The Lamb's Book of Life---Written when?

Can you remember being in church services that closed something like this?

Every head bowed, every eye closed, no one looking around, instruments playing softly, now raise your hand and look up at me if you would like to have your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life tonight.  Is your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life?  Would like you like it to be?  Then as soon as we start singing, if you will walk down this aisle and take me by the hand, pray this prayer, do this and that, jump through this hoop and that hoop, etc.,  your name can be written down in the Lamb's Book of Life tonight in Heaven..........Now, how does it feel to know your name has just been written down in the Book?

Is this correct?  I believe Scripture teaches the Lamb's Book of Life was written before the foundation of the world, not at a moment in time when you make your "decision for Christ".  Agree?  Disagree?  I invite you to read on if interested...

I can remember end-of-church-service invitations very similar to this growing up in a Southern Baptist Church in Louisiana. The Pastors, Preachers, Evangelists, etc. speaking like this were great men of God who loved Jesus, and they were instrumental in bringing many people into the Kingdom of God (both wheat and tares, no doubt, but didn't Jesus say they must both grow together?  see Matthew 13)

Now, is there anything wrong with that type of "invitation" or "invitations" in general?  Glad you asked, but I'm not going there on this blog.  There's much debate over invitations, and people feel strongly on both sides of the debate, but I know God is not hindered and His arm is not shortened that He cannot save, regardless of our "methodology". Countless multitudes of souls have been saved with and without invitations because it is God who does the saving by the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel, not us or our invitational methods.

 The reason I was thinking about the Lamb's Book of Life today has to do with a facebook post by R.C. Sproul earlier today, as follows:

 Ligonier Ministries FACEBOOK post:
When God writes our names in the 'Lamb's Book of Life' He doesn't do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity. - R.C. Sproul

The comment thread was getting longer and longer, and I noticed no one seemed to mention what Scripture says about this, but only made comments about Revelation 3:5 and whether or not we can be blotted out of the Book.  So I put my two cents worth in (a metaphor for "my opinion", for those International readers  that may not be familiar with American English "figures of speech").  The following is my response on Ligonier's thread:

Actually, our names aren't written in the Lamb's Book of Life when we're saved, they're already there from before the foundation of the world... Rev.13:3 (NASB) speaks of "those whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb", and Rev.17:8 (ESV if you prefer) speaks of those "whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world"...so the names of the elect are already there, which coincides with Ephesians Chapter 1, Romans Chapter 8, etc., and the promise is that they will never be blotted out in Rev. 3:5, because cities in that day would blot out or purge the names of undesirables from their city register...the promise is that this will not happen to us who are secure in Christ...

Arthur W. Pink's last words before he died in 1952 were:  
"THE SCRIPTURES EXPLAIN THEMSELVES!"

So in summary, according to Scripture (and Scripture is our only Authority), the Elect's names are already written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world and will never be blotted out.  

But you might say "then what's the use for me, if I'm not elect, I don't have a chance. "
Well, I'm glad you asked!

John 1:12-13 (ESV) says

But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

and Revelation 22:17 says  The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

So if you're not sure of your salvation, or if you know you're not saved, and if you are being convicted and drawn by His Spirit, if you will humble yourself, cry out to Him and sincerely surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in repentance and faith, you will find that your name has already been written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  
But if you continue to reject the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, you will one day (perhaps judgement day) see that your sins remain on yourself, and that your name is not in the Book.  How tragic that would be...

ANGOLA, the ALCATRAZ of the South, Transformed by the Power of the Gospel

Why is this a topic for my blog today?  I'm glad you asked!

I was talking to my friend Randy this morning, and he was sharing with me how our friend Barry's brother, a Pastor who routinely preaches at Angola State Penitentiary met Dr. John MacArthur while MacArthur was preaching there on Tuesday of this week.  He said MacArthur was so down-to-earth, and mingled with and talked with them in a most humble manner, unlike some of the well-known preachers of our day.  John Piper has also preached there, and held question and answer sessions at Angola in recent years which I have listened to on MP3 that can be found online. The level of spiritual maturity and theological understanding in the inmates' questions was nothing less than amazing. I googled MacArthur and Angola, and didn't find anything on it, but came across these videos.  I was so moved by what I saw and heard, I wanted to share it with my friends on this blog. 

"ANGOLA", aka The Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP), has been nicknamed "ALCATRAZ OF THE SOUTH". If you are viewing this blog from outside the U.S.A., you may not be familiar with either of these two prisons where the worst of the worst, most violent of the violent, and the baddest of the bad have been sent for life sentences, as well as executions.  Men on Death Row, and the Exection Chamber are housed at Angola.  For decades, in fact since the 1800's ANGOLA has been a word that strikes fear in the heart of criminals, as well as average citizens.  It is the largest maximum security prison in the United States of America.  For those of us who live in Louisiana, we are very familiar with its reputation for violence, murder, riots, etc..  As Louisiana teenagers we were occasionally warned that we might end up in Angola if we broke the law, which seemed to be just about as scary as telling us we would wind up in hell.  As a truckdriver in the 1980's, as I would drive by the signs pointing to Angola near St. Francisville on the way to Baton Rouge, I used to get an eerie feeling, and would be looking all around for escaped prisoners.

Angola is surrounded on 3 sides by the mighty Mississippi River, and consists of  18,000 acres of what was once plantation land.  Wardens have been historically fired every 4 or 5 years due to their inability to keep the violence down.  But that was until Burl Cain became Warden in 1995, answering a call from God!  He is still there, and is the longest standing Warden in LSP history.  Cain is a Christian, started Bible studies with the prisoners and guards shortly after arriving as Warden, and offers Seminary training through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for the inmates. 

