Secured by Christ on the cross

To meditate on this Sunday:

“Everything that we know and appreciate and praise God for in all Christian experience both in this life and in the life to come springs from this bloody cross.

Do we have the gift of the Spirit? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we enjoy the fellowship of saints? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Does he give us comfort in life and death? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Does he watch over us faithfully, providentially, graciously, and covenantally? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we have hope of a heaven to come? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we anticipate resurrection bodies on the last day? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Is there a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we now enjoy new identities, so that we are no longer to see ourselves as nothing but failures, moral pariahs, disappointments to our parents—but deeply loved, blood-bought, human beings, redeemed by Christ, declared just by God himself, owing to the fact that God himself presented his Son Jesus as the propitiation for our sins? All this is secured by Christ on the cross and granted to those who have faith in him.”

— D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus (Crossway, 2010), 70-71.

T.C. Hammond on Baptism (Article 27)

“The controversy concerning infant baptism has occasioned much difficulty to many students. The great body of the Reformed Churches accept it. A determined and earnest company, however, reject it as unscriptural.

There are two questions that need to be kept clearly distinguished from one another. …”

– In the latest posts from The Australian Church Record’s archives, T.C. Hammond turns to the question of Baptism from Article 27 – and then considers The Baptism of Young Children.

Related: The Thirty Nine Articles.

Five reasons why Pope Francis’ answer was demonic

“Pope Francis has made several controversial statements throughout the years, but perhaps none quite as controversial as the one in this video.

You can watch it here. …”

– At The Cripplegate, Jordan Standridge comes to a tragic conclusion. (link via Tim Challies.)

Keeping the Evangel in Evangelism

“In our culture, people who think themselves autonomous will claim the right to define all meaning for themselves. Any truth claim they reject or resist is simply ruled out of bounds by society at large. We will make our own world of meaning and dare anyone to violate our autonomy.

This is why evangelism is often perceived as insensitive or even threatening in our culture. Evangelism demands that we press the authority of Scripture and the claims of Christ on sinners as we invite them to the free gift of salvation provided through Christ’s atoning work…”

– Albert Mohler writes with a timely reminder of what evangelism is all about.

The Heart at Peace — Lent Reflections from Dr Peter Jensen – Part 7

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GAFCON General Secretary, Dr. Peter Jensen, speaks about how our hearts are now at peace with God.

Citing Romans 5, he reflects that while many of us doubt this, ‘the work of the Holy Spirit is to assure us of the love of God for us.’

Why did Jesus die?

“There are a numbers of ways we could answer the question “Why did Jesus die?”

On the historical level, we can say that Jesus was caught between the crunching gears of apocalyptic messianic expectation, Jewish temple politics, and Roman imperial intrigue.

On the theological level, there is so much more to say. …”

– At With Meagre Powers, Dr George Athas addresses the big question of Easter.

De-Conversion

“De-conversion is the reverse of conversion. While some creep away from the faith like a gliding glacier, the de-converted are glaciers calving off, crashing into the sea with devastating effect. Read on with holy fear. …”

– Do read on. From Reformation21.

The ‘so what’ of Easter: Part 2 – The death of death

“In part 1 we thought about how the resurrection shows Jesus’ work to be successful and effective in dealing with sin.

Here in part 2 we see how the resurrection also declares the death of death. Death is one of those things in our modern western world that people like to ignore – until a friend or family member dies.

For the majority of the human race who live in the rest of the world, however, death is often front and centre …”

– From Mike Leite at The Australian Church Record. (Image: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)

The ‘so what’ of Easter: Part 1

“When it comes to the resurrection of Jesus, most contemporary Christian writing has been centred on its historicity. Preaching often tends to focus on the historical details and the fact that it really happened, rather than its meaning.

As a result, the average pew sitter might have a robust apologetic in response to the historical claim of the resurrection, but be somewhat cloudy when it comes to its theological significance. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Mike Leite doesn’t want us to miss the point of Easter.

J C Ryle on “Evangelical Religion”

“Since many religious disputes have arisen solely because there has been a lack of accurate definition, I am beginning this paper by explaining exactly what I mean by ‘Evangelical Religion’. …”

– This classic article by Bishop J. C. Ryle is always worth re-reading.

The Illuminated Heart — Lent Reflections from Dr Peter Jensen – Part 6

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“In the penultimate video in the series, Dr Jensen explains how God illuminates our dark hearts through the proclamation of the gospel.” – From GAFCON.

T.C. Hammond on Article 19 — The Church

Article XIX Of the Church

The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the sacrament be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.

As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred; so also the Church of Rome hash erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.

“It is worth noting that the definition here embodied is limited strictly to the Visible Church. The Language is very carefully chosen. The Article does not say ’The Church of Christ is visible,” but “The Visible Church of Christ is a congregation, etc.‘ …”

– T.C. Hammond on Article 19 of the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion – republished at The Australian Church Record.

The Exclusiveness of Christianity — T C Hammond on Article 18

“We have to notice that there is an exclusiveness about Christianity.

It asserts, quite emphatically, that there is only one way of salvation. This is the consistent message of the New Testament.

Peter boldly declared to his interrogators: ‘Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name, under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.’ This is a vigorous declaration of the exclusiveness of Christianity. …”

– The Australian Church Record continues to republish T.C. Hammond’s theological reflections on The Thirty Nine Articles.