People of the Book

Last week I heard a sermon by Kevin DeYoung (linked here: People of the Book http://www.universityreformedchurch.org/teaching/sermons.html?date=2013-10-01&enddate=2013-10-31&preacher=3) that struck me as both incredibly practical and thoroughly convicting. I had intended to transcribe the main points, but he has done it for me on his own blog. The links to his posts are below. What follows are simply a recapitulation of his points.

To God Alone Be The Glory

How To Be Better Bereans - Kevin DeYoung

1. Listen to the Sermon With an Open Bible
2. Don't Rush On From the Word of God to the Rest of Your Life
3. Get In the Word as a Way of Life
4. We Must Approach the Bible With Eager Expectation
5. Be Prepared to Study the Word Deeply
6. Be Confident That You Are Able to Study the Bible and Discover the Truth of God's Word
7. Recognize That Some Things Which Claim to Be From the Bible Are Not
8. Test Difficult Doctrines Against the Scriptures Before Simply Discarding Them
9. Be Humble Enough To Take the Bible At Its Word No Matter Who You Are
10. Give the Bible the Final Say In Every Matter On Which It Means to Speak

http://thegospelcoalition.org/mobile/article/kevindeyoung/how-to-be-better-bereans
http://thegospelcoalition.org/mobile/article/kevindeyoung/how-to-be-better-bereans-2
http://thegospelcoalition.org/mobile/article/kevindeyoung/how-to-be-better-bereans-3-of-3

A prayer

Look down from heaven and see,
    from your holy and beautiful habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
   The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
   are held back from me.
For you are our Father,
   though Abraham does not know us,
   and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
    our Redeemer from of old is your name.
O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
   and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
   the tribes of your heritage.
Your holy people held possession for a little while;
    our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
   like those who are not called by your name.

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
    that the mountains might quake at your presence—
as when fire kindles brushwood
   and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
   and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
   you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From of old no one has heard
   or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
   who acts for those who wait for him.
You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
   those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
   in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
We have all become like one who is unclean,
   and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
   and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls upon your name,
   who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
   and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,
    and remember not iniquity forever.
   Behold, please look, we are all your people.

- SDG

The Great Adjectives of 1 Peter 1

His great mercy
Our living hope
An inheritance that is:
   imperishable
   undefiled
   unfading
A faith that is:
   tested
   genuine
   more precious than gold
   results in praise, glory and honor to Jesus
A joy that is:
   inexpressable
   filled with glory
A ransom by the precious blood of Christ
A love that is:
   brotherly
   sincere
   earnest
   pure
The Word of God is:
   living
   abiding

This is the good news that was (and is!) preached to you

SDG

Psalm 51

In reading this psalm today, I was reminded again that God operates outside of us, especially in securing our salvation.  SDG

Psalm 51 (English Standard Version)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

 ¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
   and cleanse me from my sin!  ³ For I know my transgressions,
   and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
   and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
   and blameless in your judgment.
⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
   and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
   and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
 ⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
   and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
   and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
   and uphold me with a willing spirit.
 ¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
   and sinners will return to you.
¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
   O God of my salvation,
   and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,
   and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
   you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
   a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
 ¹⁸ Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹then will you delight in right sacrifices,
   in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
   then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Grace in the Old Testament

Have you ever been caught thinking that God had two plans of salvation?  One plan for the Jews in the Old Testament and another for the Church in the New Testament.  I think this way of thinking is easy to fall into.  Thankfully, however, God has given us clear sign posts in the Old Testament that His plan of salvation is consistent for all of His children. Here are just a couple of examples I ran across recently.  SDG


Psalm 40:2-3 (English Standard Version)

²He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
³He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the LORD.

Psalm 40:11 (English Standard Version)

 ¹¹As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
   your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
   ever preserve me!

Psalm 79:9 (English Standard Version)

⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation,
   for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
   for your name’s sake!

Psalm 80:3 (English Standard Version)

 ³ Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

The Steadfast Love of God - Ps 36

Psalm 36:5-10 (English Standard Version)

 ⁵Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
   your faithfulness to the clouds.
⁶ Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    your judgments are like the great deep;
   man and beast you save, O LORD.
 ⁷ How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
   The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
⁸They feast on the abundance of your house,
   and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
⁹For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.
 ¹⁰Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
   and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Titus 3 and Spurgeon

Titus 3:4-7 (English Standard Version)


4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.


"It is a very surprising thing,—a thing to be marveled at most of all by those who enjoy it. I know that it is to me even to this day the greatest wonder that I ever heard of, that God should ever justify me. I feel myself to be a lump of unworthiness, a mass of corruption, and a heap of sin apart from His almighty love; yet I know, by a full assurance, that I am justified by faith which is in Christ Jesus, and treated as if I had been perfectly just, and made an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ; though by nature I must take my place among the most sinful." - C.H. Spurgeon

One mediator

There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all - 1 Tim 2:5-6

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  But  I received  mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. - 1 Tim 1:15-16

The aim of our charge is love that issues  from a pure heart a good conscience and a sincere faith - 1 Tim 1:5

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One mediator, Jesus, gave his life for mine.  Because of his sacrifice, applied by God to my life, I am saved.  I'm saved not just to go to heaven, but also to be God's example to others.  In some way or another, we are all part of the God's "PR campaign", especially toward those who believe. (see 2 Cor 2:15-16)  But our salvation also has life implications: we are called to love, not as the world does (i.e. selfishly) but rather in an agape, Christ-like manner flowing from our new hearts, cleansed consciences and Spirit bolstered faith.

May the grace of God, the mercy of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit go with you this day!

SDG