canada or near the Canada border!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Singing Psalm 74
Yesterday in my Psalms class at seminary we sung through Psalm 74. Isaac Watts has some great lyrics (17 stanzas!) on this psalm (some are from the text and others are more, shall we say, interpretive).
At any rate, we sang this song to the familiar tune of "O God Our Help In Ages Past:"
1 Will God for ever cast us off?
His wrath for ever smoke
Against the people of' his love,
His little chosen flock?
2 Think of the tribes so dearly bought
With their Redeemer's blood;
Nor let thy Zion be forgot,
Where once thy glory stood.
3 Lift up thy feet and march in haste,
Aloud our ruin calls;
See what a wide and fearful waste
Is made within thy walls.
4 Where once thy churches prayed and sang,
Thy foes profanely roar;
Over thy gates their ensigns hang,
Sad tokens of their power.
5 How are the seats of worship broke!
They tear the buildings down,
And he that deals the heaviest stroke
Procures the chief renown.
6 With flames they threaten to destroy
Thy children in their nest;
"Come, let us burn at once," they cry,
"The temple and the priest."
7 And still, to heighten our distress,
Thy presence is withdrawn;
Thy wonted signs of power and grace,
Thy power and grace are gone.
8 No prophet speaks to calm our woes,
But all the seers mourn;
There's not a soul amongst us knows
The time of thy return. PAUSE
9 How long, eternal God, how long
Shall men of pride blaspheme?
Shall saints be made their endless song,
And bear immortal shame?
10 Canst thou for ever sit and bear
Thine holy name profaned?
And still thy jealousy forbear,
And still withhold thine hand?
11 What strange deliv'rance hast thou shown
In ages long before !
And now no other God we own,
No other God adore.
12 Thou didst divide the raging sea
By thy resistless might,
To make thy tribes a wondrous way,
And then secure their flight.
13 Is not the world of nature thine,
The darkness and the day?
Didst thou not bid the morning shine,
And mark the sun his way?
14 Hath not thy power formed ev'ry coast,
And set the earth its bounds,
With summer's heat, and winter's frost,
In their perpetual rounds?
15 And shall the sons of earth and dust
That sacred power blaspheme?
Will not thy hand that formed them first
Avenge thine injured name?
16 Think on the cov'nant thou hast made,
And all thy words of love;
Nor let the birds of prey invade,
And vex thy mourning dove.
17 Our foes would triumph in our blood,
And make our hope their jest;
Plead thy own cause, Almighty God,
And give thy children rest.
At any rate, we sang this song to the familiar tune of "O God Our Help In Ages Past:"
1 Will God for ever cast us off?
His wrath for ever smoke
Against the people of' his love,
His little chosen flock?
2 Think of the tribes so dearly bought
With their Redeemer's blood;
Nor let thy Zion be forgot,
Where once thy glory stood.
3 Lift up thy feet and march in haste,
Aloud our ruin calls;
See what a wide and fearful waste
Is made within thy walls.
4 Where once thy churches prayed and sang,
Thy foes profanely roar;
Over thy gates their ensigns hang,
Sad tokens of their power.
5 How are the seats of worship broke!
They tear the buildings down,
And he that deals the heaviest stroke
Procures the chief renown.
6 With flames they threaten to destroy
Thy children in their nest;
"Come, let us burn at once," they cry,
"The temple and the priest."
7 And still, to heighten our distress,
Thy presence is withdrawn;
Thy wonted signs of power and grace,
Thy power and grace are gone.
8 No prophet speaks to calm our woes,
But all the seers mourn;
There's not a soul amongst us knows
The time of thy return. PAUSE
9 How long, eternal God, how long
Shall men of pride blaspheme?
Shall saints be made their endless song,
And bear immortal shame?
10 Canst thou for ever sit and bear
Thine holy name profaned?
And still thy jealousy forbear,
And still withhold thine hand?
11 What strange deliv'rance hast thou shown
In ages long before !
And now no other God we own,
No other God adore.
12 Thou didst divide the raging sea
By thy resistless might,
To make thy tribes a wondrous way,
And then secure their flight.
13 Is not the world of nature thine,
The darkness and the day?
Didst thou not bid the morning shine,
And mark the sun his way?
14 Hath not thy power formed ev'ry coast,
And set the earth its bounds,
With summer's heat, and winter's frost,
In their perpetual rounds?
15 And shall the sons of earth and dust
That sacred power blaspheme?
Will not thy hand that formed them first
Avenge thine injured name?
16 Think on the cov'nant thou hast made,
And all thy words of love;
Nor let the birds of prey invade,
And vex thy mourning dove.
17 Our foes would triumph in our blood,
And make our hope their jest;
Plead thy own cause, Almighty God,
And give thy children rest.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD
Luke 19:37-40 37 And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." 40 And He answered and said, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"Monday, March 10, 2008
Good Morning Dallas - NT Manuscript Preservation
Dan Wallace, of Dallas Theological Seminary, was featured on the Dallas News today. Here is a clip of what he said (you can also read the whole thing here):Armed with high-tech cameras and computers, Daniel B. Wallace travels around the
world to photograph New Testament manuscripts that are many centuries old. The
pages are often fragile and the writing may be faded. His work assures that the
treasured contents will be preserved.
Photos by BRYAN WESEL/Special
Contributor The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts works to
preserve the contents of age-old pieces, such as the Codex Vaticanus B, from the
sixth century.
His goal is to photograph 1.3 million pages of Greek New
Testament manuscripts – a project he expects to take until 2020.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Calvin on the imputation of Christ's righteousness to believers
I am doing research for a paper proving exegetically that the righteousness of Christ is imputed (reckoned or credited) to believers at the moment of salvation. Here are some quotes from the great John Calvin that are pertinent to this topic (the numbers at the end correspond to the reference in his Institutes):“It was superfluous, even absurd, for Christ to be burdened with a curse, unless it was to acquire righteousness for others by paying what they owed.” (1:532) – 2.17.4.
