My Year with Spurgeon, Week #15

God has richly blessed us, notwithstanding all our faults and failures, surely we should learn to forgive many injuries done to ourselves. ~ Charles Spurgeon, Thou Art Now The Blessed of the Lord

Now, do you know anything of the covenant relationship between God and his people? The bulk of Christians nowadays are wholly ignorant on this subject. The preachers have forgotten it; yet the covenant is the top and bottom of all theology. He that is the master of the knowledge of the covenants has the key of true divinity. But the doctrine has gone out of date except with a few old-fashioned people, who are supposed to know no better, but who, in spite of all the taunts of their opponents, cling to the doctrines of grace, and find in them the very marrow and fatness of the truth of God. I love the promises of God because they are covenant promises God has engaged to keep his word with his people in the person of his dear Son. He has bound himself, by covenant with Christ, and will not, cannot go back from his word; and Christ has fulfilled the conditions of the covenant, and he who hath "brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant," will certainly, "make you perfect to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ." The promise is a double promise when it is confirmed in Jesus. Though we are poor and worthless creatures, yet can we say with David, "Although my house not be so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure." Twice God says by Isaiah, "I have given him for a covenant to the people" thrice happy are they who receive what God hath given, and who, in Christ, enter into that blessed bond. Beloved, if God has laid the promise home to you by the Spirit, and let you see it as a covenant promise, the God has borne this testimony to you: "Thou art now the blessed of the Lord." ~ Charles Spurgeon, Thou Art Now the Blessed of the Lord

How few there are of us who make it our business to be constantly telling out the sweet story of Jesus and his love! I read, the other day, of a chaplain in the Northern army in the lamentable war in the United States, who, while he lay wounded on the battle-field, heard a man, not far off, utter an oath. Though he himself was so badly wounded that he could not stand, yet he wished to reach the swearer to speak a gospel message to him, and he thought, "I can get to him if I roll over." So, though bleeding profusely himself, he kept rolling over and over till he got to the side of the poor blasphemer, and on the lone battle-field he preached to him Jesus. Some of the other men came along, and he said to them, "Can you carry me? I fear that I am dying, but I do not want to be taken off the field. I should like you, if you would, to carry me from one dying man to another, all the night long, that I might tell them of a Saviour." What a splendid deed was this! A bleeding man talking to those who were full of sin about a Saviour's bleeding wounds! Oh, you who have no wound, who can walk, and possess all the faculties to fit you for the service, how often you miss opportunities and refuse to speak of Jesus! "Thou art now the blessed of the Lord," and at this moment I would have you think that the blessed Lord lays his pierced hand on thee saying, "Go and tell others what I have done for thee." Never cease to tell the divine tale, as opportunity is given, until thy voice is lost in death; then thy spirit shall begin to utter the story in the loftier sphere. ~ Charles Spurgeon, Thou Art Now The Blessed of the Lord

He that believeth in Jesus hath all the blessing which Jesus can give to him; forgiveness for the past; grace for the present; and glory for the future. ~ Charles Spurgeon, Thou Art Now The Blessed of the Lord

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Love At Any Cost (2013)

Love At Any Cost. Julie Lessman. 2013. Revell. 416 pages.

I definitely enjoyed reading Julie Lessman's newest novel, Love At Any Cost. This is the first in her new series, The Heart of San Francisco. I am not sure that I exactly loved it more than A Passion Most Pure, the first Lessman novel I ever read. But I definitely enjoyed it more than her more recent historical romances. Lessman's romance style is something. Readers will either love, love, love it or find it not exactly to their tastes. Not that one's reaction has to be either love or hate. (Few books merit those extremes!)

