God certainly desires to save us not through our own righteousness, but through the righteousness and wisdom of someone else or by means of a righteousness which does not originate on earth, but comes down from heaven. So, then, we must teach a righteousness which in every way comes from without and is entirely foreign to us.

Christ desires to have our hearts so free and divested (of our own righteousness and wisdom) that for our sins we fear no denial of grace and for our virtues we seek no glory and vain satisfaction. We even should not boast before men of the righteousness which is ours from Christ; nor should we allow ourselves to be cast down by the sufferings and afflictions which are sent to us by Him.

A true Christian should renounce all things — (all righteousness and wisdom) — that in honor and dishonor he always remains the same, assured that whatever honor comes to him belongs to Christ, whose righteousness and gifts of grace shine forth from Him, and that whatever reproach he endures is inflicted on Christ, (who is in him). (Martin Luther)

by Richard Shin

There seems to be innumerable articles talking about the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on DOMA. I would like to point you to a few that I think are well worth reading:

• First off, Joe Carter on 9 things you should know about the about the Supreme Court cases on marriage.
• Jesse Johnson from the Cripplegate has two articles worth reading: one is on the history of Prop 8 and the other on the charade of the Californian judicial system.
• Ron Belgau on First Things looks at the way Paul developed his arguments with his audience on the various heresies of his time. And while it doesn’t change the fundamental thrust of the Gospel message, it does change the way we approach those around us.
• Denny Burk and Al Mohler both commenting on waiting for the other shoe to drop.
• Russell Moore on what must change in the Christian witness.
• Denny Burk, or more accurately Ben Domenech, on the heart of the issue of the marriage debate.

And a few more to top off an already-full Weekly Links post:

• Tim Challies has an insightful article on how God does not owe us a happy ending. Indeed, not everyone lives the Disney fairy tale.
• Nathan Busenitz has a fantastic article on why we believe in the 66 books that we do.
• Jonathan Parnell on the boldness of knowing Jesus.

That should be good for now. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Coram Deo

“Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin—a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or no man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders in London, not mere materialists, have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputable water, but to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved. Some followers of the Reverend R. J. Campbell, in their almost too fastidious spirituality, admit divine sinlessness, which they cannot see even in their dreams. But they essentially deny human sin, which they can see in the street. The strongest saints and the strongest sceptics alike took positive evil as the starting-point of their argument. If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness in skinning a cat, then the religious philosopher can only draw one of two deductions. He must either deny the existence of God, as all atheists do; or he must deny the present union between God and man, as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.” (GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy)

by Stephen Rodgers

Richard is on vacation today, so I’ll be filling in for him. You know what that means? Of course you know what that means…giant pile of resources!

• 49-part series of James White teaching church history.
• John Piper has a new, free ebook on CS Lewis. And in case you missed any of them, here are 14 more free ebooks from John Piper.
• There’s a new Christian journal entitled Second Nature that examines new media and technology in light of the Christian tradition.
• CBMW seems to be ironing out the kinks of their new website, but on the bright side, their archive of JBMW issues is back up and running. (Longtime readers will remember me bemoaning the previously broken archive, and even setting up a temporary workaround; happily, that is no longer necessary).
• Nate Busenitz is copying me. I’ve been building our Recommended Resources page for years; he has now started his own.  Don’t worry, I’ll be…appropriating…some of his recommendations shortly.
• Finally, Fred Butler has an apologetics-oriented post that contains a hidden gem: Dr. George Zemek’s doctoral thesis. Cesar and I are very excited about that; you all should be too. If you don’t understand why you should be excited, please ask Cesar.

That’s it!

Pro Rege

We know a little of Christ as our Savior, but Oh! how small a portion have we seen of the fulness that is in Him!  Believe me, if we did but realize the blessedness of free and full forgiveness in Him, we should be men of a different stamp.

The man who feels the blood of atonement sprinkled on his conscience — the man who enjoys assurance that he is washed, and justified, and accepted in the Beloved, this is the man who will be holy indeed, this is the man who will bear much fruit. He will labor cheerfully — he will suffer patiently — he will witness confidently — he will press on unflinchingly — he will love warmly. Redemption is ever fresh upon his mind, and his thought is, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?”

