"The Cross He Bore" by Fredrick S. Leahy

As Easter approaches (it's on April 12), it would be an appropriate idea to focus your thoughts on Christ and His work on the cross.

I've found that "The Cross He Bore" by Fredrick S. Leahy has been a wonderful resource in centering my thoughts on the cross.


Additionally, Tim Challies is posting a passage a day in the (already started) two weeks leading up to Easter.

Considering it's only about $8 with shipping, I'd buy it (and maybe a few other books). Though in the economy, it's perfectly alright if you can't. I'm sure that you already have Bibles, which means that you can read through the Gospels to the same effect. If you don't have a Bible, there's always BibleGateway.com, an online Bible.

God is good and He is merciful and gracious. Let's work to remember that and glorify Him as we approach Easter Sunday.


Elliot

John MacArthur on Mark 12:38-44

I'm fairly certain that all of you have read the following passage:

And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:38-44, ESV)

Usually this passage is interpreted to say that God wants us to give everything. Or that the widow is an example of how we should live, that she had the right heart and she gave proportionally much.

John MacArthur would beg to differ. Download his sermon (2008, general session 3) on this story and see what he has to say. I have to tell you that it's not an interpretation I've heard before, but now agree with immensely.


Elliot

P.S. Why do I tout the Shepherd's Conference so much? Here are 10 reasons.

10 Reasons to Listen to the Shepherd's Conference

10 reasons why you should listen to sermons from the Shepherd's Conference (free registration required, but completely worth it):

1. If you've listened to "Doulos: Slave" by John MacArthur (transcript also available, but audio highly recommended; 2008 general session 9), then you know how good it is. You also know it came from the Shepherd's Conference. Every other message is as good as that one.
2. The sermons go very in-depth. (Which would explain why they're all an hour long.)
3. The sermons are all free.
4. It's not just for people in shepherding/leadership positions. The conference may be geared toward pastors, but laypeople can also learn a great deal.
5. John MacArthur will make you laugh. Need I say more?
6. John MacArthur has a pen collection? (2008, general session 5 - Q&A)
7. It will help restore your vision of church growth from a biblical standpoint. (2008, general session 1)
8. Learn about the Bible and the role it plays in our Christian walk. (2008, general sessions 6 and 7)
9. The sermons will be more informative than this list.
10. You can learn about justification and atonement, two very important doctrines. (2007, general session 9)

So why wait? The weekend is upon us. Listen now.


Elliot

Gospel Verses?

I had the chance over the weekend to sit in on a sermon and a Q&A session with a senior pastor of a church in Hawaii. He was trained in a Reformed Presbyterian seminary before also attending a Baptist seminary.

When I submitted the following question:

In your sermon today, you rightly pointed out that salvation is a continuous experience, culminating in glorification in heaven. However, you did not speak much—if at all—about the gospel. So, what is the gospel and what doctrines about God and man have you learned from it? (Please use Scriptural support for your answer.)

I got the following [barely abbreviated] response:

I think that the gospel can be most summed up by one verse—John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Then he spent the majority of the time addressing the fact that he did not touch on the gospel because he expected the majority of the congregation to be more mature Christians.

I have no problem with the fact that he thinks most of the congregation consists of mature Christians. I don't even mind the fact that he picked John 3:16 for Scriptural support. Cliched as it is, it does capture the gospel nicely. But if I ask for a gospel presentation and all I get is John 3:16 (no explanation of the verse; meaning no explanations of grace, law, justice, mercy, and love; as obvious as they appear to us Christians in the verse), then I start to have issues. So here are a few questions that you can respond to in comments:

1. Why don't people ever refer to Romans 3:21-26 or 2 Corinthians 5:21 when reciting Scripture for the gospel?
2. Would you be a little worried if this was your senior pastor? / Is this a little worrisome that he chooses to give a gospel presentation like the one described?
   
3. Am I being too hard? / Would you need to know more about him and his motive for answering in such a way before answering question #2?
   

Elliot

P.S. Please, audience interaction is much appreciated. Feel free to leave comments.

Book Review: "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey

Grace is a scandal. It strips the best of their merit and awards the worst something they don't deserve. However, on closer thought, we must realize that without the unfair thing we call grace, we would be stranded and subject to the wrath of a just God.

Christians must look at that grace and respond in grace to others. If not, how can we say that we have experienced such grace?

