We are talking about the wonder of human beings in the womb, and the moral question of whether it is right to kill them before they are born. Until recently, there never has been any doubt in the mind of the Christian church that such killing is wrong. Among the earliest sources for Christian thinking outside the New Testament (the beginning of the second century), the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas both forbid abortion.
You shall do no murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not corrupt boys, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not deal in magic, you shall do no sorcery, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill them when born. (Didache 2:2; cf. Epistle of Barnabas 19:5)
Why did the early church, and all succeeding generations of Christians, come to this conclusion—that it is forbidden to take the life of the unborn? We have already seen the root of this conviction: When a human life comes into existence something magnificent has0Ahappened9 4created in the image of God, to live forever.
God Gives, God Takes Away (Job 1:21)
Another pointer for the church was that the Bible says God has sovereign rights over birth and death. When Job’s children were killed by a wind that destroyed their house, Job fell on his face and worshipped God and said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). The Lord gave—they were conceived and born by God’s act—that’s his prerogative. The Lord took—that’s his prerogative. Not ours. So the church has always shrunk back from intruding on the rights of God. He gives; he takes. Birth and death are his to grant, not ours.
God Forms Persons (Psalm 139:13)
Another pointer was the profound conviction that what is happening in the womb is God’s unique and sacred person-forming work. Psalm 139:13 puts this in terms of God’s very hands-on work in the womb: “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” This is God’ s doing. Not ours.=2 0It is his to make. And his to end. (See also Job 31:13-15.)
A Glimpse into the Womb (Luke 1)
But the pointer for the church that I wanted to focus on today is a glimpse into the womb that we get at several places in the Bible. Let’s look at Luke 1. The situation is that Elizabeth and Mary are both given a child in the womb. Both pregnancies are miraculous. Elizabeth because she is too old, and she had always been barren. She becomes pregnant with John the Baptist. And Mary, because she is a virgin. But the Holy Spirit comes upon her, and she becomes pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God, who would one day die for our sins and rise again.
Verse 24: “After these days [Zechariah’s] wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden.” Then in verse 26, Luke says, “In the sixth month [that is, the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from Go d to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin.” So when Mary becomes pregnant Elizabeth is about 24 weeks along in her pregnancy.
Nothing Impossible with God
In verses 36-37, the angel says to Mary, to encourage her that her impossible pregnancy really can come true, “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” So be encouraged, Mary, nothing is too hard for God. Witness the pregnancy of Elizabeth. O how often in these circumstances of pregnancy and infertility we need to be reminded, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” He gives, he takes, he provides in abundance, he sustains in loss.
When the angel had gone, and Mary knew what was happening to her, she made a beeline to Elizabeth. What a consultation this would be: two of the most important and impossible pregnancies in the world. Look at verses 39-44:
In those days Mary arose and w ent with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” (Luke 1:39-45)
Now, of course, none of this is being written with abortion in mind. That’s not the point. The point is: How did texts like these shape the way the church thought about the unborn? What were the assumptions here and the implications here?
Notice two things:
1. The Word Baby
First, the word baby=2 0in verses 41 and 44. Verse 41: “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Ma ry, the baby leaped in her womb.” Verse 44: “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” That word baby is not a specialized word for the unborn. It has no connotations of “embryo” or “fetus.” It is the ordinary word for baby (Greek brefos). And what makes this crystal clear and significant is the way it’s used in Luke 2:16. Here in Luke 1, it refers to John the Baptist in the womb. In Luke 2, it refers to Jesus in the manger. Luke 2:16: “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby (brefos) lying in a manger.” This is exactly the same word for baby.
What the Christian church has seen in this is that what the persons Jesus and John were outside the womb they were already inside the womb. Jesus was the God-man in Mary’s womb. When the Holy Spirit (according to Luke 1:35) caused Mary to be pregnant, she was not pregnant with anything less than the Son of God. The baby inside was the same as the baby outside.
Today science has only made that easier to believe, not harder. Ultrasound technology has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Yet virtually all abortions happen later in the pregnancy than this date.
