Beholding Glory: The Dynamics of Sanctification

Over the past few days, we have been examining some fundamental biblical truths about the doctrine of sanctification. On Tuesday, we considered three of those truths. First, we saw that sanctification is a fundamentally internal and supernatural work. Second, as a result of that, we considered how sanctification is a sovereign work of the Spirit of God. But then we quickly observed how the Spirit’s sovereign work doesn’t cancel our work, because the Spirit employs means in sanctifying the believer. And yesterday, we looked into five of those means which we are to avail ourselves of in order to grow in Christlikeness.

 

Today I want to focus on how it is that those means actually work. In other words, I want to look at the actual dynamics of sanctification. Why is it that the Word of God, and prayer, and fellowship with the saints, etc., sanctify us?    Continue at Mike Riccardi

John MacArthur Responds to John Piper regarding Strange Fire

Several months ago, shortly after the Strange Fire Conference, notable responded to some of the claims of the conference via his question-and-answer program, Ask Pastor John. Over the last couple of weeks, John MacArthur has begun responding to Piper’s remarks over at the Grace To You blog. These posts represent valuable, rubber-meets-the-road exegetical discussion as it relates to the cessation of the miraculous gifts, and it’s happening between two lifelong students of Scripture who many in our generation consider to be fathers in the faith. It’s surely an exchange you don’t want to miss.

I want to devote today’s post to recapping what’s been said there so far.  Continue at Mike Riccardi

Eagerly Awaiting the Savior

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
– Philippians 3:20 –

This verse teaches us that the posture of the heavenly citizen is one of patient, eager anticipation of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. While we usually think of “waiting” and “anticipating” as generally being passive endeavors, the Greek word apekdechomai has a much more active force. The great 19th-century Scottish expositor, Alexander MacLaren, commenting on this verse, wrote, “The eagerness of the waiting which should characterize the expectant citizens is wonderfully described by the Apostle’s expression for it, which literally means ‘to look away out’ … like a sentry on the walls of a besieged city whose eyes are ever fixed on the pass amongst the hills through which the relieving forces are to come.” This eager anticipation is nothing less than the active fastening of one’s gaze and attention on a dearly desired end.

This is how the New Testament speaks of the Christian’s enthusiastic anticipation of the return of Christ. Continue at Mike Riccardi

Thankful to Whom?

By its very nature the giving of thanks cuts straight across the grain of the pride and self-focus of the natural human heart. When we are thankful for something, we acknowledge that we are in someone else’s debt—that there are good things in our lives for which it just doesn’t seem appropriate to pat ourselves on the back. We pause for a few days over Thanksgiving break to think about the blessings we enjoy—the way our lives, with all their challenges, trials, and disappointments, are actually much better than we could have accomplished for ourselves in our own strength, and much better than we know we deserve.

And that seems to be the case even for unbelievers. It seems the knowledge of God and His Law that is written on their hearts (Rom 2:14–15)—the knowledge of His invisible attributes that He has clearly made visible by ordering the world as He has (Rom 1:19–20)—gets just a little bit harder to suppress (Rom 1:18) as they perceive the loveliness and virtue in thanksgiving. The inherent, objective pleasantness of the reality that someone other than themselves is most fundamentally responsible for the good things they enjoy bursts forth into their consciousness, causing them to humble themselves and thank someone else for them. Even the most prideful person will admit, if he’s honest with himself, that, strangely enough, it feels good to be thankful. We enjoy giving thanks. Something just feels…right… about it.

And that’s because we’re tapping into the reality that life isn’t most ultimately about us and making much of ourselves. We’re catching a glimpse of the reality that absolutely everything that we have—from our part-time job to the air we breathe—is owing to the beneficence of Another. You see, we are designed to humble ourselves in the presence of Someone infinitely more worthy than us.   Continue at Mike Riccardi

Smeaton on the Miraculous Gifts

One of the effects that all the discussion surrounding Strange Fire has had on me, personally, has been to renew my interest in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. And not just the discussion as it relates to the gifts of the Spirit, but in all the ways the Third Person of the Trinity exists and works to be worthy of all worship.

