Luther’s well-known formulation, “Scripture and plain reason,” is the only basis on which we can properly ground true spiritual discernment.

Scripture isn’t antithetical to sound, rational wisdom, though many today imagine otherwise. Reason is no substitute for Scripture, of course, but when good reason and sound logic are kept subject to the authority of Scripture, they are in no way a threat to the truth. On the contrary, the application of sound, logical thinking to the truth of Scripture is a key aspect of the formula for discernment.

Contrary to what a lot of people these days assume, discernment is not a mystical or intuitive ability to know the truth as if by magic. It is the skill of understanding, interpreting, and applying truth accurately. Discernment is a cognitive act. Therefore no one who spurns right doctrine or sound reason can be truly discerning.

Authentic spiritual discernment must begin with Scripture-revealed truth. Without a firm grounding in divine revelation, human reason always degenerates into skepticism (a denial that anything can be known for certain), rationalism (the theory that reason is a source of truth), secularism (an approach to life that purposely excludes God), or any number of other anti-Christian philosophies.

When Scripture condemns human wisdom (1 Cor. 3:19), it is not denouncing logic and reason per se, but humanistic ideology divorced from the divinely-revealed truth of God’s Word. In other words, reason apart from the Word of God leads inevitably to unsound ideas, but reason subjected to the Word of God is at the heart of wise spiritual discernment.

– John MacArthur

HT: Pulpit Magazine.

While John 3:16 is perhaps the most popular, most-oft quoted (and might I add, unfortunately, also one of the most-oft misquoted) verse, we usually just pass it by with nary a second thought. Perhaps that’s because familiarity has made us sort of immune to it.

When I heard pastor John Piper preach and exposit this particular verse, I knew I needed to share it with you! To be honest, I’ve never heard it exposited thus, in such detail and in such God-glorifying fashion. If you have some time, do read the transcript of the sermon below, or listen/watch the sermon at DesiringGod.org.

John 3:9-18

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

We focus today, and Lord willing next week, on one of the most famous verses in the Bible and the two verses following it that are given to clarify and support it.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:16-18

It is not hard to see why verse 16 is one of the most famous, most often memorized, most cherished verses in the Bible. Packed into this verse are the greatest realities that exist. God. Love. The world. The Son of God. Faith. Perishing forever. Living forever. Whoever — you, or not. These are the greatest things that can be. What could be more important? What could be more relevant for you right now? What could be more urgent for you or momentous for you than to know where you stand in relation to what God says to you in this verse?

So here’s what I think we should do with John 3:16. Today we will walk through it once, pausing over each of the big words (except loved) and commenting on each of them: God, World, Gave, Son, Believe, Perish, Life. And we will seek to apply that to ourselves as we go along. Then next week, if God wills, we will go back and devote a whole message to the one great word that we pass over today, namely, the word loved — “For God so loved . . .”

The Tension in John 3

We will ask, How does God love us in this passage? How does the love of God for the world in verse 16 relate to the work of the Spirit of God in verse 8? There seems to be a tension here. Many feel it, and many people try to remove the tension in away that dishonors the meaning either of verse 8 or verse 16.

On the one hand, verse 8 says that God the Spirit blows where he wills and makes alive whom he chooses. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” God is free. And it is he, and not we, who has the final, decisive say in who among the spiritually rebellious and dead will be raised to new life. None of us deserves to be made alive. And none of us has the power to make it happen. If anybody is rescued, God does it.

But on the other hand, John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This surely means that God is loving all and offering all eternal life — the very life that the Spirit gives in verse 8.

That is what we will try to understand next week. And I will tip you off that I have been very helped in this by Don Carson’s book The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. It’s less than 90 pages. It’s understandable, and it is very good. I hope many of you will read it. (You can listen to Carson on the love of God here.)

Seven Massive Realities in John 3:16

But first, there are great and awesome things to be clarified in this verse. Seven massively important words — representing seven great realities — that we need to understand so that the power and preciousness of this famous verse can have its full effect. And O how I hope you Bethlehem believers know that such a foundational verse is not just for beginners. It is high-level, high-voltage shock therapy for marriage struggles and single struggles and teenage struggles.

So let’s turn first to the seven big words in verse 16.

1. God

“For God so loved . . .” There is no reason to think that Jesus means any other God than the God of the Old Testament. He is the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is personal and not a mere force, meaning he thinks and wills and feels. He loves, and he hates. And as personal, he is moral — that is, he deals with us in terms of right and wrong and good and bad. And as moral, he is unwaveringly righteous. He only does what is right. And the infinite worth of what he is defines what is right. To do right is to think and feel and act in a way that accords with (is in harmony with) God’s infinite worth.