2. Treated as a Person
The second thing to notice here in Luke 1 is the way the baby in Elizabeth’s womb responded to Mary who was carrying the Son of God. Verse 41: “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.” Then in verse 44, Elizabeth interprets that leap like this: “Behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” And Luke says that Elizabeth said this because she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Verses 41-42: “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed . . .” In other word s, the Holy Spirit prompted her to say that this leap of the baby in her womb was a leap of joy.
To increase the significance of that leap even more, consider what an angel said to Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah before his son was conceived. In Luke 1:14-15, the angel said, “And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” So that leap is not only a leap of joy but a leap of Holy-Spirit-inspired joy.
Only Persons Are Filled with the Spirit
What shall we make of this? Never in the Bible is any animal said to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Never does the Bible say that a person’s arm or leg or kidney or skin is filled with the Spirit. Tissue is not filled with the Holy Spirit. Only persons are filled with the Spirit.
What Luke is doing—and he is doing20it as the spokesman of Christ—is treating this child in the womb as a person. He uses the word baby which he later uses for Jesus in the manger. He uses the word joy, which is what persons feel. He uses the phrase “filled with the Spirit” which is what God does to persons. He simply assumes he is dealing with a human person in the womb. And therefore so should we.
Amazed at the Gift of Children
The beginning of human life is a magnificent thing. It is the work of God. It is the forming of a human person in God’s own image who will live forever. Let there be at Bethlehem and beyond, a joyful and grateful reverence for the gift of human life from conception to eternity. Never cease to be amazed at the gift of life—the gift of children.
- John Piper
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wonder in the Womb, Pt. 1
The aim of this is to awaken and intensify your joyful, grateful reverence for the gift of human life from conception to eternity. The beginning of human life is a magnificent thing. There is nothing else like it. Only humans come into being day after day, created in the image of God, and live forever—with God or in hell.
There is no evidence in the Bible or anywhere else that any animals come into being with souls, or that they live after they die. There is no evidence in the Bible or anywhere else that angels are being created today. The only being in all the universe who keeps on originating and then living forever in the image of God is man.
God’s Image After the Fall and Flood
In the beginning, Genesis 1:27 says, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Then Genesis 5:5 says, “Adam . . . fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.8 0 This was to show that the image and likeness of God is passed on from generation to generation. It was not just the first pair who were in the image of God.
Then in Genesis 9:6, Noah is warned by God, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Even after all the wickedness, which was punished by the flood, the image of God is retained in man. Damaged, distorted, but stupendously real.
God’s Image Today
Then James 3:9-10 says, “With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” From the first man and woman to each succeeding man and woman down to our own day, when human life begins the image of God begins. Eternal existence begins. That is why I say that the beginning of human life is a magnificent thing.
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet y ou have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.” (Psalms 8:3-6)
The beginning of human life is a magnificent thing—it is the only newly originating life in the universe that is in the image of God. It is the only newly originating life in the universe that lasts forever. O what amazed and happy reverence we should feel for the beginning of every human life!
A New President, Trapped and Blinded
As everyone knows, our new President, over whom we have rejoiced, does not share this reverence for the beginning of human life. He is trapped and blinded by a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he said, “We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”To which I say . . .
No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women’s health; you are authorizing the destruction of half a million tin y women every year.
No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for a million helpless people every year.
No, Mr. President, killing our children does not cease to be killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. Call it what you will, they are dead, and we have killed them. And you, Mr. President, would keep the killing legal.
Some of us wept with joy over the inauguration of the first African-American President. We will pray for you. And may God grant that there arises in your heart an amazed and happy reverence for the beginning of every human life.
- John Piper
There is no evidence in the Bible or anywhere else that any animals come into being with souls, or that they live after they die. There is no evidence in the Bible or anywhere else that angels are being created today. The only being in all the universe who keeps on originating and then living forever in the image of God is man.
God’s Image After the Fall and Flood
In the beginning, Genesis 1:27 says, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Then Genesis 5:5 says, “Adam . . . fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.8 0 This was to show that the image and likeness of God is passed on from generation to generation. It was not just the first pair who were in the image of God.
Then in Genesis 9:6, Noah is warned by God, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Even after all the wickedness, which was punished by the flood, the image of God is retained in man. Damaged, distorted, but stupendously real.