In Love At Any Cost, readers are introduced to Cassidy McClare a former heiress with a big broken heart. Her broken heart and embittered attitude towards men in general and handsome men in particular make her practically immune to the charming attentions of an oh-so-handsome young man, Jamie McKenna. But. For him, it is L-O-V-E at first sight. (But is it really?) He wants her, and the more she protests the more he wants her. Eventually, Cassie allows a friendship to grow between them. But both know that he wants more and that she may even need more herself. But she does not know how to trust in any man. Jamie has trust issues of his own. Oh, he hasn't any problems trusting his heart and mind, and he doesn't Cassie for an instant. But Jamie does NOT trust in God...at all. Perhaps doubting God's existence at all, but at the very least doubting God's goodness. This is NOT good news for their romance, for Cassie will NOT go to extra lengths to trust her heart to someone who is an unbeliever. She might be willing to trust God with both their hearts, with their love story, but otherwise she feels she has to play it smart and ignore the incredibly intense attraction.

It would perhaps be easy to take sides and focus on either her brokenness OR his brokenness. (I haven't really explained his in this review. But trust me, he's flawed.) But. I think the message of this one--if indeed there is a "message" is that we are all flawed and broken and have made mistakes in the past and  are perhaps struggling with making the "right" decision in the present. The hero and heroine have more in common than you might at first suspect. Both need God to heal them. I liked that these were "weak" characters that did need God in order to strengthen them and make them whole. It wasn't human effort or more willpower that was needed, but God.

I would recommend this one.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Verses to Consider

Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6, ESV)

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. (Psalm 119:142, ESV)

The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (Psalm 119:160, ESV)

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. (Psalm 119:114, ESV)

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17, ESV)

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, ESV)

I loved those two verses in Proverbs. The word of God is true. It has always been true; it will always be true. There will never come a time when it loses its truth. In a world that questions "truth" or "absolute truth" at least it is important to remember that EVERY WORD OF GOD PROVES TRUE. That one can't pick and choose from the Bible what is true and what is not true or no longer true. I also love the second verse, which reminds us all that it is unwise to ADD or subtract from the Word of God. We shouldn't feel the need to add OR subtract from the Bible. It can be dangerous--spiritually--to try to do either. It may be tempting, but it's unwise. I love this quote from J.C. Ryle:

Let us remember, that we live in a world where Pharisaism and Sadduceeism are continually striving for mastery in the Church of Christ. Some want to ADD to the Gospel, and some want to TAKE AWAY from it. Some would bury it, and some would pare it down to nothing. Some would stifle it by heaping on additions, and some would bleed it to death by subtraction from its truths. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

I also loved this verse: THE SUM OF YOUR WORD IS TRUTH. The whole truth is better than here and there doses of little truths. I feel it's important to know the Bible, to learn from the whole Bible. Not just picking a handful of feel-good verses now and then. Not ignoring the parts we're unfamiliar with or bored with, but seeking treasure from the entirety of the Word. That is why I feel it's important that preachers preach the Bible--from the whole Bible, not just touching here and there in more comfortable places. But trying to teach or preach the hard stuff too. Ignoring "hard doctrines" like sin and hell may seem like an easy choice, but it isn't necessarily the best choice. 

I have often heard of "narrow-minded views," and "old-fashioned notions," and "fire-and-brimstone theology," and the like. I have often been told that "broad" views are needed in the present day. I wish to be as broad as the Bible — neither less nor more. I say that he is the narrow-minded theologian who pares down such parts of the Bible as the natural heart dislikes, and rejects any portion of the counsel of God. ~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness

But God forbid that I should ever keep back from mortal man that Scripture reveals a Hell as well as Heaven, and that the gospel teaches that men may be lost as well as saved.  ~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness

If you would ever be a healthy Scriptural Christian, I entreat you to give Hell a place in your theology. Establish it in your mind as a fixed principle, that God is a God of justice — as well as of mercy; and that the same everlasting counsels which laid the foundation of the bliss of Heaven — have also laid the foundation of the misery of Hell. Keep in full view of your mind, that all who die unpardoned and unrenewed are utterly unfit for the presence of God and must be lost forever. They are not capable of enjoying Heaven; they could not be happy there. They must go to their own place — and that place is Hell. Oh, it is a great thing in these days of unbelief, to believe the whole Bible!  ~ J.C. Ryle, Holiness