All of us were made by this God, and our first and highest duty and reason for being is to honor him and give him thanks (Romans 1:21). We have all failed, and we are all under his righteous displeasure. This is what makes John 3:16 so needed and so precious. It describes the way God is acting to rescue us from this condition.

2. World

“For God so loved the world . . .” The most common meaning for world in John is the created and fallen totality of mankind. John 7:7: “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” John 14:17: “. . . the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”

That is the way John is using world here. It is the great mass of fallen humanity that needs salvation. It’s the countless number of perishing people from whom the “whoevers” come in the second part of the verse: “. . . that whoever believes in him should not perish.” The world is the great ocean of perishing sinners from whom the whoever comes.

3. Gave

“For God so loved the world, that he gave. . .” Two things need to be said about this giving. One is that it is a giving from heaven. And the other is that it is a giving, not just to come to earth, but to die. Verse 17 replaces the word give with send. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” So the giving of verse 16 is God’s sending his Son into the world on a mission from heaven.

In John 10:17-18, we see what the climax of that mission from the Father is. Jesus says, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” That last sentence shows that the reason the Father sent the Son was so that the Son would lay down his life. “I lay it down of my own accord. . . . This charge I have received from my father.”

So when John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave . . .”, the giving is God sending his Son to earth on a mission to die. It’s just as amazing—only a million times more so — as if you should say to your son, “There is something I want you to do for me: I have some enemies that deserve to perish, and I want you to go and die in their place, so that they can have eternal life.” Whatever else you know about God, make sure you know he is like that.

4. Son

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. . .” Muslims and others stumble over the idea of God having a Son. So let me say a few things that are crystal clear in John’s Gospel, even though mysterious. God did not have sexual relations with Mary in order to have a Son. Turn back to chapter 1 where John gave us our basic understanding of the Son of God.

John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So here we are introduced to the Word. And we are told three things about him. One, he is God. “The Word was God.” Two, he is with God, and therefore distinct from God. “The word was with God.” And third, he was therefore always in existence and never came to be. “In the beginning was the Word.”

Then look at verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” This verse clarifies three things for us.

First, the Word of God referred in verse 1 is the Son of God. “The Word became flesh and . . . we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son . . . .”

Second, God, with whom the Word was, and from whom he is distinct, is God the Father. He is “the only Son from the Father.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” He was with God the Father.

Third, therefore, Jesus is the Son of God not because the Father had sex with Mary, but because the Son has always existed, without beginning, as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). He is fully God. And the Father is fully God. And along with God the Spirit, they are one God, one divine nature. One essence and three persons in an eternal, perfect, joyful relationship.

5. Believe

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes . . .” Four observations about this believing.

First, it means that not everybody will benefit from what Jesus came to do. But “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The rest will perish — and not have eternal life.

Second, the word itself means to embrace something as true; and when it’s a person, it means to trust them to be what they are and do what they say.

Third, John 1:11-12 shows that another word John has in mind to explain believe is receive. “[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” So receiving Jesus and believing Jesus explain each other.

Fourth, if we ask, “Receive him as what?” the answer would be, “Receive him as what he is.” For example, in John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” So here believing means coming to Jesus and receiving him as the food and drink that satisfies our souls. That’s one of the reasons I talk about receiving him as our Treasure (Matthew 13:44). And this is why faith is so transforming.

6. Perish

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish . . .” What’s most clear and most important is to see that perish is the alternative to eternal life—”. . . not perish but have eternal life.” So if you perish, you don’t get eternal life.

Another thing that’s clear here is that verse 18 describes perishing as being condemned. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.” And that means that God’s judicial sentence of wrath is on us as sinners and remains on us. We see this in John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” So we are already under condemnation because of our sin and unbelief. And perishing means staying there forever under God’s wrath. There is nothing you can imagine worse than having the omnipotent God oppose you with righteous wrath forever. That’s what perishing means.

7. Life

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This does not simply mean you exist forever. Everybody exists forever. But not everybody has eternal life. This life is first that we are born again and have spiritual life. We know from John 6:63 that “it is the Spirit who gives life.” And we know from 1 John 5:11 that “this life is in [God's] Son.” This is life to God — life that can see and savor God as glorious and all his creation the way he meant it to be enjoyed.

So what happens in our believing is that, by means of believing, the Holy Spirit is uniting us to Christ in whom is life. And in that instant, we are born again, we believe, we are united with the Son of God, and we have his life.