God’s Image Today
Then James 3:9-10 says, “With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” From the first man and woman to each succeeding man and woman down to our own day, when human life begins the image of God begins. Eternal existence begins. That is why I say that the beginning of human life is a magnificent thing.
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet y ou have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.” (Psalms 8:3-6)
The beginning of human life is a magnificent thing—it is the only newly originating life in the universe that is in the image of God. It is the only newly originating life in the universe that lasts forever. O what amazed and happy reverence we should feel for the beginning of every human life!
A New President, Trapped and Blinded
As everyone knows, our new President, over whom we have rejoiced, does not share this reverence for the beginning of human life. He is trapped and blinded by a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he said, “We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”To which I say . . .
No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women’s health; you are authorizing the destruction of half a million tin y women every year.
No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for a million helpless people every year.
No, Mr. President, killing our children does not cease to be killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. Call it what you will, they are dead, and we have killed them. And you, Mr. President, would keep the killing legal.
Some of us wept with joy over the inauguration of the first African-American President. We will pray for you. And may God grant that there arises in your heart an amazed and happy reverence for the beginning of every human life.
- John Piper
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Losing our Expectancy
Possibly one of the most devastating things that can happen to us as Christians is that we cease to expect anything to happen. I am not sure but that this is not one of our greatest troubles today. We come to our services and they are orderly and nice ‒ then we come, we go ‒ and sometimes they are timed almost to the minute, and there it is. But that is not Christianity, my friend. Where is the Lord of glory? Where is the One sitting by the well? Are we expecting Him? Do we anticipate this? Are we open to it? Are we aware that we are ever facing this glorious possibility of having the greatest surprise of our life?
Or let me put it like this. You may feel and say ‒ as many do ‒ ‘I was converted and became a Christian. I’ve grown ‒ yes, I’ve grown in knowledge, I’ve been reading books, I’ve been listening to sermons, but I’ve arrived now at a sort of peak and all I do is maintain that. For the rest of my life I will just go on like this.’
Now, my friend, you must get rid of that attitude; you must get rid of it once and for ever. That is ‘religion’, it is not Christianity. This is Christianity: the Lord appears! Suddenly, in the midst of the drudgery and the routine and the sameness and the dullness and the drabness, unexpectedly, surprisingly, He meets with yo u and says s omething to you that changes the whole of your life and your outlook and lifts you to a level that you had never conceived could be possible for you.
Do not let the devil persuade you that you have received all you are going to get, still less that you received all you were ever going to receive when you were converted. That has been a popular teaching, even among evangelicals. You get everything at your conversion, it is said, including baptism with the Spirit, and nothing further ever. Oh, do not believe it; it is not true. It is not true to the teaching of the Scriptures, and it is not true in the experience of the saints running down the centuries. There is always this glorious possibility of meeting with Him in a new and a dynamic way.
- D. M. Lloyd-Jones
Or let me put it like this. You may feel and say ‒ as many do ‒ ‘I was converted and became a Christian. I’ve grown ‒ yes, I’ve grown in knowledge, I’ve been reading books, I’ve been listening to sermons, but I’ve arrived now at a sort of peak and all I do is maintain that. For the rest of my life I will just go on like this.’
Now, my friend, you must get rid of that attitude; you must get rid of it once and for ever. That is ‘religion’, it is not Christianity. This is Christianity: the Lord appears! Suddenly, in the midst of the drudgery and the routine and the sameness and the dullness and the drabness, unexpectedly, surprisingly, He meets with yo u and says s omething to you that changes the whole of your life and your outlook and lifts you to a level that you had never conceived could be possible for you.
Do not let the devil persuade you that you have received all you are going to get, still less that you received all you were ever going to receive when you were converted. That has been a popular teaching, even among evangelicals. You get everything at your conversion, it is said, including baptism with the Spirit, and nothing further ever. Oh, do not believe it; it is not true. It is not true to the teaching of the Scriptures, and it is not true in the experience of the saints running down the centuries. There is always this glorious possibility of meeting with Him in a new and a dynamic way.
