Far too often we approach Sunday as the day we rest from the week gone by rather than the day of first fruits, of beginning with the Lord and shaping our hearts and souls for the week ahead. When that happens, God gets the leftovers and the world gets the best part of us.

from Church Matters: The 9Marks Blog.

Wilson isn’t one of those evasive Christians who mumble apologetically about how some of the Bible stories are really just “metaphors.” He is willing to maintain very staunchly that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and that his sacrifice redeems our state of sin, which in turn is the outcome of our rebellion against God. He doesn’t waffle when asked why God allows so much evil and suffering—of course he “allows” it since it is the inescapable state of rebellious sinners. I much prefer this sincerity to the vague and Python-esque witterings of the interfaith and ecumenical groups who barely respect their own traditions and who look upon faith as just another word for community organizing. (Incidentally, just when is President Barack Obama going to decide which church he attends?)

via What I’ve learned from debating religious people around the world. – By Christopher Hitchens – Slate Magazine.

“Sanctification is the only sure mark of God’s election. The names and number of the elect are a secret thing, no doubt, which God has wisely kept in His own power, and not revealed to man. It is not given to us in this world to study the pages of the book of life, and if our names are there. But if there is one thing clearly and plainly laid down about election, it is this – that elect men and women may be known and distinguished by holy lives.”

via The Demonstration of Being Elected « J.C. Ryle Quotes.

Without “absolutes” revealed from without by God Himself, we are left rudderless in a sea of conflicting ideas about manners, justice, and right and wrong, issuing from a multitude of self-opinionated thinkers. We could never know who God is, how He is to be worshiped, or wherein true happiness lies…

Intellects which are willing to drift backwards and forwards on the ebb and flow of the tides of changing theories will, at the end, be driven by the winds of uncertainty into the quicksands of atheism.

- John Owen, Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ (p. xl)

The very title page of this book will demonstrate, without further explanation from me, the intention of the work I have undertaken.

Gee, can you really tell that much from the title page of a book?

Yes. Yes you can.

…there are three reasons why we can affirm the Spirit’s indwelling of OT saints: regeneration, sanctification, and empowerment.

via OT Saints: Indwelt by the Spirit?.

I was actually just thinking about this the other night, while reading through Ezekiel 2-3. I’d heard the argument before that Old Testament saints were NOT indwelt by the Spirit ever, that that Spirit merely “came upon” them.

The text, however, shows otherwise:

Ezekiel 2:2

2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. (ESV)

Ezekiel 3:24

24 But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. (ESV)

While I include more detail in the book, the Biblical argument for conditional forgiveness is straight-forward.

• Christians are called to forgive others as God forgave them (Matthew, 6:12, Ephesians 4:32).

• God forgives conditionally. God only forgives those who repent of their sins and turn in saving faith to Him (1 John 1:9, John 3:36).

• Likewise, we also should offer forgiveness to all.

• We forgive those who repent. Indeed, we are obliged to forgive (Luke 17:3-4), knowing that whatever someone has done to offend us pales in comparison to what we have done to offend God (Matthew 18:32-33). (See what others say on conditional forgiveness here).

via Unpacking Forgiveness – Reformation21.

Now, if I’m immersed in God’s Word and biblically based literature, then and only then am I able to discern from the newspaper and Time and Hemingway and movies what values are being communicated and whether or not those values are true. Scripture becomes my grid, my moral filter by which I judge all other claims to truth. I can now pick and choose what is right based on my knowledge of God’s Word.

But If I do not spend sufficient time in Scripture, or if I fail to realize the essential authoritative difference of Scripture and all else, or if I interpret Scripture in light of Seinfeld or Hemingway or Gladiator, then I will be led astray. If I am biblically grounded I can read the Book of Mormon and a book by the Dalai Lama and evaluate it appropriately. If I’m not, by reading such things I run the risk of believing untruths and being sucked into anti-Christian heresy.

via Eternal Perspectives (Randy Alcorn’s blog): Building a Biblical Worldview.

My contention, and I am willing to prove myself wrong as I work through several other texts, is that social justice in the Bible is not an achieved result but equal treatment and a fair process. No bribes. No backroom deals. No slanderous judgments. No breaking your promises. No taking advantage of the weak. That’s what the Bible means by social justice. Ideally, justice is blind. That’s why Lady Justice on our courthouses has her eyes covered. That’s why the U.S. Supreme Court building has inscribed on it the words “Equal Justice Under Law.” Justice means there is one law for everyone, not different rules for different kinds of people.

via DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Social Justice and the Poor (2).

I’m starting a blog series today and I don’t know how long it will go or how often I will do it. But I do know what it will be about. I want to take a look at what the Bible says about social justice and the poor. I imagine that this series will last a couple months, with probably a post a week on the subject.

via DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Social Justice and the Poor (1).

(HT: Challies)