To that end, I’ve been reading some stuff on pneumatology. And one of the books that has invariably come up in discussions of good theology books on the Holy Spirit is George Smeaton’s The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, first published in 1882. Having been published two decades before Charles Fox Parham and Agnes Ozman would introduce the modern versions of the miraculous gifts to the church, Smeaton’s discussion of the gifts is particularly interesting to me. So, I’ve been reading selections of his work, and wanted to share with you some of the things he includes in his lecture entitled, “The Work of the Spirit in the Inspiration of Prophets and Apostles.” I’m quoting from the 1958 Banner of Truth edition.   Continue at Mike Riccardi

Learning to See the Beauty Behind All Beauty

One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time is a book called, , by a gifted writer named Steve DeWitt. The thesis of the book is that all beauty originates in God and is given to us to enjoy for the express purpose of leading us to the ultimate beauty that is God Himself. On page 7, in the introduction, he writes: 

Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything

Every created beauty was created by God to lead our affections to Him. That’s why He made the pleasures of earthly beauty so fleeting—so that on the other side of the pleasure we might experience either wonder and worship and ultimate satisfaction in God or the pursuit of the pleasure that beauty provides for its own sake. If we choose the latter, we will only be disappointed again.  Continue at Mike Riccardi

Abandon the Soul-Murdering Way

This week I’ve been reading Thomas Boston’s classic, The Art of Man-Fishing. 

Boston was a Scottish Puritan in the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries. The book is basically his own meditations and personal exhortations to himself (he often addresses himself as, “O my soul”) on ministry. Particularly, Boston was concerned that he, as a preacher, would not forget our charge to be consistently preaching the Gospel even in our Sunday morning sermons. Boston understood that the Sunday gathering is not an evangelistic rally, but rather a time for the worship of God by the assembly of the redeemed and the edification of the saints for the work of the ministry. Nevertheless, he saw it as the preacher’s responsibility to not assume that all who come to church are already saved, and so he preached repentance from sin and faith in Christ every chance he had.

 

In Part Two of the book, Boston delineates the ways in which we are to “follow Christ” if we are to become “fishers of men” (Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17).  In one section that was particularly poignant for me, Boston insists on ministers aiming at God’s glory and not our own. Now of course we all know that, but we all ought also know that we need to keep a constant watch over our hearts so that we might not be foolishly lifted up by pride. Boston’s words were helpful to me, and I’d like to share that benefit with you. And though it’s primarily aimed at those in a regular preaching ministry, it has application to all Christians who are obediently involved in the ministry to the saints.    Continue at Mike Riccardi

The Cripplegate on Cessation and Continuation

In light of Eric’s excellent series over the past few days, I imagine there are many questions that are generated in the minds of our readers regarding the nature of spiritual gifts. Those of us at The Cripplegate have actually dedicated quite a bit of time to clearing up misconceptions of cessationism and responding to popular continuationist arguments. I thought it would be beneficial, then, to highlight those posts and present them in a sort of indexed fashion so as to make them as accessible as possible. While we make absolutely no claim of being exhaustive, we hope this provides some answers to the more popular questions and arguments. 

 

An Introduction to the Issue

Probably the best place to start is in understanding What Cessationism is Not. This would prevent arguing against straw men, and is all-around more helpful in advancing the discussion. Note: this is the place to go if you think the cessationist case stands or falls on an interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:10.   Continue at Mike Riccardi

Presuppositional Apologetics: An Evaluation

Yesterday I spent some time describing the presuppositionalist school of apologetics. Today, I want to evaluate it. As you were probably able to tell from that post, I tipped my hand a bit and probably let on that I’m a fan. In fact, I believe that presuppositional apologetics is the best model among the various systems of apologetics, particularly because it is the school that most faithfully submits to the implications of Scriptural teaching. I believe this for several reasons.