I invite you to watch both of these videos, and prepare to be amazed by the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

You may be tempted to think "How could those murderers, rapists, thieves, etc. be truly converted, changed, saved, etc..  However, for those of us who have been Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, we need to be reminded of who we once were as enemies of God, until we were saved by His Glorious Grace through Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We also need to realize that except for the Grace of God, we could have and should have all been in there serving time with them.  Furthermore, we all could have been and should have been sent straight to Hell, but for His Grace and Mercy.  As that old hymn says:

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, 

that SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME.

And in the words of another old Southern Gospel Song entitled "Yes I Know":

Come ye sinners, lost and lonely;
Jesus' blood can make you free!
For He saved the worst among you,
When He saved a wretch like ME.

And I know, yes I know;
Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean!
And I know, yes I know;
Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean!

Maybe you're not sure about your own salvation, or maybe you're wondering if God could save someone as bad as you.  Or perhaps you're thinking since you don't see yourself as bad as those guys in Angola that you are alright with God.  Either way, I'd love to discuss it with you.

Please leave comments or questions below.  You can use the "anonymous" label while commenting and either leave your name or remain anonymous if you don't want to log in.  

William Carey's "business" was to proclaim the Gospel!

William Carey, often called the "Founder of Modern Missions" was a minister, school-master, and a cobbler or shoe maker by trade before he left England to begin mission work in India. While still in England, he used to go about from village to village proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people.
One day a friend reportedly came to him and said,

"I want to speak to you very seriously."

"Well," said Carey, "What is it?"
His friend said, "By your going about talking to people as you do you're neglecting your business. If you only attended to making shoes more than you do, you would have a better business and could prosper far better than you are. But as it is you are simply neglecting your business."
To which Carey replied, "Neglecting my business? My business is to extend the Kingdom of God. I only cobble shoes to pay expenses!"
or as "Wholesome Words" website puts it, (click here)

"My real business is to preach the gospel and win lost souls. I cobble shoes to pay expenses."

Romans 10:13-15 (ESV)

13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News!"

Our Needs and God's Mercy

John Flavel (1627-1691), an English Presbyterian clergyman said "When our needs are permitted to grow to an extremity, and all visible hopes fail, then to have relief given wonderfully enhances the price of such a mercy" (Isaiah 41:17-18)

Isaiah 41:17-20 (ESV)

¹⁷When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹ I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
²⁰that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

I am reminded of a song Everett Geis Jr., our former music minister used to sing periodically while he led music at Calvary Baptist Church. He shared how the words ministered to him in a mighty way, due to his own personal testimony, and as we grow older and go through more in this life, I think we can all be ministered to by the lyrics in the same way. My wife and I often talk about how Everett blessed us many times with this song (as well as many other specials he would sing right before the sermon), and we wish we could hear him sing again sometime. No one could sing (and put their heart into it) like Everett. He's gone on to become a Preacher of the Word since then.

The chorus was as follows:

There's light at the end of the darkness,

So look up when you are down and try to believe.

Sometimes we have to be knocked down to make us look upward.

I was looking up through the bottom when it finally shined on me.

The song in its entirety is as follows:

VERSE 1

There's a light at the end of the darkness,

And it shines for all the world to see.

It will shine on your life if you will let it.

I was blind when it finally shined on me

VERSE 2

There is hope in that land for the hopeless,

And there's soothing balm for pain and misery.

It's as near as your faith, but sometimes seems fleeting.

I was blind when it finally shined on me.

CHORUS

There's light at the end of the darkness,

So look up when you are down and try to believe.

Sometimes we have to be knocked down to make us look upward.

I was looking up through the bottom when it finally shined on me.

REPEAT CHORUS

I was looking up through the bottom when it finally shined on me.

Spurgeon quotes on the Doctrines of Grace

I came across this excellent selection of Charles Spurgeon's quotes on the Biblical Doctrines of Grace.  The author of the website graciously agreed to allow me to reproduce it here if linked to his website.

 http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/02/c_h_spurgeon_quotes_on_the_doc.php

I believe nothing merely because Calvin taught it, but because I have found his teaching in the Word of God. 2584.402

The doctrines of original sin, election, effectual calling, final perseverance, and all those great truths which are called Calvinism—though Calvin was not the author of them, but simply an able writer and preacher upon the subject—are, I believe, the essential doctrines of the Gospel that is in Jesus Christ. Now, I do not ask you whether you believe all this—it is possible you may not; but I believe you will before you enter heaven. I am persuaded, that as God may have washed your hearts, he will wash your brains before you enter heaven. 12.92

I believe the man who is not willing to submit to the electing love and sovereign grace of God, has great reason to question whether he is a Christian at all, for the spirit that kicks against that is the spirit of the devil, and the spirit of the unhumbled, unrenewed heart. 277.424

“But,” say others, “God elected them on the foresight of their faith.” Now, God gives faith, therefore he could not have elected them on account of faith, which he foresaw. There shall be twenty beggars in the street, and I determine to give one of them a shilling; but will any one say that I determined to give that one a shilling, that I elected him to have the shilling, because I foresaw that he would have it? That would be talking nonsense. In like manner to say that God elected men because he foresaw they would have faith, which is salvation in the germ, would be too absurd for us to listen to for a moment. 41,42.317

Our Arminian antagonists always leave the fallen angels out of the question: for it is not convenient to them to recollect this ancient instance of Election. They call it unjust, that God should choose one man and not another. By what reasoning can this be unjust when they will admit that it was righteous enough in God to choose one race—the race of men, and leave another race—the race of angels, to be sunk into misery on account of sin. 303.134

Some, who know no better, harp upon the foreknowledge of our repentance and faith, and say that, “Election is according to the foreknowledge of God;” a very scriptural statement, but they make a very unscriptural interpretation of it. Advancing by slow degrees, they next assert that God foreknew the faith and the good works of his people. Undoubtedly true, since he foreknew everything; but then comes their groundless inference, namely, that therefore the Lord chose his people because he foreknew them to be believers. It is undoubtedly true that foreknown excellencies are not the causes of election, since I have shown you that the Lord foreknew all our sin: and surely if there were enough virtue in our faith and goodness to constrain him to choose us, there would have been enough demerit in our bad works to have constrained him to reject us; so that if you make foreknowledge to operate in one way, you must also take it in the other, and you will soon perceive that it could not have been from anything good or bad in us that we were chosen, but according to the purpose of his own will, as it is written, “I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 779.621

