Because we see the law and love of God fulfilled, we become both humble and bold because we know we are his by grace. This is unique. Without the gospel, humility and boldness can only increase at each other’s expense. (Tim Keller)

by Richard Shin

• Trailing on the heels of the Super Bowl, Jay Beerley explains that we have only one Messiah, and the burden he came to bear does not need any “platform” for introduction or endorsement.
• Recently, the Obama administration introduced some changes to the HHS mandate that seems to have alleviated some groaning. However, despite the fluffy language, the heart of the matter has not changed. Joe Carter explains what happened very clearly for your benefit and awareness.
• Erik Raymond is doing a series on the Gospel-Centered Church. He began it by answering “What Does a Gospel-Centered Church Look and Feel Like?” and then writing on the place of Christian liberty in the Gospel-Centered Church. He still has four more articles to go in the series, so keep your eyes peeled for more.
• Mike Riccardi shares a primer on Christian apologetics, bringing us back to the Bible for the foundations and applications of defending our faith. Then he introduced presuppositional apologetics here, and evaluated the validity of the method here. I don’t know when he’ll stop, so you better buckle yourselves.
• Not too long ago, a number of us here on the Beacon encouraged our readers to read your Bible. And undoubtedly, many of you made your commitments. So here we ask, how’s your Bible reading going?
• Jeremy Walker explains the damning slippery slope that comes from losing the historicity of a literal Adam. 
• “I can’t give up; it’s not because they need me—at least not in the sense that I am a pastor and have all the answers. The need is much more mutual. We need each other.” I appreciate what Dave Dunham has to say on the value of being tired.

Have a blessed weekend, everyone.

Coram Deo

“He who comes forth fresh from beholding the face of God will never fear the face of man.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Faith’s Checkbook, July 17)

by Stephen Rodgers

Now that we’ve let a little time pass since the first of the month, all the relevant articles seem to have been posted…which means I can pass them on to you!

First up, there’s the obligatory new resources…

• christianaudio.com’s free book of the month is God’s Smuggler, the story of a man who started smuggling Bibles into Eastern Europe in the 1950’s, and eventually started a ministry to do similar work worldwide.
• The new edition of Tabletalk is out this month as well, and the theme is Union with Christ. Tabletalk regularly puts out some of the best content I see on a monthly basis, so if you haven’t started reading it yet, you might want to check our index of back issues as well.
• There’s also a new issue of Credo Magazine freely available, this one dealing with the sudden resurgence of interest in the doctrine of purgatory among evangelicals. They also have a few other fascinating issues in their archive, and it’s not too late to start catching up!

Next, there’s the obligatory returning/continuing resources…

• Tim Challies is marching onward through his series on essential doctrines of Christianity.  Recently he added articles on Salvation, Judgment, and Heaven.
• Speaking of Challies, he’s also started a series where he gives recommendations on what he considers to be the best commentaries for specific books of the Bible.  He’s alternating between the OT and the NT, so he’s made suggestions for both Genesis and Matthew.

And lastly there are the articles and audio that I just thought deserved your attention…

• We recently did a Q&A at LBC (the audio doesn’t seem to be up yet).  Not to be outdone, John MacArthur also did a 2-part Q&A (part 1 and part 2) and John Piper has restarted his “Ask Pastor John” series.  Enjoy!

Pro Rege

I do believe that the very angels have never wondered but once and that has been incessantly ever since they first beheld it. They never cease to tell the astonishing story, and to tell it with increasing astonishment too, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, and became a man. Is he not rightly called Wonderful? Infinite, and an infant — eternal, and yet born of a woman — Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast supporting the universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms — king of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph — heir of all things and yet the carpenter’s despised son. Wonderful art thou O Jesus, and that shall be thy name for ever. (Charles Spurgeon, “His Name–Wonderful!“)

by Richard Shin

God has been good this week. One way is in the way he used these men to write these articles.