And because it is the life of the Son of God, it does last forever. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Jesus Gives Life — And Dies in Our Place

And at this point, don’t forget what we saw under the word gave—”For God so loved the world that he gave . . .” Meaning gave to die. We don’t perish under the wrath of God because Jesus died in our place under the wrath of God. He was “the Lamb of God”—the sacrifice given in our place—who bears our sin and our punishment (John 1:29, 36).

So we have eternal life both because Christ died in our place and because in him is life. He removes the great obstacle of God’s wrath, and he supplies the everlasting life that we don’t have in ourselves.

Is This Your Life?

Which leaves just one question: Do you live in the forgiveness and life and freedom of John 3:16? Are you free from the fear of death? Does the wonder of being loved like this shape your relationships? I’m not asking if you give lip-service to this verse. But do you live it? Is this your life? Is everything you do permeated with this verse?

May God grant you such faith. Believe this promise of John 3:16. Receive the treasure of Christ — and life.

You can read part 2 here.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org.

While the creeds and canons are definitely at least a level below Scripture in terms of authority and importance, they provide time-tested and enduring statements of what the larger church has always believed through the ages. Though there are some who would spend time arguing if there were inspired, a good understanding and knowledge of the creeds and canons nevertheless serve as guidelines for orthodoxy. In an age where many Christians do not study the Bible for themselves, much less read or, worse yet, know of the creeds, no one should be surprised by the amount of heresies and twisted sermons proceeding forth from the pulpits of what we’d have termed “traditional” churches.

While I’ve been away from blogging, it doesn’t mean that I’ve been idle! I’ve been brushing up quite a bit on church history and getting deep into the waters of the Reformed position — topics that in my “Christian youth” I’ve very much neglected to study. Along the way, I’ve re-read and sought to fully understand and absorb the teachings of what I’d consider, in some ways, the pillars of the Reformed position. Not only have they help me better why I believe what I believe with regards to the Reformed faith, but a good knowledge and understanding of these creeds and canons have made the study of the Bible a greater joy than before — the light shone on Scripture by these creeds and canons is simply, forgive the pun, illuminating.

It is therefore my prayer, by sharing the full text of the Canons of Dort here, that those who (like me) have neglected the study of them previously will find a spark of inspiration to do so as well.

The Canons of Dort

FIRST HEAD OF DOCTRINE.