Recollect also that God himself did not foresee that there would be any love to him in us arising out of ourselves, for there never has been any, and there never will be; he only foresaw that we should believe because he gave us faith, he foresaw that we should repent because his Spirit would work repentance in us, he foresaw that we should love, because he wrought that love within us; and is there anything in the foresight that he means to give us such things that can account for his giving us such things? The case is self-evident—his foresight of what he means to do cannot be his reason for doing it. 1299.341
There was nothing more in Abraham than in any one of us why God should have selected him, for whatever good was in Abraham God put it there. Now, if God put it there, the motive for his putting it there could not be the fact of his putting it there. 303.135
A controversialist once said, “If I thought God had a chosen people, I should not preach.” That is the very reason why I do preach. What would make him inactive is the mainspring of my earnestness. If the Lord had not a people to be saved, I should have little to cheer me in the ministry. 2167.551

I believe that God will save his own elect, and I also believe that, if I do not preach the gospel, the blood of men will be laid at my door. 2303.171

Our Saviour has bidden us to preach the gospel to every creature; he has not said, “Preach it only to the elect;” and though that might seem to be the most logical thing for us to do, yet, since he has not been pleased to stamp the elect in their foreheads, or to put any distinctive mark upon them, it would be an impossible task for us to perform; whereas, when we preach the gospel to every creature, the gospel makes its own division, and Christ’s sheep hear his voice, and follow him. 2937.262

God neither chose them nor called them because they were holy, but He called them that they might be holy, and holiness is the beauty produced by His workmanship in them. ME329

Grace does not choose a man and leave him as he is. 801.162

Reproduced and used with permission from the following website:

http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/02/c_h_spurgeon_quotes_on_the_doc.php

For more Spurgeon quotes (including an alphabetical listing) click on the link here.

Posted by John Samson on February 7, 2006 11:14 AM

The basis and groundwork of Arminian theology lies in attaching undue importance
to man, and giving God rather the second place than the first. 406.465

I believe that very much of current Arminianism is simply ignorance of Gospel
doctrine; and if people began to study their Bibles, and to take the Word of God as
they find it, they must inevitably, if believers, rise up to rejoice in the Doctrines of
Grace. 60

The "Village" of "Radical" "Crazy Love"

Thoughts on David Platt , Frances Chan, and Matt Chandler.  
(I came up with this blog title by combining Chandler's church's name-"The Village Church", Platt's book "Radical", and Chan's book "Crazy Love"...I know, kind of cheesy, but its the best I could come up with-lol).  For those unaware of who they are, these 3 young pastors are currently taking the younger generation of American Christians by storm, including protestants, evangelicals, and reformed believers, and they have a passion and zeal for the Glory of Christ that has been lacking among our young people in recent years.


Rest assured-I admire, respect, and recommend reading and listening to each of these young men of God.  The questions and topics of discussion put forth in this blog are meant to be constructive and in no way disrespectful to these guys, who are part of the next generation of Godly men who will hopefully be leading people in this country and people from all parts of the world to saving faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
One thing I want to commend them for is that they all, for the most part, preach the Sovereignty of God in a mighty way.  Platt, Chan, and Chandler lift Jesus higher, and put man lower, (like John the Baptist said-He must increase and I must decrease) more so than many of the authors and preachers that are so popular today.  They are, in my opinion, worlds ahead of pastors like Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Osteen, etc., and authors like John Eldredge, Philip Yancey, etc., some of whom like to lift man higher and bring God lower, just the opposite John the Baptist's statement.

That being said, many of my younger Christian friends, some of whom are not (although a few are) as fond of reading or listening to the older/wiser/more mature Pastor/Theologians of our day as I am, such as John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, Alistair Begg, R.C. Sproul, John Piper, etc., (just to name a few) have been highly recommending that I read and listen to some younger preachers like Platt, Chan, and Chandler.  I love to read and listen to good theology, sermons, books, etc., so in order to see what they're seeing, and hear what they're hearing, I've read Chan's book "Crazy Love", and listened to well over 100 sermons combined from all three of these guys, especially Platt and Chandler on MP3 over the last year or two.  So I'm not writing from a non-informed perspective.  I really like all three of them, have learned from and been blessed and challenged by them, and think God is greatly using them.  They are greatly glorifying Jesus, but I can see a few areas in each of them that needs some maturing. I hope as they continue to grow, they will look to the older men of God of our day for wisdom, and read, study, listen to their sermons, read their books, commentaries, etc., as well as the "dead theologians" such as the Reformers like Luther, Calvin, John Knox, etc., the later Puritans like Charnock, Baxter, Flavel, Owen, Henry, etc., and later men like Whitfield, Edwards, Spurgeon, missionaries like William Carey, Adoniram Judson, etc.,  and more recently deceased preachers and authors like D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones, James Montgomery Boice, Donald G. Barnhouse, A.W. Pink, etc., just to name a few.

Another young minister, who I think is somewhat more mature and discerning at this stage in his walk than these other 3 guys, Kevin DeYoung- Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan wrote an excellent review on David Platt's new book, "Radical".  He and Platt are friends, and Platt was given an invitation to write a response after his review.
I started to write a comment on his blog, but it quickly became too long. I decided to post my comment here, where I had more room. Please read Kevin DeYoung's gracious review, and David Platt's gracious response first.
Here's the link.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/05/25/getting-to-the-root-of-radical/

Now, here's what my comment was going to be before deciding to just post it here:

Thanks for the excellent review, Kevin.