• David Platt, who preached this death-defying sermon on the sovereignty of God in global missions at the last T4G conference, writes an article introducing this new book by John Piper. Titled Risk is Right, the book is about denouncing the comforts of this world and taking risks for God, which mentality many of us need to adopt.
• Is anxiety really sin? That’s the question Julian Freeman seeks to answer in this post. It is biblically convicting to see what both Jesus and the Apostles taught in regards to anxiety.
• It’s a great testimony of God’s faithfulness that both Presbyterians and Baptists can have differing views on different topics and still work together to advance the gospel to the nations. Ligon Duncan (a Presbyterian) and Thabiti Anyabwile (a Baptist), both leaders within The Gospel Coalition, discuss the issue of church polity in this video.
• The National Sanctity of Human Life Day was this past Sunday, January 22. Russell Moore charges the church to consider how to encourage those who may have participated in an abortion, whether it be as the mother or a supporter. Church, we are not above this.
• “How do I explain the wrath of God toward Jesus and his separation during [his death] for our sin and not separate the Godhead?” Matt Jenson from the Gospel Coalition seeks to answer this question here.
• What does your evangelism look like? Do you even do it? Or are you the type that preaches “Evangelize always, and use words when necessary”? Matt Queen asks eight helpful questions the evangelist can ask himself to assess whether his evangelism is biblical or not.

Hope everyone is having a great Flocks week. See you when I see you.

Coram Deo

The very center and core of the whole Bible is the doctrine of the grace of God—the grace of God which depends not one whit upon anything that is in man, but is absolutely undeserved, resistless and sovereign.  The theologians of the Church can be placed in an ascending scale according as they have grasped that one great central doctrine, that doctrine that gives consistency to all the rest; and Christian experience also depends for its depth and for its power upon the way in which that blessed doctrine is cherished in the depths of the heart.  The center of the Bible, and the center of Christianity, is found in the grace of God; and the necessary corollary of the grace of God is salvation through faith alone. (J. Gresham Machen, HT: Ray Ortlund)

by Richard Shin

We are back and there is so much to share. Enjoy!

• Steve Fuller from Desiring God shares five promises that are fulfilled by reading God’s Word and communing with God through prayer. If you haven’t today, before you move forward with the new links, maybe you should take some time to meditate upon God’s Word right now.
• Now that over a week has passed, it seems forever ago, but I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the debacle that revolved around the White House and Louie Giglio. While there have been numerous articles posted by various bloggers, I point you to a noteworthy few: Albert Mohler’s, Russell Moore’s, and Sam Allberry’s.
• Michael Kruger is beginning a new series that’s called Ten Basic Facts about the NT Canon Every Christian Should Memorize. I imagine this series will give a taste of his book Canon Revisited, which I must say was a stellar read and I highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the New Testament canon.
• If you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered the eternal significance of your vocation. Paul Rude from The Gospel Coalition blog shares an encouraging post about how truck drivers’ lives (and engineers’ and teachers’ and accountants’ and missionaries’ and so on) “possess breathtaking significance bestowed by the touch of God’s magnificent glory.” Click through to read more.
• Christina Fox shares what it means to host without grumbling. There are so many practical applications to what 1 Peter 4:9 says, and if you struggle in this area, let this post be a primer on hospitality for you.
• Josh Blount posts on Stephen Altrogge’s blog The Blazing Center asking a particularly poignant question, “Have you heard from God lately?” The cessationist in you may have jumped a little, but believe me: it’s not what you think.

I think that ought to keep you busy for a while. Have a great weekend.

Coram Deo

 “People ask me, ‘Why pray if God is Sovereign?’

I respond, ‘Why pray if He isn’t?'”

(Michael Horton)

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome back for the first weekly links of 2013!

January Updates & Releases

• The next edition of the 9Marks eJournal is out, Lay Elders: A User’s Guide (Part 2).
• The January edition of Tabletalk is out as well, entitled The Lost Virtues of Listening, Meditating, and Thinking.
• The free audio book from christianaudio.com this month is Roger Resler’s Compelling Interest: The Real Story Behind Roe v. Wade.
• The free resource from Logos is Jonathan Edwards’ A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections.