DIVINE ELECTION AND REPROBATION

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 1. As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse, and are deserving of eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin, according to the words of the apostle: “that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Rom 3:19). And: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23). And: “For the wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 2. but in this the love of God was manifested, that He “sent his one and only Son into the world, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (1 John 4:9, John 3:16).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 3. And that men may be brought to believe, God mercifully sends the messengers of these most joyful tiding to whom He will and at what time He pleases; by whose ministry men are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom 10:14-15).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 4. The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel. But such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Savior by a true and living faith are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction, and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 5. The cause or guilt of this unbelief as well as of all other sins is no wise in God, but in man himself; whereas faith in Jesus Christ and salvation through Him is the free gift of God, as it is written: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). Likewise: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Phil 1:29).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 6. That some receive the gift of faith from God, and others do not receive it, proceeds from God’s eternal decree. “For known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18 A.V.). “who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:11). According to which decree He graciously softens the hearts of the elect, however obstinate, and inclines them to believe; while He leaves the non-elect in His just judgment to their own wickedness and obduracy. And herein is especially displayed the profound, the merciful, and at the same time the righteous discrimination between men equally involved in ruin; or that decree of election and reprobation, revealed in the Word of God, which, though men of perverse, impure, and unstable minds wrest it to their own destruction, yet to holy and pious souls affords unspeakable consolation.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 7. Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world, He has out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will, chosen from the whole human race, which had fallen through their own fault from the primitive state of rectitude into sin and destruction, a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ, whom He from eternity appointed the Mediator and Head of the elect and the foundation of salvation. This elect number, though by nature neither better nor more deserving than others, but with them involved in one common misery, God has decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call an draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification, and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His son, finally to glorify them for the demonstration of His mercy, and for the praise of the riches of His glorious grace; as it is written “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Eph 1:4-6). And elsewhere: “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rom 8:30).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 8. There are not various decrees of election, but one and the same decree respecting all those who shall be saved, both under the Old and New Testament; since the Scripture declares the good pleasure, purpose, and counsel of the divine will to be one, according to which He has chosen us from eternity, both to grace and to glory, to salvation and to the way of salvation, which He has ordained that we should walk therein (Eph 1:4, 5; 2:10).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 9. This election was not founded upon foreseen faith and the obedience of faith, holiness, or any other good quality or disposition in man, as the prerequisite, cause, or condition of which it depended; but men are chosen to faith and to the obedience of faith, holiness, etc. Therefore election is the fountain of every saving good, from which proceed faith, holiness, and the other gifts of salvation, and finally eternal life itself, as its fruits and effects, according to the testimony of the apostle: “For he chose us (not because we were, but) in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Eph 1:4).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 10. The good pleasure of God is the sole cause of this gracious election; which does not consist herein that out of all possible qualities and actions of men God has chosen some as a condition of salvation, but that He was pleased out of the common mass of sinners to adopt some certain persons as a peculiar people to Himself, as it is written: “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she (Rebekah) was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” (Rom 9:11-13). “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 11. And as God Himself is most wise, unchangeable, omniscient, and omnipotent, so the election made by Him can neither be interrupted nor changed, recalled, or annulled; neither can the elect be cast away, nor their number diminished.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 12. The elect in due time, though in various degrees and in different measures, attain the assurance of this their eternal and unchangeable election, not by inquisitively prying into the secret and deep things of God, but by observing in themselves with a spiritual joy and holy pleasure the infallible fruits of election pointed out in the Word of God—such as, a true faith in Christ, filial fear, a godly sorrow for sin, a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, etc.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 13. The sense and certainty of this election afford to the children of God additional matter for daily humiliation before Him, for adoring the depth of His mercies, for cleansing themselves, and rendering grateful returns of ardent love to Him who first manifested so great love towards them. The consideration of this doctrine of election is so far from encouraging remissness in the observance of the divine commands or from sinking men in carnal security, that these, in the just judgment of God, are the usual effects of rash presumption or of idle and wanton trifling with the grace of election, in those who refuse to walk in the ways of the elect.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 14. As the doctrine of election by the most wise counsel of God was declared by the prophets, by Christ Himself, and by the apostles, and is clearly revealed in the Scriptures both of the Old and the New Testament, so it is still to be published in due time and place in the Church of God, for which it was peculiarly designed, provided it be done with reverence, in the spirit of discretion and piety, for the glory of God’s most holy Name, and for enlivening and comforting His people, without vainly attempting to investigate the secret ways of the Most High (Acts 20:27; Rom 11:33f; 12:3; Heb 6:17f).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 15. What peculiarly tends to illustrate and recommend to us the eternal and unmerited grace of election is the express testimony of sacred Scripture that not all, but some only, are elected, while others are passed by in the eternal decree; whom God, out of His sovereign, most just, irreprehensible, and unchangeable good pleasure, has decreed to leave in the common misery into which they have willfully plunged themselves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and the grace of conversion; but, permitting them in His just judgment to follow their own ways, at last, for the declaration of His justice, to condemn and punish them forever, not only on account of their unbelief, but also for all their other sins. And this is the decree of reprobation, which by no means makes God the Author of sin (the very though of which is blasphemy), but declares Him to be an awful, irreprehensible, and righteous Judge and Avenger thereof.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 16. Those in whom a living faith in Christ, and assured confidence of soul, peace of conscience, an earnest endeavor after filial obedience, a glorying in God through Christ, is not as yet strongly felt, and who nevertheless make use of the means which God has appointed for working these graces in us, ought not to be alarmed at the mention of reprobation, nor to rank themselves among the reprobate, but diligently to persevere in the use of means, and with ardent desires devoutly and humble to wait for a season of richer grace. Much less cause to be terrified by the doctrine of reprobation have they who, though they seriously desire to be turned to God, to please Him only, and to be delivered from the body of death, cannot yet reach that measure of holiness and faith to which they aspire; since a merciful God has promised that He will not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed. But this doctrine is justly terrible to those who, regardless of God and of the Savior Jesus Christ, have wholly given themselves up to the cares of the world and the pleasures of the flesh, so long as they are not seriously converted to God.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 17. Since we are to judge of the will of God from His Word, which testifies that the children of believers are holy, not by nature, but in virtue of the covenant of grace, in which they together with the parents are comprehended, godly parents ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children whom it pleases God to call out of this life in their infancy (Gen 17:7; Acts 2:39; 1 Cor 7:14).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 18. To those who murmur at the free grace of election and the just severity of reprobation we answer with the apostle “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?” (Rom 9:20), and quote the language of our Savior: “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own?” (Matt 20:15). And therefore, with holy adoration of these mysteries, we exclaim in the words of the apostle: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Rom 11:33-36).