(J.C. Ryle)

by Richard Shin

• I’m recycling a bit here (in that this was published in Tabletalk), but it’s worth resharing. R.C. Sproul on the Desiring God blog shares how our theological errors are rooted in the sin of idolatry. Click here to read more.
• I’d feel guilty about another recycle had this article on the sufficiency of Scripture not been so good. Carl Trueman explains in the 9Marks Journal what this crucial doctrine means to us.
• Marshall Segal on the Desiring God blog has a longer-than-your-typical-blog-post-but-shorter-than-a-how-to-manual primer on dating to display Jesus. Click through to read what he says.
• Russell Moore comments on the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to release a joint statement on the unity between Calvinists and Arminians within the denomination. It is well worth reading. Denny Burk comments here as well.
• Over at the Gospel Coalition, Collin Hansen, Kevin DeYoung and Trevin Wax discuss whether Christians should try to legislate their morality. The video is less than 10 minutes long, but it packs a punch. On that note, read Denny Burk’s answer to “How will gay ‘marriage’ impact your marriage?”
• Erik Raymond guest posts for R.C. Sproul, Jr. on praying terrifying prayers. We know we must do this, but do we?
• If we are honest with ourselves, we have been in this position before: we plan to sin again. Ed welch writes for CCEF on how to to respond when confronted with this decision.

That’s it, folks. Happy Father’s Day!

Coram Deo

“Faith is not a blind, irrational conviction. In order to believe, we must know what we believe, and the grounds on which our faith rests.” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology)

by Stephen Rodgers

There’s some really good resources this week, so let’s skip the hype and get straight to them:

• The June 2013 edition of Tabletalk is available from Ligonier, on the subject of “Faith and Repentence.”
• Speaking of Ligonier, they’re giving away a couple of really great resources.  The first is Richard Phillips’ The Masculine Mandate (for Kindle or Nook). In addition to that, they’ve also made all 14 of RC Sproul’s Crucial Questions books free forever. You’re going to want all of those.
• On top of that, the free book from Logos is CH Spurgeon’s The Saint and his Savior.
• And in addition to all those great ebooks, the free audio book from christianaudio.com is Matt Chandler’s The Explicit Gospel.
• And just in case you still needed content after all of that, the first No Compromise video is no longer lonely…because it has been joined by the second No Compromise video.  Want to see James White, Phil Johnson, and Carl Trueman hang out? Now you can.

Best. Month. Ever.

Pro Rege

LIE: This is such a minor, insignificant sin! It’s not really a big deal in God’s eyes.
TRUTH: Every sin is a horribly offensive to God. Sin is the sum of all evils, the opposite of all that is good, holy, and beautiful. Even the smallest of my sins required the death of the Son of God. There is no such thing as a minor sin. Every sin is cosmic treason.

LIE: I’ll give into sin this one time, then I’ll be done with it. I just need to get it out of my system.
TRUTH: Every time I give into a sin it becomes more difficult to break the power of that sin. Sin has a way of sinking it’s barbed hooks deep into my heart. I can’t simply sin and then walk away from it unscathed. The more I give in to sin, the more entangled I become. Sin always leaves scars.

LIE: This sin is part of who I am. I’ve always struggled this way and I always will sin this way.
TRUTH: Sin does not define my identity! I am a new creation in Christ. Christ has set me free from the enslaving power of sin. I absolutely do not have to obey the sinful passions that surge through me. I may have always struggled this way, but my past does not define my future.

LIE: I need to give in to this sin in order to be happy.
TRUTH: Sin never provides true happiness. It promises sweetness, yet ultimately delivers a payload of destruction, dissastisfaction, ruined relationships, and hardness of heart.