Do you believe that the Word of God is true? Do you take hope in the Word of God? It can be trusted for it is true. It contains promises and treasures for all who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Twenty reasons to love Psalm 119

• How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)
• Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
• The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130)
• The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (Psalm 119:160)
• I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. (Psalm 119:162)
• In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. (Psalm 119:14)
• My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right. (Psalm 119:172)
• You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. (Psalm 119:114)
• I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)
• Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. (Psalm 119:142)
• Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I might live. (Psalm 119:144)
• Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways. (Psalm 119:37)
• Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. (Psalm 119:27)
• Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. (Psalm 119:73)
• Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalm 119:18)
• My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I might meditate on your promise. (Psalm 119:148)
• Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life! (Psalm 119:40)
• This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. (Psalm 119:50)
• My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise. (Psalm 119:123)
• Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. (Psalm 119:133)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week In Review: April 7-12

This week I read:

ESV

• Leviticus 15-21
• 1 Kings 20-22
• 2 Kings 1-10
• Proverbs 27-31
• Isaiah 17-27
• Zechariah
• Luke
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians

KJV

• Psalm 119 (5)
• Revelation

NLT

• Psalm 119 

NKJV

• Psalm 119

NASB

• Psalm 119

HCSB

• Psalm 119

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Quoting J.C. Ryle #2

Well, I'm ready to share more quotes from J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew. (My first post covered Matthew 1-10) You can read this book for yourself online.

The beginning of the way to heaven, is to feel that we are in the way to hell, and to be willing to be taught of the Spirit. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

May we never be satisfied until we know and feel that we have come to Christ by faith for rest, and do still come to Him for fresh supplies of grace every day! ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

The world hated Christ, and the world will hate Christians. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

There are only two parties in religious matters. There are only two camps. There are only two sides. Are we with Christ, and working in His cause? If not, we are against Him. Are we doing good in the world? If not, we are doing harm. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Let us learn, in the first place, from this parable, that the work of the preacher resembles that of the sower. Like the sower, the preacher must SOW GOOD SEED, if he wants to see fruit. He must sow the pure word of God, and not the traditions of the church, or the doctrines of men. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Those who care not what happens to the wheat, provided they can root up the tares, show little of the mind of Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

And after all there is deep truth in the charitable saying of Augustine, "Those who are weeds today, may be wheat tomorrow." ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

We shall never find a perfect Church. We may spend our lives in migrating from communion to communion, and pass our days in perpetual disappointment. Go where we will, and worship where we may we shall always find weeds. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

He is what he is, and does what he does in his religion, because he is thoroughly persuaded that it is worth while. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

A sermon without application is like a letter posted without an address. It may be well written, rightly dated, and duly signed. But it is useless, because it never reaches its destination. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

To create is the peculiar prerogative of God. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

He would have us know that doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. And even when our faith is small, the Lord is ready to help us. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Whenever a man takes upon him to make additions to the Scriptures, he is likely to end with valuing his own additions above Scripture itself. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

The heart must be the principal point to which we attend in all the relations between God and our souls. What is the first thing we need, in order to be Christians? A new heart. What is the sacrifice God asks us to bring to him? A broken and a contrite heart. What is the true circumcision? The circumcision of the heart. What is genuine obedience? To obey from the heart. What is saving faith? To believe with the heart. Where ought Christ to dwell? To dwell in our hearts by faith. What is the chief request that Wisdom makes to everyone? "My son, give me your heart." ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

His disciples must therefore understand that it was right to resist all teaching that was unscriptural, and to "let alone," and forsake all instructors who persisted in it. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

If we are true followers of our Lord, we ought to be outspoken, unflinching witnesses against error. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

No false delicacy, no mock humility should make us shrink from leaving the ministrations of any minister who contradicts God's word. It is at our peril if we submit to unscriptural teaching. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