Consistent with the Nature of Man and Salvation

First, presuppositionalism is the only school of apologetics that is consistent with what the Bible teaches about the nature of sinful man and the gift of salvation. All schools of apologetics will admit that their ultimate goal is not merely to win an argument or to show up a philosophical opponent. All Christian apologists defend the faith in order to honor God and to see people get saved. Yet it seems to me that other schools of apologetics—particularly evidentialism and classical apologetics—fail to bring their practice in line with what the Bible teaches about man’s depravity and God’s salvation.

Evidentialism treats man as if his problem is merely intellectual. It offers arguments and evidences for the likelihood of Christian claims and asks the unbeliever to render judgment. Classical apologists do the same thing, but they insert an extra step by arguing for theism in general before Christian theism in particular. However, both of these methods ignore the fact that the unbeliever’s problem is moral, not intellectual. All evidence will be interpreted in light of someone’s existing worldview. And the Bible tells us that the unbeliever is blind to the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:4) and actively committed to suppressing whatever knowledge of God they do have (Rom 1:18) because they love their sin (John 3:20).    Continue at Mike Riccardi

A Depraved Mind, Darkened in Understanding

In these past few weeks as I’ve been reflecting on the 40^th anniversary of legal infanticide, listening to arguments from both sides of the debate, I’ve often just become so exasperated by the rationalizations that are made in favor of keeping abortion legal. Euphemistically justifying murder as a “women’s rights” issue is at once disgusting and dumbfounding. Disgusting that anyone might use women for political posturing and sully their name by insisting that it’s a virtue for them to exercise murderous violence against their own children. Dumfounding because I can’t quite believe that these people are really convinced by their own arguments. As John Piper demonstrated clearly in this excellent blog post (which, if you haven’t already read, you should): We all know we’re killing children—human persons—and the most defenseless of human persons at that. We are just willing to sacrifice the innocent so we can give vent to our lust, immorality, and selfish ambition. 

And so I’ve been listening to the various “defenses” of this legalized murder, and I think to myself, “Can he really believe that something that grows, moves, consumes, is distinct from the mother, and has its own chromosomal makeup and its own unique DNA isn’t alive?” “Does it really satisfy her intellectual honesty to say that something with a heartbeat, functioning kidneys and liver, and that is responsive to pain is just a clump of cells? And, a ‘clump of cells’ when it’s not wanted, but a ‘baby’ when it is wanted?” “Don’t any red flags go up when we start talking about human beings not being human persons? (Can we say Slave Trade? Or Nazi Germany?) “How can that possibly be, when even on just a purely rational and even scientific level that reasoning is so weak?”   Continue at Mike Riccardi

An Open Letter to You in 2013: The Same Old Message for a Brand New Year

Mike originally published this post on December 30, 2011.

As we approach the beginning of the New Year, many people are reflecting on the previous year and how they’ve lived their lives, and are making resolutions and determinations to live better in the coming year, whatever that may mean. The process seems to involve a kind of refocusing on things that are important to us so that when we will have come to the end of this next year we will look even more favorably on it than the previous one.

Though I’m a few days early, as we anticipate the coming of 2013 I want to write an open letter of sorts that focuses on the most important realities in the world. And the addressee of my open letter is you. No matter who you are—whether young in the faith, a seasoned saint, or not a believer in Jesus at all; whether we’re good friends, have only spoken a few times, or if I don’t know you from Adam—I can think of nothing more profitable that I’d like to say directly to you. And perhaps the most interesting distinctive about this open letter for 2013 is that it’s nothing new. It’s the same old message for a brand new year, because it’s the only message that is sufficient to transcend all times and cultures. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope you’ll read carefully.