Nowhere in all the Old Testament is it so plainly and fully prophesied, that Christ ought to suffer, and then to enter into His glory, as in this chapter. But to this day few discern, or will acknowledge, that Divine power which goes with the Word. The authentic and most important report of salvation for sinners, through the Son of God, is disregarded. The low condition He submitted to, and His appearance in the world, were not agreeable to the ideas the Jews had formed of the Messiah. It was expected that He should come in pomp; instead of that, He grew up as a plant, silently, and insensibly. He had nothing of the glory which one might have thought to meet with Him. His whole life was not only humble as to outward condition, but also sorrowful. Being made sin for us, He underwent the sentence sin had exposed us to. Carnal hearts see nothing in the Lord Jesus to desire an interest in Him. Alas! by how many is He still despised in His people, and rejected as to His doctrine and authority!

In these verses is an account of the sufferings of Christ; also of the design of His sufferings. It was for our sins, and in our stead, that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned, and have come short of the glory of God. Sinners have their beloved sin, their own evil way, of which they are fond. Our sins deserve all griefs and sorrows, even the most severe. We are saved from the ruin, to which by sin we become liable, by laying our sins on Christ. This atonement was to be made for our sins. And this is the only way of salvation. Our sins were the thorns in Christ’s head, the nails in His hands and feet, the spear in His side. He was delivered to death for our offences. By His sufferings He purchased for us the Spirit and grace of God, to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls. We may well endure our lighter sufferings, if He has taught us to esteem all things but loss for Him, and to love Him who has first loved us.

Come, and see how Christ loved us! We could not put Him in our stead, but He put Himself. Thus He took away the sin of the world, by taking it on Himself. He made Himself subject to death, which to us is the wages of sin. Observe the graces and glories of His state of exaltation. Christ will not commit the care of His family to any other. God’s purposes shall take effect. And whatever is undertaken according to God’s pleasure shall prosper. He shall see it accomplished in the conversion and salvation of sinners. There are many whom Christ justifies, even as many as He gave his life a ransom for. By faith we are justified; thus God is most glorified, free grace most advanced, self most abased, and our happiness secured. We must know Him, and believe in Him, as one that bore our sins, and saved us from sinking under the load, by taking it upon Himself. Sin and Satan, death and hell, the world and the flesh, are the strong foes He has vanquished. What God designed for the Redeemer He shall certainly possess. When He led captivity captive, He received gifts for men, that He might give gifts to men. While we survey the sufferings of the Son of God, let us remember our long catalogue of transgressions, and consider Him as suffering under the load of our guilt. Here is laid a firm foundation for the trembling sinner to rest his soul upon. We are the purchase of His blood, and the monuments of His grace; for this He continually pleads and prevails, destroying the works of the devil.

Matthew Henry’s concise commentary on Isaiah 53

From all angles, the account of the fall of man is fascinating simply because it presents, in a nutshell, the origin of man’s sin and its consequences, the wiles of the devil and his modus operandi, God’s promise of a savior fulfilled in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and finally, God’s benevolent provision for His creation which, in my opinion, can even be seen as a foreshadow of how the atonement for our sins will be made.

The Bible doesn’t give us an insight into when the fall of man occurred. All we know is that it was after creation was completed, and Eve had been presented to Adam as his helper, fit for him (Genesis 2:18). What does strike me as interesting is the fact that the commandment not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was given to Adam before Eve was created and presented to him (Genesis 2:15-17).

Does that mean that God intended for Adam to pass on the commandment to Eve? Perhaps. Did God repeat the commandment to Eve? Perhaps, though unlikely. The reason I think the latter scenario unlikely is because God intended Adam to lead, and this is a fact reflected throughout the Bible. In the New Testament, Paul confirms this in his first epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:13-14). So it would be up to Adam (the man) to let Eve know of the commandment, or to teach her the commandment.

The devil, “more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1a), seized upon a time when Eve was alone and, through a combination of “commandment twisting” and a strong appeal to the human being’s pride, managed to persuade her to eat of the forbidden fruit. She, in turn, persuaded her husband, Adam, to do the same.

Thus did man and woman fall into sin, i.e. rebelled against God.

Their rebellion reaped dire consequences — of which death was, without doubt, the most dire. We also see God sending Adam and Eve out the Garden of Eden, never to ever be able to return. It is also interesting to note here that man’s rebellion also affected creation in general — part of God’s promise to Adam was that the earth shall be cursed because of his sin, and the former will have to toil working the ground for their daily sustenance.