It is grace, not place, which makes people believers. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Christ's people are often less gracious and compassionate than Christ himself. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

The time of miracles is not yet past. Every conversion is a miracle. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Let us remember, that we live in a world where Pharisaism and Sadduceeism are continually striving for mastery in the Church of Christ. Some want to ADD to the Gospel, and some want to TAKE AWAY from it. Some would bury it, and some would pare it down to nothing. Some would stifle it by heaping on additions, and some would bleed it to death by subtraction from its truths. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Men forget that it is a widely different thing to believe in Christ's divine mission, when we dwell in the midst of professing Christians, and to believe in it when we dwell in the midst of hardened and unbelieving Jews. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Error about Christ's death is a disease at the heart. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

There is nothing on earth, or under the earth, that can make amends to us for the loss of our souls. There is nothing that money can buy, or man can give, to be named in comparison with our souls. The world, and all that it contains is temporal. It is all fading, perishing, and passing away. The soul is eternal. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

We often lose much by not tracing the connection between chapter and chapter in the word of God. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

There is something unspeakably solemn in the thought that the Lord Jesus knows all things. There is an eye that sees all our daily conduct. There is an ear that hears all our daily words. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him, with whom we have to do. Concealment is impossible. Hypocrisy is useless. We may deceive ministers. We may fool our family and neighbors. But the Lord sees us through and through. We cannot deceive Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Let it be our daily aim to say nothing we would not like Christ to hear, and to do nothing we would not like Christ to see. Let us measure every difficult question as to right and wrong by one simple test, "How would I behave, if Jesus was standing by my side?" Such a standard is not extravagant and absurd. It is a standard that interferes with no duty or relation of life. It interferes with nothing but sin. Happy is he that tries to realize his Lord's presence, and to do all and say all unto Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Without conversion there is no salvation. We all need an entire change of nature. Of ourselves we have neither faith, nor fear, nor love towards  God. "We must be born again." Of ourselves we are utterly unfit for dwelling in God's presence. Heaven would be no heaven to us if we were not converted. It is true of all ranks, classes, and orders of mankind. All are born in sin and children of wrath, and all, without exception, need to be born again and made new creatures. A new heart must be given to us, and a new spirit put within us. Old things must pass away, and all things must become new. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

What we all want is a conversion from pride to humility--from high thoughts of ourselves to lowly thoughts of ourselves--from self-conceit to self-abasement--from the mind of the Pharisee to the mind of the Tax-collector. A conversion of this kind we must experience, if we hope to be saved. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

No lips have ever spoken so clearly about hell as those of Christ Himself. Hardened sinners will find out, to their cost, that there is such a thing as the "wrath of the Lamb." (Rev. 6:17) ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Nothing does so much harm to the cause of religion as the quarrels of Christians. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

It is a melancholy fact that there are few Christian duties so little practiced as that of forgiveness. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

True faith in Christ, though it be but a day old, justifies a man before God as completely as the faith of him who has followed Christ for fifty years. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Christ died as a sacrifice for man's sin. He died to make reconciliation for man's iniquity. He died to purge our sins by the offering of Himself. He died to redeem us from the curse which we all deserved, and to make satisfaction to the justice of God, which must otherwise have condemned us. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

We have the Bible, and liberty for everyone to read it. We have the Gospel, and permission to every one to hear it. We have spiritual mercies in abundance, of which five hundred millions of our fellow men know nothing at all. How thankful we ought to be! ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

There is in the Gospel a complete provision for all the needs of man's soul. There is a supply of everything that can be required to relieve spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Open sin may kill its thousands, but indifference and neglect of the Gospel kill their tens of thousands. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Multitudes will find themselves in hell, not so much because they openly broke the ten commandments, as because they made light of the gospel. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

The world is never so dangerous to the Christian as when it smiles. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Love is the grand secret of true obedience to God. When we feel towards Him as children feel towards a dear father, we shall delight to do His will. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