God is Holy

The Bible teaches that the entire universe was created by God. And that God who has created everything has spoken to humanity in the Bible. And the Bible tells us that a fundamental characteristic of God is that He is holy. 1 John 1:5 says, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” That’s a way of saying that He’s entirely pure. God’s character is one of perfect moral uprightness. He is the essence of all that is good—so much so that, as the verse says, He can have absolutely no fellowship with “darkness”—no fellowship with that which is not perfectly holy, righteous, and pure.    Continue at Mike Riccardi

Is it True that Jesus Never Addressed Homosexuality?

A couple of months ago, I began responding to a couple of popular arguments for why some believe that homosexuality is reconcilable with Christianity. My hope was (and still is) that I might be able to serve those who are mistaken in this regard by helping them to see that faith in Jesus and His Word cannot be reconciled with attempts to legitimize homosexuality. I had addressed the semi-sarcastic objection that we as Christians are inconsistent in condemning homosexuality on the basis of the Levitical law, since we don’t also condemn eating shellfish and mixing fabrics. I also addressed the objection that in condemning homosexuality Christians are being unloving—getting caught up in the details while forgetting that our cardinal Christian virtue is love. If you haven’t read those, I hope you will.

But today I want to address another popular argument for reconciling homosexuality with true Christianity. And that is the objection that Jesus Himself never said a word about homosexuality. Those who make this argument grant that Paul condemned it as sinful (Rom 1:26–27; 1 Cor 6:9–10; 1 Tim 1:9–10). But the sentiment behind this objection is that Paul had corrupted the way of life and the ideology that Jesus came to propagate, and that Jesus would have been “loving” and “accepting” of homosexuals, just as they are.

But is it true that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality?  Continue at Mike Ricarrdi

Freed from Sin by Sovereign Joy

Now I will relate how You set me free from a craving for sexual gratification which fettered me like a tight-drawn chain, and from my enslavement to worldly affairs: I will confess to Your name, O Lord, my helper and my redeemer.[1]

While he had been sitting under the Gospel preaching of Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo had the occasion to hear of the testimonies of the rhetorician Victorinus and of Anthony and the Egyptian monks—schooled philosophers whom Augustine held in high esteem, men who had come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit by the Scriptures and were humbled to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. At this point he could bear the convictions of his own soul no longer. He confronted his dear friend Alypius and spoke of the inner turmoil he was experiencing.

Within the house of my spirit the violent conflict raged on, the quarrel with my soul that I had so powerfully provoked in our secret dwelling, my heart, and at the height of it I rushed to Alypius with my mental anguish plain upon my face. “What is happening to us?” I exclaimed. “What does this mean? What did you make of it? The untaught are rising up and taking heaven by storm, while we with all our dreary teachings are still groveling in this world of flesh and blood!”

“Adjacent to our lodgings was a small garden. … The tumult in my breast had swept me away to this place, where no one would interfere with the blazing dispute I had engaged in with myself until it should be resolved. … All I knew was that I was going mad, but for the sake of my sanity, and dying that I might live.[2]

Augustine records the next moments as a battle between the pleasures of his soul. What had thus far halted his conversion was the pleasure of sin competing with the pleasures of knowing and enjoying God in Christ.

The frivolity of frivolous aims, the futility of futile pursuits, these things that had been my cronies of long standing, still held me back, plucking softly at my garment of flesh and murmuring in my ear, “Do you mean to get rid of us? Shall we never be your companions again after that moment…never…never again? From that time onward so-and-so will be forbidden to you, all your life long.” … “Do you imagine you will be able to live without these things?"   Continue at Mike Riccardi

Fellowship and Conversation

When the Lord first blessed me with an opportunity to teach regularly at one of Grace Church’s home Bible studies, I spent some time thinking and praying about what I’d wanted to teach on as I began my time with that wonderful group. Eventually, my heart was inclined to teach something on fellowship, because a home Bible study is a place where life is lived out together in community, a place where we can spur one another on to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24-25), and to encourage one another as long as it is called “Today,” so that none will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:12).

