The Death of Death in the Death of Christ – Packer’s introduction

J I PackerDr Jim Packer’s introductory essay to The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen remains a classic essay on Christ’s atonement. Written in 1958, it is probably even more relevant now than it was then.

Among other things, Dr Packer gives a helpful introduction to Calvinism. The essay will repay careful reading.

There are several copies of the essay on the Internet – Monergism has one here.

Every good thing is to be found in Christ

“Every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us. He was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair.

He died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt cancelled, labour lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal.

In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune.”

—John Calvin, preface for Pierre Robert Olivétan’s 1534 French translation of the New Testament. (From Of First Importance.)

Easter and history

Simon Smart from the Centre for Public Christianity, writes, “[We] would like to draw your attention to a resource that we thought might be of assistance to you as you prepare for the lead-up to Easter and Easter services. …

How do we respond to claims that Jesus didn’t even exist? What about answering questions about the reliability of the New Testament documents? Why is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus such a crucial aspect of the Christian story? How might one respond to the New Atheist claims that the crucifixion represents cosmic child abuse?

For all that and more, just click here to gain access to our Easter page. We hope you will be able to use the material in whatever way is most helpful to you.”

Holy Week Geography and Harmony in Google Earth

Justin Taylor writes:

“Today is the first day of “Holy Week,” where Christians recount Jesus’ final pre-glorified week on Earth.

Here is something you might find fruitful while contemplating the events leading up to our Saviour’s death and resurrection: an attempt in Google Earth to show the locations of the major events (to the best of our knowledge) along with descriptions and biblical passages describing those events.”

See it here.

‘Canonically Permissible Graciousness’

“…on May 15 the Presiding Bishop intends to do the very thing that the Joint Standing Committee — on which she serves — urged the Episcopal Church not to do. …

… even a rudimentary grasp of Jesus’ admonition to “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matt. 5:37) highlights a conflict between the Episcopal Church’s rhetoric of reconciliation and autonomous actions.”

– from an editorial in The Living Church.

(Photo taken at the November 2008 Joint Standing Committee meeting: ACNS Rosenthal.)

The Messiah by Mr Handel & Mr Newton

Dr Alec Motyer, Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith and others speak about Handel’s “The Messiah” at The John Newton Project.

In preparation for Easter, learn about John Newton’s little-known connection with Handel’s Messiah.

Where do we go from here? — Fulcrum

The leadership team of Fulcrum, the Church of England’s ‘open evangelical’ group seems to have accepted the reality of the situation in the Anglican Communion in a post on their website –

“The bishops and Standing Committees of The Episcopal Church (USA) have consented to the election of Mary Glasspool as bishop suffragan in the diocese of Los Angeles. That consent sadly confirms that TEC is determined to ignore all the repeated appeals of the wider Communion and, in the closing words of The Windsor Report, ‘walk apart’…

It is important that this is not simply a matter of disagreement about biblical interpretation and sexual ethics although these are central and important. It is now very clearly also a fundamental matter of truth-telling and trust.”

– Read the full article.

And John Richardson comments: ‘Fulcrum: their challenge to Canterbury and the challenge they must face’.

“Understandably, the statement is at pains to recognise Rowan Williams’s past efforts. Yet it is remarkably frank in the call it now makes upon him…”

(Photo courtesy ACNS/Rosenthal.)

‘The Heart’ in the Old Testament

Barry Newman has posted a PDF file of his latest series – this one on ‘The Heart’ in the New Testament.

It’s a follow-up to his earlier series on ‘The Soul’.

There’s a link on this page.

The Trials of Theology

At Reformation21, Derek Thomas thinks Carl Trueman’s essay in The Trials of Theology, edited by Andrew Cameron and Brian Rosner, is alone worth the price of the book.

(There’s some other excellent stuff in there too.)

John Piper writes this about the book:

When I began my theological studies in 1968 I devoured Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians.

If I were starting today I would devour The Trials of Theology.
Here is counsel from the proven dead and the wise living.

“Do we need theology”?
We may as well ask, “Do we need to know God?” Ten thousand times yes.

“Is studying theology perilous?”
Yes. But less perilous than ignorance.

“Will it be costly?”
Let the Bible answer: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (Ps. 119:71).

Without the “trials of theology” we remain on the surface of the statutes of God. May the Spirit of truth make this book a means of true thinking about God, deep affections for God, and beautiful obedience to God, through Jesus Christ who is God.

Moore Books has copies.

God, Sex, and ‘Christianity Lite’

Albert Mohler:

“A project of theological revisionism is easy to start, but hard to stop. Like a spreading acid, theological liberalism moves from one doctrine to the next, developing patterns of argument that arise over and over again.”

– from his latest blog posting.

And then it’s worth re-reading Mark Thompson’s ‘The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns’:

“It is increasingly clear that the gospel of salvation by the cross and resurrection of Jesus, with its call to faith and repentance has been replaced in some quarters by a liberal gospel of universal reconciliation, what some call ‘the gospel of inclusion’…”

TEC reaps the whirlwind

“Well it is now official: The Episcopal Church (TEC), a province of Anglican dioceses in the USA (and some neighbouring countries) has declared that it doesn’t care what the vast majority of the Anglican Communion believes to be the teaching of the Bible concerning sexuality. It simply does not care…”

– Bishop Glenn Davies writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Related: The TEC Diocese of Central New York, which evicted the Church of the Good Shepherd at 74 Conklin Avenue in Binghamton, appears to have found a new use for (at least some of) the empty building. (Earlier posts.)

Do Your friends know what Easter means?

“In Raised With Christ I argue that many have never heard the real gospel of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Today I share with you some research that demonstrates the truth of this.

Quite simply this is strong evidence that we are not speaking about the resurrection enough…”

– Adrian Warnock (in the UK) writes about the latest US research.

Do our Australian friends know what Easter means?

Don’t Be Afraid

Even though Australians are unaffected by US health care reform, Russell Moore (at Southern Baptist Seminary) has some great advice.

“The United States House of Representatives just passed a health care reform bill that I and lots of other Christians opposed. Such legislation should concern us. There are some bad consequences for the weakest and most vulnerable among us, principally unborn children. But should it also concern us that so many of us are talking today about how afraid we are?…”

– Read it all here.

Christopher Ash on Job

Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman writes:

If you want some good bread for your soul, here are the sermons given by Christopher Ash [Proc Trust] at the Winter 2009 [at The Castle] event. Five expositions on Job, plus  a helpful Q & A.

See his direct links to the audio files here.

Preachers who don’t believe

“‘Preachers Who Are Not Believers’ is a stunning and revealing report that lays bare a level of heresy, apostasy, and hypocrisy that staggers the mind …”

– Albert Mohler says that this report – written by a ‘new athest’ – is a wake-up call to the church.

Related: Vanishing Christianity — A Lesson from the Presbyterians.

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