We are born in sin, and, as sinners, are afraid of God. How then can we love Him? We can never really love Him until we are at peace with Him through Christ. When we feel our sins forgiven, and ourselves reconciled to our holy Maker, then, and not until then, we shall love Him and have the spirit of adoption. Faith in Christ is the true spring of love to God. They love most who feel most forgiven. "We love him because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Human nature would always rather lean on a visible minister, than an invisible Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Well says Olshausen, "What does not man see, or fail to see, when it serves to establish his own favorite opinions?" ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

There is a judgment before us all. Words have no meaning in the Bible, if there is none. It is mere trifling with Scripture to deny it. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

The state of things after the judgment is changeless and without end. The misery of the lost, and the blessedness of the saved are both alike forever. Let no man deceive us on this point. It is clearly revealed in Scripture. The eternity of God, and heaven, and hell, all stand on the same foundation. As surely as God is eternal, so surely is heaven an endless day without night, and hell an endless night without day. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

We can never attach too much importance to the atoning death of Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

If it really was true that all would sooner or later reach heaven, and hell sooner or later would be emptied of its inhabitants, it never could be said that it would have been "good for a man not to have been born." Hell itself would lose its terrors, if it had an end. Hell itself would be endurable, if after millions of ages there was a HOPE of freedom and of heaven. But universal salvation will find no foot-hold in Scripture. The teaching of the word of God is plain and express on the subject. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Let us not be ashamed to walk in the old paths, and to believe that there is an eternal God, an eternal heaven, and an eternal hell. Once depart from this belief, and we admit the thin edge of the wedge of skepticism, and may at last deny any doctrine of the Gospel. We may rest assured that there is no firm standing ground between a belief in the eternity of hell, and downright infidelity. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

It is the mark of faith to keep nothing back from our best Friend. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

A will unsanctified and uncontrolled, is one great cause of unhappiness in life. It may be seen in little infants. It is born with us. We all like our own way. We wish and want many things, and forget that we are entirely ignorant what is for our good, and unfit to choose for ourselves. Happy is he who has learned to have no wishes, and in every state to be content. It is a lesson which we are slow to learn, and like Paul, we must learn it not in the school of mortal man, but of Christ. (Phil. 4:11) ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

If the Gospel had been a mere invention of man, we would never have been told that one of its principal preachers was once so weak and erring, as to deny his Master. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

They hated Him, because He told them the truth. They hated Him, because He testified of their works that they were evil. They hated the light, because it made their own darkness visible. In a word, they hated Christ, because He was righteous and they were wicked, because He was holy and they were unholy--because He testified against sin, and they were determined to keep their sins and not let them go.
Let us observe this. There are few things so little believed and realized as the corruption of human nature. Men imagine that if they saw a perfect person, they would love and admire him. They flatter themselves that it is the inconsistency of professing Christians which they dislike, and not their religion. They forget that when a really perfect man was on earth, in the person of the Son of God, He was hated and put to death. That single fact goes far to prove the truth of Edwards' remark--"unconverted men would kill God, if they could get at Him."
Let us never be surprised at the wickedness there is in the world. Let us mourn over it, and labor to make it less, but let us never be surprised at its extent. There is nothing which the heart of man is not capable of conceiving, or the hand of man of doing. As long as we live, let us mistrust our own hearts. Even when renewed by the Spirit, they are still "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." (Jer. 17:9.) ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Was He scourged? It was that "through His stripes we might be healed." Was he condemned, though innocent? It was that we might be acquitted though guilty. Did He wear a crown of thorns? It was that we might wear the crown of glory. Was He stripped of His clothing? It was that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness. Was he mocked and reviled? It was that we might be honored and blessed. Was He reckoned a malefactor, and numbered among transgressors? It was that we might be reckoned innocent, and justified from all sin. Was he declared unable to save Himself? It was that He might be able to save others to the uttermost. Did He die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful of deaths? It was that we might live for evermore, and be exalted to the highest glory. Let us ponder these things well. They are worth remembering. The very key to peace is a right apprehension of the vicarious sufferings of Christ.
Let us leave the story of our Lord's passion with feelings of deep thankfulness. Our sins are many and great. But a great atonement has been made for them. There was an infinite merit in all Christ's sufferings. They were the sufferings of One who was God as well as man. Surely it is fit, right, and our bounden duty, to praise God daily because Christ has died.
Last, but not least, let us ever learn from the story of the passion, to hate sin with a great hatred. Sin was the cause of all our Savior's suffering. Our sins platted the crown of thorns. Our sins drove the nails into His hands and feet. On account of our sins His blood was shed. Surely the thought of Christ crucified should make us loathe all sin. Well says the Homily of the Passion, "Let this image of Christ crucified be always printed in our hearts. Let it stir us up to the hatred of sin, and provoke our minds to the earnest love of Almighty God." ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