What comes into your mind when you hear the word “fellowship”? Friends? Interesting and inspiring conversations? Sharing a meal, or having a snack with someone? How about the time of a church service or Bible study where the teaching is officially over and everyone gets to just hang out?

As I prepared to teach on what the Bible had to say about fellowship, I looked up the instances of the word koinonia in the New Testament. Interestingly, I found that the New Testament usage seemed to have very little to do with what I thought about when I heard the word “fellowship” used. It spoke about:

• Relationships between believers (Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3, 7)
• Contributing and sharing resources (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:13; Heb 13:16)
• Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:16; 1 John 1:3, 6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:1)
• Participation and Partnership (2 Corinthians 6:14; Galatians 2:9; Philippians 1:5, 6; 3:10)   Continue at  Mike Riccardi

Shellfish, Mixed Fabrics, and Homosexuality: Picking and Choosing?

Once again, a brilliant post of Jesse’s has stimulated a lot of discussion. Yesterday’s post, in which Jesse shared four thoughts regarding Chick-Fil-A Day, sparked a ton of discussion in the comment thread.

Among other issues, a couple of commenters listed a number of popular arguments for why homosexuality is reconcilable with Christianity. For today and tomorrow, I’d like to address a couple of those arguments that I encounter most often. My hope is that I might serve those who erroneously believe that faith in Jesus and His Word can be reconciled with attempts to legitimize homosexuality.

The objection I want to address today basically boils down to this: “There are plenty other commands in Scripture that Christians don’t follow today, like the prohibition against mixing fabrics (Lev 19:19) or eating shellfish (Lev 11:10–12) and pork (Lev 11:7–8). So why not one more?”

Unbiblical Reasoning

First, I just want to observe that this kind of reasoning is patently unbiblical. The argument concedes that the Bible does indeed condemn homosexuality. We’re not getting an argument from these folks on that. They’re just giving a reason for why we should ignore more of what the Bible clearly says. “We disobey God’s Word all over the place. Why should disobeying His commands against homosexuality be any different?”  Continue at Mike Riccardi

Election by Murder?

I hope you’ve all benefited as much as I have from Jesse’s posts over the last few days regarding the eternal destiny of infants who die before they reach maturity. The persistently biblical emphasis—i.e., getting into the texts—has been a breath of fresh air regarding an extremely sensitive topic that is supercharged with emotion. The “cumulative case” approach to this issue is wise, because, even as he said, if you disagree with a particular interpretation of a particular verse, there are certainly others that are unmistakable. And the weight of all the biblical data bears on your conclusion.

However, the implications of this issue are so broad that not even three consecutive blog posts full of comments on twenty-six particular passages of Scripture from both Testaments proves exhaustive. There are other questions to be answered. One of our commenters asked one of these questions, broaching an issue that he himself deemed “an elephant in the room.” I want to take some time today to address his question, not at all because I want to give him a hard time but because I think having a clarifying answer to this question can be helpful for all of us—not only as we consider the topic of infant salvation but also the doctrine of salvation in general. He asks:  Read answer HERE

Prayer: Laying Hold of God’s Willingness

"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."
– Matthew 6:7-8 –

In these verses the Lord teaches His disciples not to pray with mindless repetition, but with a restful confidence in the sovereignty and omniscience of God.

The Heart Matters More Than the Mouth

The pagans would pray to their deities by reciting particular phrases over and over again, thinking that their gods would reward them for their ritualistic devotion. This kind of thinking about prayer reduces it to a mechanical, heartless ritual. Here, however, Jesus teaches that simply repeating words without engaging your heart is not acceptable before God. In fact, our God has always been more concerned with the internal than with external.