While Adam and Eve, and through them all of mankind and creation, were cursed, there was a promise from God for a savior who will bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). This was fulfilled in the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ generations later.

Finally, we see God’s provision for His creation just before Adam and Eve stepped out of the Garden of Eden. Where Adam and Eve’s fig leaf-coverings were insufficient in covering their shame, God provided them sufficiently with “garments of skin” (Genesis 3:21).

The chapter on the fall of man is fascinating and a study of it in light of the complete Scripture is in itself mind-blowing. It not only gives us a great insight into the tactics that the devil employs (which are very much still in use today to some great effect in some “Christian” circles), but we are also reminded of our sinful nature.

Most fascinating, in my opinion, is the promise of the Savior (who is our Lord Jesus Christ) and how we can learn through the simple episode of God’s provision of garments of skin to Adam and Eve the futility of man’s efforts for reconciliation (works) versus God’s provision of the ultimate sin offering by His grace.

In the following installments of this series, I shall take a closer look into the fall of man, addressing each aspect of the fall in greater detail.

It is not often that one gets to see good Christian movies at theaters. It is rarer still to have said movie prove all Hollywood pundits wrong and come out tops at the box office despite being made on a shoe-string budget and features no more than just one lone household name — that of Kirk Cameron’s. The rest of the cast either have some acting experience or are complete amateurs.

The movie didn’t come across as anything close to amateurish, though. That’s a blessing in itself because the world, in my opinion, so needs to hear the message within. In a world where marriages are no longer considered sacred and, worse yet, being redefined by liberals as extending to unions between same-sex couples, the film’s Biblical message on marriage is timely.

Kirk Cameron is Caleb Holt, the chief at a small fire station in Albany, Georgia. Married seven years to his wife, Catherine (played by Erin Bethea), the couple are experiencing problems in their marriage. To borrow a secular spin, we’d say that the romance has died — whispered sweet-nothings becoming all-out verbal brawls, tender words have disappeared, replaced by sporadic to zero communication, amid all the usual signs that accompany a marriage in peril.

Caleb feels he’s not getting the respect he deserves at home, something that, on the flip side, he enjoys plenty of at work. Catherine juggles work and worries about her parents, especially medical expenses for her mom who hasn’t been herself since suffering a stroke.

Things come to a head when Caleb and Catherine agree to a divorce after a big fight. Upon learning of the impending separation, John (Caleb’s father) implores Caleb to hold off the divorce for 40 days while giving the advice he penned in a book The Love Dare a go. (Incidentally, the actors who play Caleb’s parents are a real-life couple — Harris and Phyllis Malcolm).

Caleb commits to the challenge.  In the process, he also learns of Jesus Christ’s love for sinners like himself and becomes a Christian. From then on, we see a change in Caleb and a series of events leads to a happy ending where, finally, Caleb and Catherine call off the divorce and instead re-dedicate their commitment to each other under the light of the covenant that God intended marriage to be since creation.

It’s a happy ending, almost fairy tale-like, but that’s not to say it’s not at all possible that the same scenario is played out in marriages the world over. No doubt we should still see the film as a movie in general and a great job at teaching Christian values through a film, but I was a little disturbed.

Here’s why: from a Christian perspective, it seems to say that if you become a Christian, then even a marriage in peril can be fixed and you can only expect happy endings like that portrayed in the film. Yes, I do realize that I might be nit-picking, but I wish that message could somehow have been clarified.

The other aspect of the film I found lacking was the fact that there wasn’t much reference to the Bible. Only one particular verse was mentioned in John’s book to Caleb; I don’t remember any other verse mentioned until the end of the movie. I thought it would have been good to include a few more in the film, especially those dealing with marriage which I think you’d agree would be most apt.

I’m relieved, though, that towards the end of the film, the producers saw to it that the message that it was God who changes lives was articulated through John, Caleb’s father. There was a little too much emphasis on The Love Dare up till then.

Despite these flaws (which might just be me nit-picking, of course), I found the movie totally enjoyable. It is primarily a tear-jerker especially towards the end, but the timely injections of some comic moments saves it from being labeled a chick flick. Kudos go to many in the cast who were acting in a movie for the first time, and I want to especially mention Ken Bevel (a Captain in the United States Marine Corps in real life) who plays Caleb’s best friend Lieutenant Michael Simmons for an outstanding performance.

Do I recommend the film?

Yes, a resounding yes; Fireproof is a must-see in my opinion:

1. The film and its Christian message on marriage being a covenant is a breath of fresh air in a flood of secular movies where marriage is but a part of life and nothing more. Couples split up for the slightest reasons and move on to the next “right” person, never even bothering to work on their marriages.
2. It shines a Biblical light on the institution of marriage (defined as a union between a man and a woman) as being a covenant and a life-long commitment to one’s spouse.
3. Issues like addiction to pornography and other vices are dealt with, albeit with a light touch, but with enough force to make many realize the dangers such addictions pose to both their personal lives and marriages.
4. Finally, the Gospel is well-presented, and there’s no lame invitation to say a little prayer to become a Christian or (God forbid!) a Jesus-shaped hole in his heart to be filled. Caleb is convicted of his sins, and subsequently his need for Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Fireproof makes for great couple time for any married couple or those planning to exchange vows in the near future. And it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been married — I’m quite sure many married couples will identify with at least a handful of situations portrayed.

At least we did.

What I’ll probably do from now on is to write the couple of posts (or more) on the weekends, then schedule them to be published during the course of the week.

While I can’t write well on week nights, I do spend a good amount of time reading. First off, I’m following a reading plan at Princeton Theological Seminary to read Calvin’s Institutes in a year. The downside is that they don’t keep archives, so if you miss a day you will have missed the schedule. To my chagrin, I didn’t realize that until a day too late, so now I archive the daily posts at a Tumblr I created — calvinsinstitutes.tumblr.com. If you are interested to join the program and have missed the first few posts, feel free to pick up the pace at my Tumblr site.

Still on reading, I’m also working my way through, I think, one of best books from A.W. Tozer — Jesus, Author of Our Faith which a good brother was gracious and kind enough to send to me. I was just reading the portion I’ll be quoting below when I thought, “How apt! This so complements one of the best video sermons I’ve seen in the past few days!” where pastor John Piper reminds us that we must suffer.

First, the quote, then the video:

When the eternal God Himself invites us to prepare ourselves to be with Him throughout the future ages, we can only bow in delight and gratitude, murmuring , “Oh, Lord, may Your will be done in this poor, unworthy life!”

I can only hope you are wise enough , desirous enough and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that every day is another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with our heavenly destination in mind. For as I hope you have already seen, full qualification for eternity is not instant or automatic or painless.

I hope, too, that you may begin to understand in this context why our evangelical churches are in such a mess. It has become popular to preach a painless Christianity and automatic saintliness. It has become a part of our “instant” culture. “Just pour a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your Christian way.”

Lo, we are told, this is Bible Christianity. It is nothing of the sort! To depend upon that kind of a formula is to experience only the outer fringe, the edge of what Christianity really is. We must be committed to all that it means to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There must be a new birth from above; otherwise we are in religious bondage and legalism and delusion — or worse! But when the wonder of regeneration has taken place in our lives, then comes the lifetime of preparation with the guidance of the Holy Spirit …

Yes, God is preparing us by making us disciples of Christ. A disciple is one who is in training. Being a disciple of Christ brings us to the day-to-day realities of such terms as discipline, rebuke, correction, hardship. Those are not pleasant words.

To be admonished and instructed, to be punished and reproved, to be trained and corrected — no one chooses these things because they are neither pleasant nor entertaining. But they are in God’s plan for our spiritual maturity.

Tozer, Aiden W. “Faith And Discipline.” Jesus, Author of Our Faith.
PA: Christian Publications, 1984. 93-94.

Amen!

These are the Christian contrasts to the worldly philosophy of human activitiy and presumption on faith. “Just go ahead bravely on faith. Never say die!” — that is the self-courageous attitude of this world.

“Never say die!” But then they die.

“You can if you will — it is all up to you,” is the world’s refrain. “He who thinks he can, can!”

Since I have been a Christian, I have had a negative reaction to that kind of human psychology. I do not mind saying that my favorite hymns are not those that exhort me to rise up, bare my chest to the elements, flex my biceps and tell the world where to get off. That is not my philosophy because it would put my confidence in the wrong place. If my faith, my belief, my confidence are in myself, then they cannot at the same time be resting in God.

The Bible tells us to believe in God and to put your trust in Him. It warns us against having any confidence in the flesh. So I do not want some voice exhorting me to “Rise up, O man of God, go forth to face the foe” — and all of that. I would rather go to the place of prayer, meet God there and then let Him face the world for me.

To meet the kinds of temptations and enemies confronting us, it is not enough for us to stick out our chins, inflate our chests and mutter the old refrain, “Never say die!” We do not operate on faith; rather, we rest our case completely on God. Then our experiences proceed by faith, through faith and in faith. That is the way victory comes, because our victory must be God’s victory first!