We can have no stronger proof of the sinfulness of sin, or of the vicarious nature of Christ's sufferings, than His cry, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" It is a cry that should stir us up to hate sin, and encourage us to trust in Christ.  ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

Our sins may be many and great, but the payment made by our Great Substitute far outweighs them all.  ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

He says to His disciples "I am with you always even to the end of the world." It is impossible to conceive words more comforting, strengthening, cheering, and sanctifying than these. Though left alone, like orphan children in a cold, unkind world, the disciples were not to think they were deserted. Their Master would be ever "with them." Though commissioned to do a work as hard as that of Moses when sent to Pharaoh, they were not to be discouraged. Their Master would certainly be "with them." No words could be more suited to the position of those to whom they were first spoken. No words could be imagined more consolatory to believers in every age of the world. Let all true Christians lay hold on these words and keep them in mind. Christ is "with us" always. Christ is "with us," wherever we go. He came to be "Emmanuel, God with us," when He first came into the world. He declares that He is ever Emmanuel, "with us," when He comes to the end of His earthly ministry and is about to leave the world. He is with us daily to pardon and forgive--with us daily to sanctify and strengthen--with us daily to defend and keep--with us daily to lead and to guide--with us in sorrow, and with us in joy--with us in sickness, and with us in health--with us in life, and with us in death--with us in time, and with us in eternity. ~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: The Disappearance of God

The Disappearance of God: Dangerous Beliefs in the New Spiritual Openness. R. Albert Mohler Jr. 2009. Multnomah. 194 pages.

From the preface, Has God disappeared? The tragic reality is that we are living in an age that is marked by so much spiritual and theological confusion that the God of the Bible has largely disappeared from view--replaced by less imposing deities that are more amenable to the modern mind.... The situation is complicated further by the embrace of an "openness" that is not open to authentic biblical Christianity. Tolerance becomes a code word for avoiding truth, and openness means never having to make a judgment about truth at all. A rescue from this predicament would appear more hopeful but for the fact that the church has, in large part, apparently joined the revolution...far too many Christian churches flirt with doctrinal disaster. (xiii-xiv)

I first read this nonfiction book in 2009. This book covers a lot of different subjects or topics. It is not as if each and every chapter stands alone, often two or three chapters go together. But the book could almost be read in any order and used as a resource.

The chapter titles:

• A Call for Theological Triage
• Guarded Through Faith -- Assurance and the Doctrine of Perseverance
• Can We Be Good Without God?
• The Disappearance of Sin -- A Flight From Reality
• Hell Under Fire, Part 1
• Hell Under Fire, Part 2
• A Christian Vision of Beauty, Part 1
• A Christian Vision of Beauty, Part 2
• A Christian Vision of Beauty, Part 3
• What Should We Think of the Emerging Church?, Part 1
• What Should We Think of the Emerging Church?, Part 2
• A Generous Orthodoxy -- Is it Orthodox?
• It Takes One to Know One -- Liberalism as Atheism
• The Openness of God and the Future of Evangelical Theology 
• The Demise of Church Discipline, Part 1
• The Demise of Church Discipline, Part 2
• The Demise of Church Discipline, Part 3
• The Demise of Church Discipline, Part 4
• Darkness at Noon, Part 1 -- A Post Christian Age
• Darkness at Noon, Part 2 -- The Closing of the Postmodern Mind
• Darkness at Noon, Part 3 -- The Commission of a Post-Compliant Church
• Missions at Risk -- A Failure of Nerve
• The Urgency of Preaching