Free Resources

• This could end at any time, but RC Sproul’s book Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue is currently free on Kindle.

Other Articles of Note

• Tim Challies has been busy, continuing his series on essential doctrines of the Christian faith and penning posts on adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, and church.
• I normally don’t care much for “top 10” posts (yes, I know, the hypocrisy is rampant), but I’d make an exception anyway for the Top Tabletalk of 2012 kind.
• Last but not least, there a couple sales that you should be aware of. I’m particularly pointing out the ESV Module Sale, since I’ve written before that having digital versions of the ESV Study Bible and the MacArthur Study Bible in the same place is a potent combination…which can now be yours for $12.  It’s something to think about.

Pro Rege

“To an open house in the evening
Home shall all men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.”
(From “Christmas Poem,” by GK Chesterton)

by Stephen Rodgers

Long-time readers of the Beacon…and anyone with halfway-decent search-fu…will know that every year around this time we do a special Christmas-themed edition of the weekly links.  We’ve done it before in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and it’s that time once again here in 2012.

APOLOGETICS

One site that has done yeoman’s work on the issue of “Christmas apologetics” is the (in)famous Triablogue.  They have their own overview of annual post on the subject going back several years, along with an entire category dedicated to the subject of Christmas.  Here are a few specific examples:

• They’ve discussed the December 25 date of Christmas as well as pointing to other material that deals with the subject.
• There are several articles on evidence for Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus, issues with counter-claims, and challenges to the historical records.
• With respect to various challenges to the historical records of the Christmas narrative as recounted in Scripture, they’ve got an entire section dealing with Biblical authorship
• There’s even a good article that gets the ball rolling on various issues related to the Star of Bethlehem.
• And they’re in good company considering that both Triablogue and Al Mohler wrote fairly extensive posts refuting Bart Erhman’s latest attack on the historicity of the birth narratives of Christ.

SANTA CLAUS

Ah yes, the ever controversial man in the red suit. No, not that one; I’m talking about Santa Claus.

• Triablogue (yes, them again!) has several articles discussing the propriety and consequences of “lying” to kids about Santa (here and here) as well as a critique of framing the entire issue in overly simplistic terms.
• There’s also a post that undercuts the popular anti-apologetic tactic of framing “faith” in Santa and “faith” in Christ as analogous.
• And if you’d prefer a more historical approach to the real Saint Nick, both Kevin DeYoung and Nate Busenitz have you covered.

THEOLOGY & CULTURE

Again, I’d encourage you to review the posts from previous years, since you’ll find a host of related information there as well.  This year, we wanted to highlight:

• Douglas Wilson has an article at the Resurgence highlighting the importance of the virgin birth (and some related misconceptions).
• In an article that’s a perennial favorite, RC Sproul examines (or should I say, “x-amines”…I’m hilarious!) the difference between “Christmas” and “X-Mas.”
• Steve Hays (of Triablogue fame) has a post at Ref21 discussing the range of Christian responses to the Christmas holiday.
• Thabiti Anyabwile exhorts Christians to remember that Christmas is not unadulterated holiday cheer for everyone, and exercise compassion appropriately.
• Last but not least…in fact, in some ways, saving the best for last…Frank Turk has a must-read three-part series (part 1, part 2, part 3) on Chrstimas in the context of grief, loss, and sin.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Pro Rege

We have so much of the Pharisee in us by nature, that it is sometimes well that our good is hid from us… It is a good life which is attended with a faith of righteousness and a sense of corruption.  While I know Christ’s righteousness, I shall the less care to know my own holiness.  To be holy is necessary; to know it, sometimes a temptation. (John Owen, Works. HT: Ray Ortlund)

by Richard Shin

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another set of weekly links.