I'm in full agreement with you, and have the highest respect for Dr. David Platt. I've not read his book in it's entirety, but I've skimmed it, and have listened to all of Platt's sermons on MP3 that the book was taken from, plus dozens more, after a few younger guys at church recommended him. I, like you, think the Lord has and will continue to use him in a mighty way for His Glory. He has a great passion and zeal for Jesus Christ that many of us would do well to learn from and emulate.

However, I feel he, Frances Chan, and a few others of the younger generation have some maturing to do. My pastor addressed this topic a few weeks ago in the morning sermon, and said he sees a "pride of poverty" in their message. My pastor wisely said (paraphrasing) "if these guys down-size and give everything away, they've only shifted the burden to someone else to take care of their needs." I agree, and also get the sense they think "one size fits all" in how each of our lives lived for Christ should look. I got the sense from David Platt's sermons that if you were in Platt's church, and didn't down-size and sell your house, AND move into the "housing project" so you could evangelize the poor people from the inside-out, like many of the members were already doing, and encouraging the rest to do, AND adopt at least one child from a 3rd world country, AND get rid of every non-essential you owned, etc...you would have tremendous peer pressure from within his church making you feel spiritually inferior, guilty, and less than "radical".

I also recently listened to several dozen MP3 sermons of another big name with the younger generation, Matt Chandler. He's a great young man of God, with a passion and zeal for Christ like the other guys mentioned. My prayers are with him with his cancer, and his faith exhibited through this time is truly inspiring. But one thing I noticed in his sermons seemed to go along with that mentioned above. He seemed to be overly bragging on the "modesty" of his small house, and seemed almost prideful in bragging on himself for driving an older worn out vehicle. And he seems to encourage "tatooes", saying "Jesus has a "cool-tatt", then uses Revelation's passage of Jesus coming on the white horse for his proof-text. He did this in not one, not two, but in multiple sermons which I listened to on MP3.  I thought "this is very strange, what's his infatuation with defending tattoes so often"?  He seems to be really stuck on promoting/endorsing/condoning tattoes, probably because most of the people he deals with has them, and he feels the need to be "relevant" (although I'm not really sure why, just a guess). I realize a lot of people make or have made stupid mistakes pertaining to tattoes which they can't erase later when they surrender to Christ, but that's a lot different than promoting it to Christians as an acceptable Christ-like practice after salvation.  Again, I've heard him do this several times in different podcast sermons, not just once. Chandler also arrogantly brags repeatedly on their church meeting in an old Albertson's grocery store/warehouse instead of a traditional church building, like that makes them more spiritual and in more favor with God or something.   He seems to have a major problem with church buildings. I've heard Chandler, Chan, and Platt speak negatively repeatedly about churches who meet in buildings on numerous occasions. I"ve heard Chandler (or Platt, can't remember which) preach a passage on Solomon's temple, and totally miss the whole point of the passage, and instead tried to use it as a way to bash modern church buildings while patting themselves on the back for meeting in a warehouse.  Quite a stretch of the text.  Didn't use exegesis at all, but complete eisogesis.

As to Frances Chan, I bought the book "Crazy Love", because it was being promoted by people in my church, and the book itself was later taught in a classroom setting.  I read it, underlined many things that I questioned, but didn't mention them to anyone, trying not to be devisive.  Then one evening my wife and I sat down to discuss it, and guess what?  She had marked the same things that I had.  Without going into much detail, the first thing we both had marked was where Frances Chan said (paraphrasing) that if we as the Church will do our job, we can literally wipe out poverty worldwide. I understand and appreciate his concern for the poor, and I'm aware that we as individuals as well as the Church as a whole could do better in this area, but, I also read in Scripture where Jesus said "the poor you will have with you always".  I'd like to ask Frances what does "always" mean?  I think it's another example of their immaturity, and how naive they are.  

Hopefully, if they will keep the humble perspective as David did in his response to your review, the Lord will continue to mature them to be used for His Glory in a mighty way.

ClJ. Mahaney's website had these good quotes by Kevin DeYoung.
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/

• Our generation in particular is prone to radicalism without follow-through. We want to change the world and we have never changed a diaper.

• Can we be the young generation that loves and respects and looks up to the older generation?

...if God is not Sovereign, then God is not God.

"If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not Sovereign. And if God is not Sovereign, He is not God." 

Dr. R.C. Sproul

A true disciple inquires not whether a fact is agreeable to his own reason, but whether it is in the Book!

John Piper quoted this conversation between Adoniram Judson, the American Baptist Missionary to Burma (modern day Myanmar) from 1813-1850, and a local Buddhist teacher. The article in its entirety can be found at the link at the bottom of the blog.

Once when a Buddhist teacher said that he could not believe that Christ suffered the death of the Cross because no king allows his son such indignity,

"Judson responded, 'Therefore you are not a disciple of Christ.
A true disciple inquires not whether a fact is agreeable to his own reason, but whether it is in "The Book".
His pride has yielded to the divine testimony.
Teacher, your pride is still unbroken.
Break down your pride, and yield to the Word of God."

Couldn't the same statement be made about the difficulty people have in yielding their human pride to accept other tough doctrines clearly taught in Scripture, such as the Eternality of God, the Trinity, and certainly one that is not agreeable to the natural man's "reason", God's total Sovereignty over all things, including our Salvation?  Predestination and Election are Biblical Doctrines, but man wants to have something of which to boast.  However, the Apostle Paul said if anyone boasts, let him boast in the Lord!

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1528_How_Few_There_Are_Who_Die_So_Hard/

http://www.reformedreader.org/rbb/judson/christtoburma.htm

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas from our family in Louisiana, U.S.A. to you and yours, wherever you may be.  Christmas is probably my favorite time of year.  I love everything about it.  The decorations, the food, the festivities, the fun, the cold, the snow (rare here in LA), gift-giving, Christmas music, Christmas shows, and the list goes on and on.  I love to have fun, and my family does too.  But in the midst of all the activities, we try to keep at the forefront of our minds daily the true meaning of this season, as well as well as every day of our lives.  Jesus Christ, our Saviour has come into our world, and given Himself for us and to us.  

Isaiah wrote the following words around 700 hundred years prior to the future earthly incarnation of the Promised One, Jesus who is called "The Christ" (Greek), or "The Messiah" (Hebrew):

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  
(7) Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 

Did you notice Isaiah's words sound like they are speaking of something that has already happened, past tense, although it was still several hundred years in the future?  That's the way it is with God. He speaks of those things that haven't happened yet as though they have.  You may ask how can He do that?  What if things don't work out like He says?  What if something goes wrong?

Well, He not only holds the future, He also plans it, and ensures that it comes to pass exactly as He has predetermined, or predestined it to be.  I know "predestined" is a word that turns a lot of people off, but it's taught extensively in Scripture.  Look it up in Romans, Ephesians, and elswhere in the pages of the Bible.  As David wrote in Psalms, He (the LORD) sits in the Heavens and does all that He pleases.   The Book of Job says that His will cannot be thwarted.  So even as sure as Jesus came exactly where, when, and how the Bible said He would, He'll accomplish in your life all that He has planned and promised. 

Prior to these verses, Isaiah wrote the following words to a people who were in darkness, and appeared to have no hope. Not only were they in the middle of tough times, but more trials and tribulations, worse than they could ever imagine were on the way.  But he wrote of a future time coming, as though it was past, when things would get better, better than they could ever imagine:

Isaiah 9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  (2) The people who walked in darkness have seen a Great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has Light shined.

Although the Christmas season brings joy to many people, you may be one of those for whom this time of year brings "anguish and gloom", instead of "Holiday Cheer".  Perhaps you've lost a loved one(s) during this time of year, or you may be going through divorce, financial hardship, job loss, or any of a plethora of other things that contribute to your being discouraged.  For those who can relate to "gloom and anguish", what a marvelous promise this is!  Although the context of the passage is to the inhabitants of the lands listed, I believe the message in this passage can bring great comfort to us today, over 2700 years later.

The prophet says there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.  He also says He has made the way glorious.  He is speaking to God's chosen people.  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, saved by grace through faith, then you can claim the promise that The people who walked in darkness have seen a Great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has Light shined. 

Isaiah also spoke of the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  I don't know about you, but this brings great Joy and Light to me, because I'm not of Jewish descent, but am what the Bible calls a Gentile, "of the nations".   This Light was promised to us, as well as the Jews.  Jesus, our Saviour has come, and given us Himself, and promised us an eternity with Himself and the Father in Heaven.  Our sins have been forgiven and we have been cleansed from all unrighteousness by His blood!
 

Even though your current situation may not seem to reflect this promise of "no more gloom", it is spoken of in past tense by Isaiah, and you can be assured of every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  Although we know we are to face many trials and tribulations while here on earth, if you're a Christian, there is a better day coming.  If not in this life, then in the next, in the eternal state with Him in Glory!

Isaiah 40:5 (ESV) And the Glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see It together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 


Merry Christmas!

What's "Of First Importance" according to the Scriptures?

One of our Associate Pastors filled the Pulpit Sunday morning at Church while our senior Pastor was away for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, and this was one of many Scripture passages he used.    The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV)

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..."

Although this was not the Pastor's main text, (Psalm 103 was), that phrase "of first importance" really stood out to me, and spoke to my heart, convicting me of my need to re-focus on what's really important in life.  Don't you just love how the Holy Spirit shows you things you need to see and apply to your life in a passage that you've read and studied for years, but seemed to pass right over?  Sometimes in the "hustle and bustle" of this world, our priorities can get out of order and things can get out of balance.  In the midst of stress, health problems, work, church, theological or doctrinal issues, family, politics, etc., (and on and on the list could go), I (we) can easily forget what is of "first importance".  

Forgive me, Father, and help me to always remember, and share with others that which is of first importance, "what I also received: that Christ died for our (my) sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

And let us be like Charles Spurgeon, who said:

"I take my text, and make a bee-line to the CROSS." 

No matter where Spurgeon took his text from, he would quickly show where all Scripture points to Jesus.   (A good topic for a future blog)

Just How Sovereign is God?

Charles H. Spurgeon, the 19th Century "Prince of Preachers" once said in a sermon entitled "God's Providence":
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/3114.htm

I believe...that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes —that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well as the sun in the heavens —that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphis over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence —the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche. He that believes in a God must believe this truth. There is no standing-point between this and atheism. There is no half way between a mighty God that worketh all things by the sovereign counsel of his will and no God at all. A God that cannot do as he pleases—a God whose will is frustrated, is not a God, and cannot be a God. I could not believe in such a God as that.

You might say, Wait a minute! What about human choice? Well, just prior to the quote above, Spurgeon led up to it with the following:

Providence is amazing. O! that thought, it staggers thought! O! it is an idea that overwhelms me—that God is working all! The sins of man, the wickedness of our race, the crimes of nations, the iniquities of kings, the cruelties of wars, the terrific scourge of pestilence—all these things in some mysterious way are working the will of God! We must not look at it; we cannot look at it. I cannot explain it. I cannot tell you where human will and free agency unite with God's sovereignty and with his unfailing decrees. This has been the place where intellectual gladiators have fought with each other ever since the time of Adam. Some have said, Man does as he likes; and others have said, God does as he pleases. In one sense, they are both true; but there is no man that has brains or understanding enough to show where they meet. We cannot tell how it is that I do just as I please as to which street I shall go home by; and yet I cannot go home but through a certain road. John Newton used to say, there were two streets to go to St. Mary Woolnoth; but Providence directed him as to which he should use. Last Sabbath day I came down a certain street I do not know why—and there was a young man who wished to speak to me; he wished to see me many times before. I say that was God's Providence—that I might meet that young man. Here was Providence, and yet there was my choice; how, I cannot tell. I cannot comprehend it.
I believe...