The opening chapters are wonderful in establishing the premise of the book: how important, how essential it is for believers to a) KNOW the essentials of the faith, know what they believe, to be grounded in the Word of God b) KNOW the difference between what is truly most important and what is of lesser importance in theology. In other words, it's important for believers to be wise and discerning, something that can't be managed without a good, solid foundation in the Word of God. Before you can hope to discern truth from lies, false teachers from sound teachers, you have to know what the Bible says, you have to know the truth--deeply, personally. But it's also crucial for those who would be discerning that they can distinguish between what matters are absolutely critical or essential--foundational--to the faith, matters that are worthy of taking a non-compromising stand on, worth defending and which matters are of lesser importance. It is important not to waste your "fight" and cause confusion and bitterness. Believers are not called to compromise on the essentials, and we're called to be as unified as possible with fellow believers. In some areas, we're called to be bold, to speak the truth, to take a stand, and in other areas we're called to keep the peace and allow for differences.

Mohler then tackles some issues facing the church today.

I would definitely recommend this one.

Favorite quotes:

God's truth is to be defended at every point and in every detail, but responsible Christians must determine which issues deserve first-rank attention in a time of theological crisis. (2)

We are charged to embrace and to teach the comprehensive truthfulness of the Christian faith as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. There are no insignificant doctrines revealed in the Bible, but there is an essential foundation of truth that undergirds the entire system of biblical truth. (7)

As Rabbi Jacob Neusner once lamented: "A country without a sense of shame or of sin does not have a sense of right or wrong, just what is useful or what you can get away with or not get away with." (20)
The disappearance of sin from our moral vocabulary is one of the hallmarks of the modern age--and of postmodern morality. These days, most people think themselves to be imperfect, leaving room for improvement--but they do not think of themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness and redemption. (25)

Genuine Christianity cannot escape dealing with sin. The gospel will not allow any evasion of sin as the universal human condition of revolt against the Creator, the God of absolute holiness and absolute love. (27)

The word is seldom uttered in many churches--even some who would describe themselves as evangelical. This is an abdication of the gospel. Where sin is not faced as sin, grace cannot be grace. What need have men and women of atonement when they are told that their deepest problem is something less than what the Bible explicitly teaches? Weak teaching on sin leads to cheap grace, and neither leads to the gospel. (28)

How is it that so many evangelicals--including some of the most respected leaders in the movement--now reject the traditional doctrine of hell in favor of annihilationism or some other option? The answer must surely come down to the challenge of theodicy--the challenge to defend God's goodness against modern indictments.
Modern secularism demands that anyone who would speak for God must now defend Him. The challenge of theodicy is primarily to defend God against the problem of evil. The societies that gave to the decades of megadeath, the Holocaust, the abortion explosion, and institutionalized terror will now demand that God answer their questions and redefine Himself according to their dictates. (35)

The first issue is a changed view of God. The biblical vision of God has been rejected by the culture as too restrictive of human freedom and offensive to human sensibilities. God's love has been redefined so that it is no longer holy. God's sovereignty has been reconceived so that human autonomy is undisturbed. In recent years even God's omniscience has been redefined to mean that God perfectly knows all that He can perfectly know, but He cannot possibly know a future based on free human decisions. Evangelical revisionists promote an understanding of divine love that is never coercive and would disallow any thought that God would send impenitent sinners to eternal punishment in the fires of hell. They are seeking to rescue God from the bad reputation He picked up by associating with theologians who for centuries taught the traditional doctrine. God is just not like that, they reassure. He would never sentence anyone--however guilty--to eternal torment and anguish. (35-36)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible