This year I will be sharing brief excerpts from the articles, sermons, and books I am currently reading. My posts will not follow a regular schedule but will be published as I find well-written thoughts that should be of interest to maturing Christian readers. Whenever possible, I encourage you to go to the source and read the complete work of the author.
So what is the place of the Law in the life of the Christian? Simply this: We are no longer under the Law to be condemned by it; we are now “in-lawed” to it because of our betrothal to Christ! He has written the Law, and love for it, into our hearts! (“Tabletalk”)
Filed under: Christianity, Gospel, Law, Samuel at Gilgal, Sinclair B. Ferguson | 1 Comment »
“The gospel is preached in the ears of all men; it only comes with power to some. The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher otherwise; men would be converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher’s learning; otherwise, it could consist of the wisdom of men. We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were mysterious power going with it – the Holy Ghost changing the will of man. O Sirs! We might as well preach to stone walls as preach to humanity unless the Holy Ghost be with the word, to give it power to convert the soul.”
Filed under: Charles H. Spurgeon, Christianity, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Preaching, Salvation, Samuel at Gilgal | Tagged: Preacher | 2 Comments »
God is never frustrated. “… [H]e does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:35 ESV) No one or no thing is outside God’s sovereign control. Jerry Bridges writes:
It should be evident … that God’s sovereignty does not begin at death…His sovereign direction in our lives even precedes our births. God rules as surely on earth as He does in heaven. He permits, for reasons known only to Himself, people to act contrary to and in defiance of His revealed will. But He never permits them to act contrary to His sovereign will.
In support of the statement, I have just made — God never permits people to act contrary to His sovereign will — consider the following passages of Scripture:
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. (Proverbs 21:30)
Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:1)
Who can speak and have it happen if the LORD has not decreed it? (Lamentations 3:37)
(Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts)
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, God, Providence, Samuel at Gilgal | Tagged: Jerry Bridges | 1 Comment »
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Charles H. Spurgeon
Samuel at Gilgal 