Spurgeon's Pulpit Prayer

I do not come into this Pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are Mine, and you shall be Mine. I claim you for Myself." My hope arises from the freeness of Grace, and not from the freedom of the will.

C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.spurgeon.org/spsrmns.htm

(I gave a copy of this Spurgeon quote to a former Pastor/friend of mine 10 to 15 years ago. He later told me he taped it in the front cover of his Bible to remind him of this Truth before he ascends the Pulpit)

God Saves Sinners! One-Point, not Five

The following post is a most excellent and most helpful word-for-word quote from J.I. Packer.

"The very act of setting out Calvinistic soteriology [the doctrine of salvation] in the form of five distinct points (a number due, as we saw, merely to the fact that there were five Arminian points for the Synod of Dort to answer) tends to obscure the organic character of Calvinistic thought on this subject. For the five points, though separately stated, are inseparable. They hang together; you cannot reject one without rejecting them all, at least in the sense in which the Synod meant them. For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that
God saves sinners.
God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing.
Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies.
Sinners – men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, unable to lift a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot. God saves sinners – and the force of this confession may not be weakened by disrupting the unity of the work of the Trinity, or by dividing the achievement of salvation between God and man and making the decisive part man’s own, or by soft-pedalling the sinner’s inability so as to allow him to share the praise of his salvation with his Saviour. This is the one point of Calvinistic soteriology which the “five points” are concerned to establish and Arminianism in all its forms to deny: namely, that sinners do not save themselves in any sense at all, but that salvation, first and last, whole and entire, past, present and future, is of the Lord, to whom be glory for ever; amen."

J.I. Packer, “Introductory Essage,” in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by John Owen (London: Banner of Truth, 1959) 4-5.

Amen!  Well stated (as usual) Dr. Packer!  (No offense intended to all my 4-Point or 3-Point friends)

On a personal note, I prefer the term "Doctrines of Grace", to describe my "Soteriology", which I first read about in Dr. Tom Nettles' excellent book "By His Grace and For His Glory", because I don't follow John Calvin.  Although he was a great Reformer and a great man of Faith, he was a sinner like we are.  I follow my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. If someone asks me if I'm a Calvinist, I ask them to define their term. I respectfully disagree with some of Calvin's and Reformed Theology's views such as infant baptism, their Eschatology, their position on Israel and the Church, etc., but I do fully agree with "Calvinism" on what is commonly called the 5-Points, or T.U.L.I.P., or the "Doctrines of Grace". However, as Packer said, these 5-Points were actually counter-points in response to the heresy being taught by the Remonstrants (followers of Arminius) at the Synod of Dort, after the deaths of both Calvin and Arminius. The acronym T.U.L.I.P. was coined even later, and could probably be better worded for better understanding of what these Doctrines teach (might be a subject for a whole other blog topic in the future). John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul both recently taught through them with their recommendations for better wording for each, but their acronyms weren't as "catchy" as "TULIP".

Has it ever "occurred" to you that nothing has ever "occurred" to God?

I was listening to Jeff Noblit MP3 sermons, and thought this quote by Pastor Noblit was pretty good! When something "occurs" to me, it's because something was previously lacking in my knowledge. I guess it's kind of like something I had not thought of before "coming to me", and shedding light on a particular subject. If I was a perfect being (which I obviously am not, just ask my wife & kids-LOL) with perfect or complete knowledge, this could not happen, because I would be Omniscient.

I guess how you view this question/statement depends on how big your God (or god) is. Is your God Omniscient? The term literally means "all-knowing", understanding God's knowledge to be exhaustive of the past, present, and future. If you agree that one of God's many attributes is His Omniscience, then you'll agree that "nothing has ever occurred to God".

Many people today think God had plan A, then had to re-group & go with Plan B, then Plan C, etc... I attended an early morning men's Bible Study/Prayer group years ago, where they were teaching that God had to go to "Plan B" after Adam & Eve sinned. (I couldn't figure out what they do with passages such as in Revelation speaking of Jesus being the Lamb slain before the foundations of the earth) Later the teacher said God had to re-group & move on to the Gentiles for his next plan when Israel failed Him. Needless to say, I stopped attending after a short time, couldn't go along with this "small God" they were promoting.

One popular "Christian author" that everyone seems to be reading today wrote “God is a person who takes immense risks.”

Tim Challies wrote the following about this statement at
http://www.challies.com/articles/challenges-to-the-church-open-theism

John Eldredge - Though Eldredge denies he is an open theist, the evidence does not support his claim. Time and time again he speaks of God in ways that can only be explained if you hold such views. While the following quotes are taken from Wild at Heart, similar beliefs are expressed in at least one of his other works (The Sacred Romance). "God is a person who takes immense risks" (p. 30). "It's not the nature of God to limit His risks and cover His bases" (p.31). "As with every relationship, there's a certain amount of unpredictability. God's willingness to risk is just astounding. There is definitely something wild in the heart of God" (p. 32).

God taking a risk implies that He doesn't know ahead of time how something will turn out, and that He could fail.. That's a different "god" than the God I find in Scripture. His views of God and man seem to be the opposite of John the Baptist, who said -
"He must increase but I must decrease".
Eldredge's views seem more akin to-
"Man (I) must increase, but God (He) must decrease".

God "limiting" his Omniscience in order to "take immense risks" is about as impossible as God "limiting" His Sovereignty. Can God the Father at any time "limit" any of His attributes? I don't think so. God is Sovereign, Holy, Omnisicient, Omnipotent, Immutable, etc.. just to name a few. He is also Righteous, Just, Merciful, Gracious, and Loving, and the list goes on.

To his credit, I will say that John Eldredge's passion for men to be masculine men, and women to be feminine is a good thing, especially in our messed-up world of gender-blending. It's a shame that rather than using the numerous Godly examples available both historically and presently, such as great Preachers, Missionaries, Laymen, etc., Eldredge sets forth mostly fictional, secular, ungodly, and profane examples of "real men".

His theology doesn't come from Scripture, but from Hollywood. Although he uses Scriptural proof-texts occasionally, his theology is a man-centered Hollywood movies theology, and in my opinion, unbiblical and unorthodox. Among Eldredge's role-models for men are "R" rated movies with the hero uttering profanity, involved in sexual immorality, and ungodliness, without a glimmer of godliness. Never does he use a man leading his family in Bible Study, or praying with his family, ministering in his church or serving others. (I think maybe a separate blog just on Eldredge may be a good idea for the future, because I'm starting to shift this blog to him instead of staying on track)

Isaiah recorded this passage which open-theists have major difficulty with:
Isaiah 46:9-11 (ESV)
...for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose'...I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

In recent years, Open Theists seem to have rekindled what is actually an old controversy by claiming that God does not have full foreknowledge of the future, because it hasn't happened yet. They claim God is having to make adjustments for every "potential outcome" of the choices we might make with our "free-will", but none of it can be certain in His mind. That is to say that He does not know everything that is going to happen. This is not new. This is actually an old controversy.

In the Eighteenth Century, Jonathan Edwards addressed this issue in his book "Freedom of the Will" (a shortened version of the original title)
Edwards wrote:

"First, I am to prove, that God has an absolute and certain foreknowledge of the free actions of moral agents. One would think it should be wholly needless to enter on such an argument with any that profess themselves Christians: but so it is, God’s certain foreknowledge of the free acts of moral agents is denied by some that pretend to believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God; especially of late."

As "The Preacher" (or Hebrew "Qoheleth") wrote thousands of years ago in Ecclesiastes,

Ecclesiastes 1:9(ESV) What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN.

Child-Like Faith

Last night I was driving home from church with my 10 year old daughter beside me in the truck (my older 2 teenagers and my wife were staying late for youth activities). My whole family has been saved by His Grace, and all love Jesus, but she's the one of my three children who, after our family Bible Study/Prayer time at night, often asks me to come to her room where she can ask more questions about the passage, or just to talk about Biblical things in general. She longs for more! She wants to know more about Heaven, more about God, more about Jesus, she just can't get enough! We frequently have long conversations and prayer time with just the two of us.

She has an understanding well beyond her years, and never ceases to amaze me with her insight into spiritual things.

She asked if I had any of our Church's Praise Band's CD's in the truck, which I did, and put one in. One of the songs was "Lay 'Em Down", the first line of which is "Come down to the River". She asked me to turn it off after we listened to it so we could talk, and told me singing about the River reminds her of this summer when we were at the beach. The following are her words:

Dad, this song about coming down to the River reminds me of this summer when we were at the beach. Remember when we would go out into the ocean, and stand there while the waves came crashing in on us? Remember when they would pull us back out? They would be over my head, and I was kind of scared, but when you held me, I felt safe. That's why I would jump up in your arms when a big wave came. Even if I couldn't hold on to you, you were holding onto me so the waves couldn't pull me back out. Dad, I think that's how it is with God, us, and Satan. I think when he tries to pull us away, and when bad things happen, God is holding on to us. Don't you think so?

I am amazed at my precious little girl using metaphors and allegories like this at her age. I know God has great things in store for her! I am reminded of something Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 18:3 (ESV) ...“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

I also came across John Wesley's Notes on this verse:

"the first step toward entering into the kingdom of grace, is to become as little children: lowly in heart, knowing yourselves utterly ignorant and helpless, and hanging wholly on your Father who is in heaven, for a supply of all your wants. "

"The Fire Stirred Gives More Heat"

Are you connected to a local congregation under Biblical, Godly Preaching where you get your fire stirred on a regular basis? Consider the words of the Puritan Preacher below:

"Preaching is vitally necessary above merely reading the Bible, because as the fire stirred gives more heat, so 'the Word', as it were, blown by Preaching, flameth the more in the hearers than when it is read."
Thomas Cartwright-Puritan Preacher (1535-1603).

Again, I ask, are you connected to a local congregation under a Godly Preacher(s) where you get your fire stirred? My family and I sure are. We can't wait to go to church with our family every Sunday, Wednesday, & any other night we're able!What a blessing it is to have our 2 teenage and 1 grade-school age kids upset at even the very possibility of missing a church service. Thanks be to the LORD!

I encourage you, my friends, to get involved in a Christ-Honoring, Christ-Preaching Church if not already active!

2 Timothy 1:6 (ESV) For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you...

Hebrews 10:24 (ESV) And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

To leave a comment if not logged in, go to "Post a Comment", then select "Comment as:", and choose "Anonymous", add your name in the body of your comment (unless you don't want to), then click "post comment"

Is Open Theism "Beyond the Bounds of Orthodox Christianity"?

While reading through the book of Isaiah and being in awe of God's Sovereignty, Might, Glory, Omniscience, and all of His other attributes, I was wondering,
what do the "Open Theists" like Clark Pinnock, Greg Boyd, & John Sanders do with the myriad of passages throughout scripture like this?

Isaiah 46:9-11 (ESV)
...for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose'...I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

In case you are wondering what I'm talking about, historically, Calvinists, Arminians, and
"mixtures of both" have at least all agreed that God definitely does know the future.
They have just disagreed on "how"...whether He decreed or ordained it, or whether He just "looked ahead and saw it"...but either way, both agree God is Omniscient
...and Calvinists & Arminians differ on the definition of words like predestination, foreknowledge, election, chose, chosen, etc., but they all remained within the bounds of "Orthodox Christianity".

But Open Theism goes "beyond the bounds" and says God doesn't and can't know the future because the future is not settled, because it can't be known until we as humans make our daily choices and decisions.

If this is the case, then the God they espouse must quite often have to wring His hands after reading the morning newspaper, and say "Oops, what do I do now?, or uh-oh, I didn't expect that!, or how am I going to fix that?, or well, I guess I'll have to move on to plan-b, plan-c, etc... and just hope it all works out in the end, and doesn't get too far out of control."

The Open Theists like to camp out heavily on isolated passages and use them as proof-texts like the Genesis flood where God said He was sorry He had made man, the one in Exodus where it says God relented, or in Jonah when God relented from destroying Ninevah, and a few other passages, but they fail to use scripture to interpret scripture, and they totally ignore the passages that proclaim God's Sovereignty and his Immutability. They don't seek the "whole counsel of God", but cherry-pick the passages they want to believe. The LORD, through the prophet Jeremiah, clarified some of these issues quite well as follows:

(ESV) Jeremiah 18:7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.

There's no way for us as humans to fully comprehend or understand the LORD, as His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55). So by using anthropomorphisms, words like repent and relent and changed were used by the Biblical writers through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to express what God's actions appeared like from the vantage point or perspective of fallen man. The same is true as when Scripture talks about God's arm, hand, heart, wings, etc., but in other passages we are told the Father is Spirit.

So this passage in Jeremiah tells us that God has already decreed what He will and will not do. He's not changing at all, His Character remains the same, it's the people that change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Here's a small list of just a few other men of God who oppose Open Theism, and see it as un-Biblical, according to http://www.theopedia.com/Open_theism

John MacArthur R.C. Sproul Josh McDowell D.A. Carson A.B.Caneday Al Mohler Charles Stanley Charles Swindoll Alistair Begg Alister McGrath Norman Geisler Hank Hanegraaff Adrian Rogers Millard Erickson Douglas Moo John Feinberg

Ken Ham D.James Kennedy David Jeremiah John Maxwell Max Lucado Tom Schreiner John Stott Ravi Zacharias Charles Colson Os Guinness J.I. Packer Bruce Ware John Piper John Frame William Lane Craig

http://www.theopedia.com/Open_theism Click below for links to some excellent books on the subject













John MacArthur goes so far as to say Open Theists may very well be worshiping "another god" than the God of Scripture.

What do you think, and why?

For Such a Worm as I...Isaac Watts

“Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed”, or “At the Cross”

(Words by Isaac Watts, 1674 – 1748)
Remember that Glorious old hymn? One line was as follows:

''Alas! and did my Saviour bleed,
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred Head
For such a worm as I?''

In today's hymnals, it reads "For Sinners such as I"

Wonder why it was changed?

I remember singing this hymn as a child, with the original word “worm” in it. This was one of my favorite hymns. I still have a clear mental image of the exact placement of each line, each word, the notes, bars, etc. on the page in the old Baptist Hymnal. I also recall on the opposite page was the hymn "At Calvary". When we had Sunday night Hymn requests, I would raise my hand and request one of these two hymns.

I remember once, when the church ordered new hymnals, Bro. Benny discovered that “worm” had been changed to “sinners”.
I distinctly remember like it was yesterday when my Pastor of 17 years, Bro. Benny, a very Godly preacher, with a heart for the LORD, Truth, His Word, and a love for His people, stopped the minister of music in the middle of the hymn. All became silent as he approached the pulpit, where the minister of music stood as he led the congregation in praise to God through the singing of hymns, and motioned for the pianist and organist to stop playing, and the choir & congregation to stop singing.

Bro. Benny told everyone in the congregation to look at that line in the newer hymnal, and he explained to us the watering down and subtlety of the editors in replacing the original, harsh/humbling word with a weaker/more palatable substitute. (I believe some hymnals today have watered it down even further, and put "for such a one as I", and even left off "sinner". The image intended by Isaac Watts was not meant to be a pleasant image, but to paint a contrast of the depths of our sinfulness with "That Sacred Head", Jesus Christ.) Brother Benny used this as a “teachable moment”, and then asked us all to take a pen or pencil, and cross out “sinner”, and write back in “worm”. He took his role as the shepherd of his flock very seriously, and was always conscious of his responsibility to lead us into all Truth, and protect us from any error or watering down of the Truth. We then proceeded to sing the hymn as it was originally intended by its author, and for years, every time this hymn was sung, those of us who were present that day remembered the time Bro. Benny interrupted the service and addressed this. This had a huge impact on me, which I will never forget. I realized then how much TRUTH MATTERS!

Bro. Benny did this on more than one occasion. Once we were singing the hymn "Grace Greater than Our Sin", and came to the line “where the blood of the lamb was spilt”

"Grace Greater Than Our Sin"

written by Julia Harriet Johnston, born in1849

"Marvelous love of our loving Lord,

Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt

Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured

There where the blood of the lamb was spilt

Bro. Benny did the same thing again. He approached the pulpit while the minister of music led the congregational singing, and stopped us. Once again, he asked us to get our pens or pencils out and mark through "spilt", and replace it with "shed". He told us that to him, "spilt" seemed more like an accident, like "spilled-milk" or something, and "shed" seemed more intentional. He took a few minutes to expound how Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was no accident, but intentional, and was planned by Jesus and the Father, the Lamb slain before the Foundations of the world! Jesus willingly shed His Blood for our sins. My family and I agreed wholeheartedly with Bro. Benny's theological reasoning for changing these words, but even if someone didn't, they had to admire him for his strong conviction, and taking a stand to protect his flock from anything that could even be perceived as less than accurate.

This blog wasn't intend to be as much about those hymns, as it was a tribute to my Pastor Bro. Benny, that great man of God, and his strong convictions, which on occasion led him to even interrupt the Baptist order-of-worship services (nearly unheard of back then) to address what was on his heart, and to stand for the Truth.

Thanks, Brother Benny for the impact you had (& still have) on my Christian life!

For more on the word "worm", click here to see my earlier post on William Carey, Missionary to India, a man who knew his place before a "Thrice Holy God", who had put on his tombstone,

William Carey
Born, August 17, 1761
Died, June 9, 1834
“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm,
On Thy kind arms I fall.”

Additional Scriptures:
Psalm 22:6(ESV) But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
Isaiah 41:14(ESV)Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
John 3:30(ESV)He must increase, but I must decrease.