Book: What's So Amazing About Grace?
Author: Philip Yancey
Rating: 4.5/5
Recommendation: teens and up (mention of prostitutes, renting of children for prostitution, alcoholism, drugs)

Consensus: A solid book that shows the grace of the cross, but also exhortations to show the same grace to others. A few minor stones to swallow that do not detract much from the overall message.

The first half of the book is absolutely wonderful. Part one of four expounds the ridiculous nature of God's grace. God looks at us, who have sinned so greatly, and still gives us the righteousness of His son. Any Christian can tell you how amazing that is, that God would save wretches like us. It's amazing. It's the gospel. And Philip Yancey reminds all of us how much that is truly worth, especially to those that do not have it. Those that don't have it long for it, and sometimes we sit complacently on it without doing anything.

Yancey continues with his winning streak through part two, where he shows that Christians are called to forgive because we have been forgiven much. We are encouraged to show grace to others because we have been shown grace. He shows us numerous stories that are amazing because the focal point is the demonstration of grace—during the Soviet Union, after the Holocaust, and more. He rightly shows that grace is a rare thing in this fallen world. We can stand out by showing more of it.

With that last thought in mind, Yancey transitions into part three. The first part of it talks about showing grace to the unwanted. He devotes a whole chapter to the "homosexual divide", where Christians shut out homosexuals and homosexuals loathe Christians. This chapter, while a bit hard to swallow because many of the figures homosexuals hate are men we are happy to call brothers (such as John MacArthur), still makes an excellent point that showing the grace of God as demonstrated in our lives means we must show it to pro-gay, pro-choice, anti-Christians.

Then he goes on to talk about legalism. It is well-known that Southern Baptists and other denominations have, through out history, imposed external obligations and rules in an effort to keep their people in line and acting like Christians. But it is not about being externally compliant. Yancey points out that the Pharisees did this better than anyone, and were lambasted by Jesus for it. Why? Because they were disobedient on the inside. Legalism fails to change anyone internally. Only God's grace can do that.

He closes in part four with by remind us that grace can break down barriers, it can reform nations, it can change people. Yes, we have been called to show grace, and it is an added bonus that it (being human grace) has such regenerative power.

(My minor nitpicks that I'm willing to overlook: He seems to endorse people such as Tony Campolo and Richard Foster, whom I have theological differences with. To balance this out he quotes from Reformed scholars such as Gresham Machen.

However, my greatest issue would be that he focuses so much on sharing human grace and forgiveness that he neglects to tell us to share God's grace. Bummer. Regardless, it's a great book. And any other issues I have with this book I can't remember. I should have written them down. Oh, well. I'll add to the review as I remember.)

February Sale at Sovereign Grace

Through the whole month of February, you can get some amazing deals over at the Sovereign Grace store. I've bought a couple CDs from them ("Psalms" and "Come Weary Saints"—both highly recommended), and can't wait for this sale so I can finally get some books and CDs I've been waiting to get.

If you're interested, you can read more about prices and markdowns and such.

Just a couple more days until the sale...


Elliot

Sermons, Anybody?

I have two awesome discoveries to share with you. (Of course, use of the word "awesome" is subjective, but the second one is, for me, truly awesome.)

1. D.A. Carson MP3s
D.A. Carson, a well-known Bible teacher and author of numerous great books, is also an avid preacher. A one Andy Naselli has made many of those sermons—over 400 of them in MP3 audio files and some in MV4 video files—available to us. Read what he has to say about this massive undertaking (for which I am very thankful)—the post includes a link to the archive site. (When you get to the archive site, you can also download sermons from many other wonderful preachers. Check it out!)

And now my exciting news... (drumroll please)

2. Shepherd's Conference MP3s
The awesome and wonderful folks at the Shepherd's Conference website have decided to... (more drumroll please)

... make all past sessions and seminars available as free MP3 downloads! That's about 40 downloads per conference (approx. 10 general sessions plus 30 seminars) times 8 conferences for a whopping 320 amazing downloads!

If you aren't as excited as I am, there's nothing wrong with that. I just happen to like the Shepherd's Conference a lot. If you've never heard any of the messages (like "Doulos: Slave" by John MacArthur, 2008 general session 9), now would be a good a time as any to put some of their sermons on your iPod or otherwise preferred method of listening.

Enjoy!


Elliot