LIE: God wants me to be happy, therefore it’s okay for me to give in to sin.
TRUTH: God does want me to be happy. However, my happiness will only rise as high as my holiness. Sin ultimately erodes and destroys true holiness and true happiness.
(Stephen Altrogge)

by Richard Shin

• It is no secret that we live in strange times. The cultural shifts in North America are tantamount, and we Christians must understand the tides more than ever. Mark Dever shares seven ways on how to survive a cultural crisis.
• Summer is right around the corner. Trevin Wax links some articles on how not to waste your summer.
• Tim Keller shares a few insightful words on exposing and correcting our character flaws to which we may be blind. You can find his article here.
• Michael Horton at the White Horse Inn reflects on the Pope’s message that by doing good, even atheists can meet in Heaven. Yea. Clint Archer shares a similar sentiment.
• At first reading of Acts 2-5, there is a tendency to treat the sharing of goods as an act of socialism. However, Art Lindsley shares why it does not promote this idea.
• Here are some reflections from a new dad at age 47.
• And speaking of fatherhood, Russell Moore shares a few thoughts on missing his sons’ birthdays.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Coram Deo

We should test ourselves with some questions. It is right to pursue likeness to Christ. But the question is, why? What is the root of our motivation? Consider some attributes of Christ that we might pursue, and ask these questions:

• Do I want to be strong like Christ, so I will be admired as strong, or so that I can defeat every adversary that would entice me to settle for any pleasure less than admiring the strongest person in the universe, Christ?
• Do I want to be wise like Christ, so I will be admired as wise and intelligent, or so that I can discern and admire the One who is most truly wise?
• Do I want to be holy like Christ, so that I can be admired as holy, or so that I can be free from all unholy inhibitions that keep me from seeing and savoring the holiness of Christ?
• Do I want to be loving like Christ, so that I will be admired as a loving person, or so that I will enjoy extending to others, even in sufferings, the all-satisfying love of Christ?
  (John Piper)

by Richard Shin

• You’ve probably heard of the natural disaster that struck Oklahoma this past week. Michael Patton shares that there is a wrong way to carry this burden. Sam Storms is a pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, and he has a few words to share on the tragedy and God’s sovereignty. Jesse Johnson speaks on giving money to those struck by the tragedy (and here‘s his follow-up). Michael Horton writes on the difference between placing our trust in God and saying “stuff happens.”
• On that note, Al Mohler shares on the goodness of God and the reality of evil. You can find his article here.
• R.C. Sproul has a set of free eBooks on Christian living you can download from his website here.
• Josh Blount shares an encouraging word on why God gave us the church and not Superman.
• With the explosion of social media, it’s very easy for even computer illiterate people to post pretty much whatever they please. However, Jen Wilkin warns parents to be careful about what they post.
• John Piper here affirms the Christian adoption through a list of disavowals and affirmations.
• Tony Payne shares what Christ meant that He did not “come to abolish the law but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

That’s it for now. Have a great, long weekend, folks!

Coram Deo

When someone sets his affections upon the cross and the love of Christ, he crucifies the world as a dead and undesirable thing. The baits of sin lose their attraction and disappear. Fill your affections with the cross of Christ and you will find no room for sin. (John Owen)

by Richard Shin

It was tough, but I’ve compiled a few around the interweb for this week’s Weekly Links.

• The Kermit Gosnell trial has ended with the defendant guilty of three charges of murder. Anna Williams with links upon links of the backdrop, Al Mohler shares a few words here, Jesse Johnson on why he cares (and you should too), Denny Burk on what happens if we don’t learn from the incident, and Pete Spiliakos on whether we’ll know about the next Gosnell.
• Michael Patton shares twelve ways parents can prepare their children for times of doubt.
• Nathan Busenitz compiled a list of quotes from early church fathers on the topic of sola scriptura. He also compiled a few quotes on why we must think about heaven.
• Michael Kruger shares why we do not need the original manuscripts in order to believe what we have today contains God’s Word.
• Winston Hottman from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood shares a few thoughts on marriage and (im)perfectionism.
• Tim Challies reflects on what the lack of prayer says about us. This quote stands out for me as well: “The things you pray about are the things you trust God to handle. The things you neglect to pray about are the things you trust you can handle on your own.”

That should be enough for now, and yes, I cheated a bit. Still, enjoy!

Coram Deo

The concept of substitution may be said  to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.

Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accept penalties which belong to man alone. (John Stott)

by Richard Shin

• This is an extremely powerful video. A must see. Takes 5 minutes.
• Do you know the difference between judging someone and discerning truth? Whether you do or not, take a looksee at Randy Alcorn’s post on this topic here.
• Here’s a good post by Thabiti Anyabwile on how the older members brighten the future of the local church.
• Here is a powerful letter a mother writes to President Obama on the topic of abortion.
• Michael Patton responds to an anonymous letter asking about why God is “hidden”. I find the response highly biblical and enlightening.
• Paul Tautges summarizes the last chapter of Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling by Dr. Laura Hendrickson on “The Complex Mind/Body Connection.” This short summary contains a lot of good information on the mind, body, and psychiatric medication.
• Russell Moore pens an article on being a burden to your children and humility. Click here to read through.
• Tim Brister writes on why we are a deeply needy people.

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend, everyone

Coram Deo

“Redemption doesn’t make us more emotional (as some charismatics might suppose) or less so (as many Reformed would prefer), anymore than it makes us more or less intellectual. What redemption does to the intellect is to consecrate that intellect to God, whether the I.Q. is high or low. Similarly, the important thing is not whether you are highly emotional or not; the important thing is that whatever emotional capacities you have should be placed in God’s hands to be used according to His purposes.” (John M. Frame, Doctrine of the Knowledge of God)

by Stephen Rodgers

It’s the first Friday of the month…and that means I’ve been loading my article gun for a whole month. Enjoy!

RESOURCES

• There’s a new edition of Credo Mag focusing on why a triune God matters.
• The free book from christianaudio.com is a solid biography of AW Tozer.
• In case you missed this, the 9Marks eJournal for the last couple months was on the topic of Pastoring Christians for the Workplace.
• The 800-pound gorilla of free theological journals has a new edition; you should grab Themelios 38.1 whenever you’re ready to wrestle that gorilla.
• The free Logos book of the month is…unpronounceable.  But if you want to add volume 17 of the Horea Homileticae to your collection, now’s your chance.
• The May issue of Tabletalk is out, and it’s all about the Shema. This is kind of like picking a favorite child, but if you only avail yourself to one of these resources on a monthly basis…it should probably be Tabletalk.
• The founder and director of abort73.com wrote a book: Love the Least (A Lot). Judging from what I’ve heard from those who’ve read it, it’s good. Really good. And it’s free (for now), so grab it.
• This is particularly for the gal in my flock who has read every single resource I have on canonology: Fred Butler updates and comments on Doug Kutilek’s list of resources on the canon. Steve Hays gives his list on Canonics here as well.

NEWS

• If you haven’t heard about the Jason Collins / Chris Broussard story this week, you should check out Denny Burk’s coverage.  And then cruise on over to Triablogue for two very smart insights on our culture and its lack of logic.
• Have you tried Stoogle yet?

See you Sunday!

From the first sin in the garden of Eden to the final judgment of the great white throne, human beings will continue to embrace the love of God as the gift of everything but Himself. Indeed there are ten thousand gifts that flow from the love of God.

The gospel of Christ proclaims the news that He has purchased by His death ten thousand blessings for His bride. But none of these gifts will lead to final joy if they have not first led to God. And not one gospel blessing will be enjoyed by anyone for whom the gospel’s greatest gift was not the Lord Himself. (John Piper)

by Richard Shin

• I’m not a big fan of rap (I can barely understand slower songs, let alone conversations), but this open letter to Paula White Ministries by Shai Linne is quite good.
• In case you haven’t heard, there’s an ongoing trial revolving around abortion practices of Kermit Gosnell. He is facing a number of charges, including murder. You can find why may not have heard about it here. Trevin Wax imagines how Planned Parenthood would respond to such practices here. Russell Moore comments on it here. Stephen Altrogge considers how to pray for such a man here.
• Apologetics315 links us to an interview Michael J. Kruger did on the canon of Scripture, talking about his book Canon Revisited. He also has a new book coming out in November on why the New Testament exists at all. You can find an introduction here.
• Kevin DeYoung shares a set of advices for raising godly children from John Witherspoon. You can find them here.
• Do you know what the Holy Trinity is? What’s the “essence” of each person in the Trinity?  Here‘s a short primer and some resources you can use.
• How does one grow in holiness without reeking of the “holier than thou” mentality? By actually becoming holy.
• I came across this set of videos through Challies on frontline missions work. I plan on buying the full set as soon as I’m done with this article, so let me know if you want to watch any of them. Maybe we can have a movie night or something.

Hope you enjoyed them. Have a great weekend, y’all!

Coram Deo