Tozer, Aiden W. “Faith Values the Pilgrim Journey.” Jesus, Author of Our Faith.
PA: Christian Publications, 1984. 56-57.

War is still being waged on many fronts in the world — just a few days ago, we saw Israel defending her right to exist with a bombardment of key Hamas installations and institutions in the Gaza. Afghanistan and Iraq still remain flash points, rumors of war abound in India and Pakistan, and mad men such as the likes of Ahmadinejad still call the shots in some countries, hell-bent on ushering in war and destruction on the world thinking they are giving their gods glory by so doing.

With all this in view, it’s apt that this exhortation from Arthur W. Pink landed in my Inbox today, reminding us that, no matter what, God is sovereign and in complete order, and that as His children, we can count on His providence for He is faithful and our good Father.

How faithless are we, when we worry and fret, forgetting for that one second that the Lord our God hath made good His promises in the past, and shall do the same today and forevermore because He alone is faithful!

Hallelujah!

How countless are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures! Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number — living things both large and small. All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time. When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust!

Psalm 104:24, Psalm 104:25, Psalm 104:27-29

The providence of God is His care of and provision which He makes for His creatures; with His supervision and superintendence of them. The providence of God in His government of the world is a subject of deep importance to the Christian, for by proper views thereof, he will learn to see God’s activities — in the daily works of His hands. Yet, though Christians assent to this truth, nevertheless they are prone to overlook it in exercise, and thereby to be deprived in great measure of that poise of mind and comfort of heart, which a deep and constant improvement of this doctrine is calculated to impart.

Nothing is more strengthening to faith, stabilizing to the mind, and tranquilizing to the heart of a Christian — than for him to be enabled to discern his Father’s hand guiding, shaping, and controlling everything which enters his life; and not only so, but that He is also governing this world, and all people and events in it. Alas, we are living in an age of terrible skepticism, when most of what happens is attributed to natural causes, while God is more and more banished from the world, in the consideration of His creatures. It is not only a fact that God governs the world in a general sense, but He also regulates all its affairs, and controls all creatures in it, “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11).

God is not troubled by anything that is now taking place in His world — either in its political, social, or religious sphere; nor should we be troubled. The helm is still in His hand; and Satan himself cannot so much as touch a hair of our heads, without His direct permission.

Arthur W. Pink, “Divine Providence”

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Back when I was completing my Diploma in Mass Communication, journalism was one of my favorite subjects and I remember well one of the golden rules of good journalism: ensuring that the who, when, why and what of any story are covered.

Examining the opening words of God’s Word with a journalistic eye, it bewilders me to know how well God covered the angles, written by the hand of Moses, in just that short sentence of 10 words (in our translation)!

Here, let’s look at it again:

When?

In the beginning. We know not when this beginning was; the Bible does not give us a timeline or any clue as to when this beginning was, but we know that all that is was made in six literal days (yom in Hebrew).

Some theologians, though, have put down an appropriate number by tracing the lineage of man through the ages.

Who?

God! God is the Creator of all that that is. No single-cell organism came out of some muck, evolve and became a living creature. No, God spoke and it just happened or became.

What happened?

God created.

What did He create?

God made the light and separated it from darkness (Genesis 1:3-5), the heavens (Genesis 1:8), the seas, separated land from water (Genesis 1:9-10), the creatures in the sea, the winged creatures in the air (Genesis 1:20-21), animals on land (Genesis 1:24), and finally man and woman on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26-31) before He rested and sanctified the seventh (Genesis 2:1-3).

Now, you might be wondering where the “why” is. It’s true that this first sentence that stamps God’s authority on and sovereignty over all things does not address the reasons behind God’s creations, but it’s not too difficult to find out later on as God revealed it progressively to us in His Word, the Bible:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20 

God further reveals to us His authority over His creation when He answered Job in chapters 38 and 39, and reveals His knowledge of all that is happening with His created beings in those two wonderful chapters!

Turning our attention back to that first verse of the Bible: though Genesis 1:1 consists of a simple 10-word sentence it sufficiently proclaims God’s sovereignty and His lordship over all that is.

Besides, do you not sense the tone of finality in that sentence alone? It’s stated matter-of-factly. The period at the end of the sentence is so definite, as if telling all who dare defy this fact that no argument will be entertained. It’s stated fact. All that is is His handiwork; all that is is there because He created it; all that is is created by Him is made through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord without whom “was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

Finally, it’s apt that this statement is the opener for the Bible and it’s no wonder that God chose it to be so — His authority and sovereignty over all is stamped right from the beginning!  

Soli deo Gloria!