• Psalm 69:30–31 – I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please Yahweh better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
• Hosea 6:6 – For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• Isaiah 29:13 – This people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…

(See also Psalm 51:16–17; Isa 1:11–15; Amos 5:21–24; Micah 6:6–8; Malachi 1:6–14.)   Continue at Mike Riccardi

Learning to Suffer Well: Acknowledging Sin’s Role in Suffering

Earlier this week, I met with a prospective seminary student for lunch. As is common for first-time meetings at Grace Community Church, our discussion began with testimonies of how the Lord saved us. This particular brother had a Christian friend whose very welcoming family often shared the Gospel with him and invited him to church. As friendly and as clear as they were, though, the seed of the Gospel fell on fallow ground—until the father of the family had contracted a life-threatening illness. When this young man saw how the family responded to suffering with such confidence, joy, and peace, his heart began to pay attention to the Source of that steadfastness. He began to read his Bible with greater earnestness and listen to the sermons he heard in church with greater interest. Eventually, the Lord saved him.

I tell that story because it only further legitimizes the need for Christians to learn how to suffer well—how to suffer righteously. I mentioned in last week’s post how necessary it is to be equipped with a theology of suffering while not yet in the midst of a particular trial. The fact of the matter is, the heat of an intensely trying time often clouds our vision and our judgment, so that we fail to act the way we know we should. We respond to suffering sinfully because we have not prepared to suffer righteously beforehand, when our vision is clear.   Continue at Mike Riccardi

Our Desperate Condition, God’s Amazing Provision

Albert N. Martin was the pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, NJ for over 40 years. In recent years due to health issues he had moved to Michigan to be closer to his wife’s family. One day, while I was still living in New Jersey about 45 minutes away from Montville, I had heard he would be back to visit Trinity and would preach during the Sunday morning service.

I wasn’t a member there, but I had visited on multiple occasions to sit under Pastor Martin’s preaching. So I went back to Trinity with a good friend of mine who is a member there. And I was excited. I was looking forward to hear what Pastor Martin had to say. What wonderful message, exhortation, rebuke, did he have for the congregation he loved and shepherded for nearly half a century?

He began his message by talking about the Bible, how it’s quite a large book, and really is more like a library, being a collection of books. And then he started talking about the overarching message of the Bible that’s recognizable in certain “capsule statements” that are given throughout revelation.

God has given us these wonderful little capsule statements that give us the heart of the whole message of the Bible. And those statements become like a door into this marvelous, panoramic, overarching message of Bible. And if you can grasp those particular portions, you have a handle on what the Bible is all about. (04:03-04:39)  Continue at Mike Riccardi

An Objection to God’s Sovereignty that Proves It

In Romans 9, Paul discusses God’s absolute freedom in His saving purposes. He uses the illustration of the twins, Jacob and Esau, stating that God’s choice of Jacob over Esau had nothing to do with either of them. Rather, God chose “so that [His] purpose according to His choice would stand.” This choice was “not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Rom 9:11). He goes on to say that salvation “does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom 9:16), and then supports that claim by referring to God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart for the expressed purpose of demonstrating His power and proclaiming His name through the events that followed (Rom 9:17; cf. Exod 9:16). Paul then summarizes his point by declaring: “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Rom 9:18).

Then, Paul anticipates an objection: “You will say to me, then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’”

First, let us understand the objection itself. Paul’s imaginary (or perhaps not so imaginary) interlocutor has understood all that Paul has said about God up until this point.

• He understands that salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace, and owes to nothing in man.
• He also understands that it is God’s will, not man’s will, that is determinative and decisive in salvation (again, Rom 9:16; cf. John 1:13). He asks a rhetorical question to underscore this very point: “Who resists His will?” That is to say, “No one resists God’s will.” “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps 115:3). He accomplishes all His good pleasure (Isa 46:10), and no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2).
• The objector also understands that God still holds man accountable. “He still find[s] fault.”

So the question is, “Since no one can resist God’s will, how is it fair that He still finds fault?”   Continue at Mike Riccardi