• Many disliked the Facebook Timeline when it was first rolled out. Perhaps a redeeming quality is these awesome cover images you can place at the top.
• Douglas Wilson is a prolific writer. If you want to see what I mean, just subscribe to his blog at www.dougwils.com, and you will see. But in this particular post, I want to point you to an article for the church, on the church, its relationship to evangelicalism, and how the Bible fits into it all.
• Kevin DeYoung has a series of articles on the three dangers of being “crazy busy.” You can read the 3-parter here, here, and here.
• While we’re on DeYoung, he also has a short one on what hypocrisy is, which I hope encourages you, the downtrodden Christian.
• I’ve alluded to this before, but I want to point it out again. Michael Kruger finished his series on 10 Misconceptions About the NT Canon. You can find it here.
• John Piper reflects on his time at Bethlehem Baptist Church and shares some of these thoughts in this interview.
• C. Michael Patton writes about the Biblical fidelity Calivnism tries to uphold, while Arminianism forsakes Biblical integrity in order to reconcile two ideas: God’s sovereignty and free will.

That’s all. Have a great weekend.

Coram Deo

“As we will see, there is an inextricable link between the doctrine of God – His attributes and properties – and the biblical understanding of who Christ is.  This should not be surprising. If indeed we know who God is by virtue of his revelation to us, the quintessential knowledge of God will naturally come by way of the quintessential revelation of God, which is given to the world in Jesus Christ. It would not be an overstatement to stay that the way to a proper understanding of God and his character is given foremost in a proper understanding of the Son of God come in the flesh, Jesus Christ.” (K. Scott Oliphint, God With Us)

by Stephen Rodgers

Resources

• There’s a new 9Marks eJournal on the subject of Lay Elders: A User’s Guide (Part 1).  I suspect there will be a sequel.  And let me take a moment to remind you that we have a marvelous index of the 9Marks eJournals here on the Beacon.
• There is also a new Tabletalk devotional on the topic of The Prodigal Son. And let me take yet another moment to remind you that we have a marvelous index of Tabletalk here on the Beacon as well.
• In what is becoming a banner month for journals, Themelios 37.3 is out as well.
• On top of that, the fall issue of the JBMW is out too.  Denny Burk has a summary of where you can get it, which is important since their website seems to be experiencing rather severe issues at the moment.  If you’re interested though, here’s the last snapshot that the Internet Archive stored that still manages to serve up the files.
• Also, Grace Advance has resurrected Pulpit Magazine, and the first several issues are freely available here.

Free Offers

• Christianaudio.com’s free audio book of the month is Dietrich Bonhoffer’s God is in the Manger.
• Logo’s free book of the month is Dr. Ryrie’s Articles.

Articles of Note

• Tim Challies often is involved with resources that we really like, so it’s worth noting that he’s recently gathered all the Visual Theology posts into a single place, and he’s also updated his “The Essential” series with articles on both revelation and atonement.
• I know I’ve mentioned this several times before, but CJ Mahaney’s ebook on Biblical productivity is spectacular.
• Last but not least, if you want a challenge for the day, consider this mapping of 2010 US census data on births and deaths…and consider the eternal implications.

See you Sunday.

Pro Rege

Be confident in expecting great things from God, for though you may be unworthy, and grace will show you your own unworthiness, yet you stand upon the righteousness of Christ. (Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification)

by Richard Shin

It seems this week is full of shorter gems rather than long series. Regardless, I hope your soul is rejuvenated.

• Julia Huisman and Tammy Johnston share a post on seeking purity after a history of impurity. This is for both the Christian woman and the Christian man.
• Sam Crabtree from Desiring God shares how God is glorified when we praise others and not God.
• Ray Ortlund shares a short hermeneutic lesson on how to read the Bible (and how not to read it).
• Jeremy Walker from the reformation21 blog shares of the excellence and failure of preaching God’s Word.
• Many might falsely argue Calvinists are not evangelists. Well, John Starke gives us an example from the life of John Calvin himself on how staunch an evangelist he was.
• Michael Patton collected a number of quotes from early church fathers on the doctrine of sola scriptura (by Scripture alone).
• Kevin DeYoung shares about the benefits he experienced while staying away from social media.

Short and sweet. Enjoy the blessed weekend.

Coram Deo