“Paul commends God’s grace in this respect: for God has given the price of redemption in the death of Christ [Rom 3:24]; then he bids us take refuge in Christ’s blood, that having acquired righteousness we may stand secure before God’s judgment (Rom 3:25)” (1:532)
** “For the righteousness found in Christ alone is reckoned as ours. Surely the only reason why Christ’s flesh is called “our food” [John 6:55] is that we find in him the substance of life” (1:533) 2.17.5.
**This is justification according to Calvin: “He who is both reckoned righteous in God’s judgment and has been accepted on account of his [Christ’s] righteousness” (1:726) 3.11.2.
** “Justified by faith is he who, excluded from the righteousness of works, grasps the righteousness of Christ through faith, and clothed in it, appears in God’s sight not as a sinner but as a righteous man” (1:726-27) 3.11.2
**We are justified before God solely by the intercession of Christ’s righteousness. This is equivalent to saying that man is not righteous in himself but because the righteousness of Christ is communicated to him by imputation” (1:753) 3.11.23.
He notes that the Apostle “most clearly asserts this [doctrine of imputation] when he writes… 2 Cor 5:21 (1:753).
“To declare that by him alone we are accounted righteous, what else is this but to lodge our righteousness in Christ’s obedience, because the obedience of Christ is reckoned to us as if it were our own?” (1:753) 3.11.23.
“And this is indeed the truth, for in order that we may appear before God’s face unto salvation we must smell sweetly with his odor, and our vices must be covered and buried by his perfection” (1:754) 3.11.23.
In referring to those objections to justification by faith… Calvin writes: “The father embraces us in Christ when he clothes us with the innocence of Christ and accepts it as ours that by the benefit of it he may hold us as holy, pure, and innocent. For Christ’s righteousness, which as it alone is perfect alone can bear the sight of God, must appear in court on our behalf, and stand surety in judgment.” (1:779) 3.14.12.
“To wipe out the guilt of the disobedience which had been committed in our flesh, he took that very flesh that in it, for our sake, and in our stead, he might achieve perfect obedience. Thus, he was conceived of the Holy Spirit in order that, in the flesh taken, fully imbued with the holiness of the Spirit, he might impart that holiness to us” (2:1341) 4.16.18
Concerning this wonderful exchange: Calvin writes: “This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, he has made with us; that, becoming Son of man with us, he has made us sons of God with him; that, by his descent to earth, he has prepared an ascent to heaven for us; that, by taking on our mortality, he has conferred his immortality upon us; that, accepting our weakness, he has strengthened us by his power; that, receiving our poverty unto himself, he has transferred his wealth to us; that, taking the weight of our iniquity upon himself (which oppressed us), he has clothed us with his righteousness.” (2:1362) 4.17.2. (emphasis added)!!!
“Paul commends God’s grace in this respect: for God has given the price of redemption in the death of Christ [Rom 3:24]; then he bids us take refuge in Christ’s blood, that having acquired righteousness we may stand secure before God’s judgment (Rom 3:25)” (1:532)
** “For the righteousness found in Christ alone is reckoned as ours. Surely the only reason why Christ’s flesh is called “our food” [John 6:55] is that we find in him the substance of life” (1:533) 2.17.5.
**This is justification according to Calvin: “He who is both reckoned righteous in God’s judgment and has been accepted on account of his [Christ’s] righteousness” (1:726) 3.11.2.
** “Justified by faith is he who, excluded from the righteousness of works, grasps the righteousness of Christ through faith, and clothed in it, appears in God’s sight not as a sinner but as a righteous man” (1:726-27) 3.11.2
**We are justified before God solely by the intercession of Christ’s righteousness. This is equivalent to saying that man is not righteous in himself but because the righteousness of Christ is communicated to him by imputation” (1:753) 3.11.23.
He notes that the Apostle “most clearly asserts this [doctrine of imputation] when he writes… 2 Cor 5:21 (1:753).
“To declare that by him alone we are accounted righteous, what else is this but to lodge our righteousness in Christ’s obedience, because the obedience of Christ is reckoned to us as if it were our own?” (1:753) 3.11.23.
“And this is indeed the truth, for in order that we may appear before God’s face unto salvation we must smell sweetly with his odor, and our vices must be covered and buried by his perfection” (1:754) 3.11.23.
In referring to those objections to justification by faith… Calvin writes: “The father embraces us in Christ when he clothes us with the innocence of Christ and accepts it as ours that by the benefit of it he may hold us as holy, pure, and innocent. For Christ’s righteousness, which as it alone is perfect alone can bear the sight of God, must appear in court on our behalf, and stand surety in judgment.” (1:779) 3.14.12.
“To wipe out the guilt of the disobedience which had been committed in our flesh, he took that very flesh that in it, for our sake, and in our stead, he might achieve perfect obedience. Thus, he was conceived of the Holy Spirit in order that, in the flesh taken, fully imbued with the holiness of the Spirit, he might impart that holiness to us” (2:1341) 4.16.18
Concerning this wonderful exchange: Calvin writes: “This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, he has made with us; that, becoming Son of man with us, he has made us sons of God with him; that, by his descent to earth, he has prepared an ascent to heaven for us; that, by taking on our mortality, he has conferred his immortality upon us; that, accepting our weakness, he has strengthened us by his power; that, receiving our poverty unto himself, he has transferred his wealth to us; that, taking the weight of our iniquity upon himself (which oppressed us), he has clothed us with his righteousness.” (2:1362) 4.17.2. (emphasis added)!!!
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