- D. M. Lloyd-Jones
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
In Search of an Honest Athiest
Do honest atheists exist? By honest, I don't mean atheists who pay their taxes and keep their promises and choose not to steal or lie. What I mean in asking the question is whether or not there exists an atheist who honestly believes there is no God.
There are, undoubtedly, many who claim to be atheists. They insist, often loudly and angrily, that there is no God and that religion is the cause of virtually all human pain and suffering. The only ultimate reality, so they say, is matter. Physical substance, whether helium or hormones, whether water or fire, is all there is. Everything can be explained or accounted for in terms of the existence and interaction of material substance of one sort or another. In other words, there is no spiritual realm. There are no angels. There is no immaterial soul in man, and above all, there is no "god" or deity or divinity or supernatural being of any sort.
So I'll ask again: do honest atheists exist? You may think that to be a silly question given the notoriety of late among such prominent professing atheists as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, just to name a few. But the operative word here is professing. Yes, many profess to be atheists and make a pretty good living writing books about it or appearing on talk shows or teaching in our universities and colleges. But my question is again whether or not these people, in the depth and quiet of their own hearts, honestly believe there is no God.
I contend they do not. I contend that they are living and speaking in denial of what they know to be true. I contend that they are laboring to persuade themselves of what is indelibly and inescapably inscribed on their hearts: that there is a God and that they are morally accountable to him.
No one has made the case for the non-existence of honest atheists, with greater clarity and force, than John Calvin. "There is within the human mind," said Calvin, "and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity. . . . To prevent anyone from taking refuge in the pretense of ignorance, God himself has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty."
Before we turn to Calvin's biblical defense of this truth, let's hear him make the point again. This sense or awareness of divinity which can never be effaced "is engraved upon men's minds" and "is naturally born in all" and "is fixed deep within, as it were in the very marrow." No matter how vocal their denials or sarcastic their laughter or loud their derision, "the worm of conscience, sharper than any cauterizing iron, gnaws away within." Although many "strive with every nerve" to suppress this truth, "it is not a doctrine that must first be learned in school" but one of which "each of us is master from his mother's womb and which nature itself permits no one to forget."
But how do we know that all men know there is a God? On what grounds do we refuse to honor their claim to being atheists? Calvin points us in two directions. Not only has God "sowed in men's minds that seed of religion," what we often refer to as conscience (see Romans 2:12-16), but he has also "revealed himself and daily discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the universe. As a consequence, men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see him." Upon all his works in the natural order of creation "he has engraved unmistakable marks of his glory, so clear and so prominent that even unlettered and stupid folk cannot plead the excuse of ignorance."
I can't emphasize strongly enough that although such knowledge is inescapable, it is inadequate to impart eternal life or the forgiveness of sins. Although countless burning lamps shine for us in the workmanship of the universe, "although they bathe us wholly in their radiance, yet they can of themselves in no way lead us into the right path." God's existence and eternal power and divine nature are made "plain" to all men, rendering them "without excuse" (Romans 1:20). But we do not have "eyes" to behold his saving splendor "unless they be illumined by the inner revelation of God through faith."
The fault is not with what God has revealed. There is no shortcoming or defect in his handiwork. The failure is in us. The dullness and stupidity and delusion are wholly ours. The problem isn't that mankind lacks sufficient evidence for the existence of God. The problem isn't that the evidence suffers from lack of clarity or beauty or falls short in its persuasive power.
The problem is that mankind, apart from Christ and his regenerating grace, despises what he sees. The problem is that we hate what we know. The problem isn't that men look upon creation or contemplate the conviction of their own conscience and turn away saying, "It's not enough; proof is lacking; it doesn't add up; God doesn't exist." The problem is that they willfully and selfishly and knowingly loathe the God whom they see and know to exist and would rather indulge their own fleshly lusts and worship their own souls than to honor and give thanks to the God of glory (cf. Romans 1:21-25).
Calvin has read Paul rightly. His conclusions are therefore on the mark. There is no such thing as an honest atheist. There are those aplenty who with their mouths scoff at the notion of God and formulate their arguments to "prove" he does not exist. Perhaps there are even some who from years of willful rebellion and self-induced hardening of heart have anesthetized their souls to God's powerful presence. Perhaps there are some (many?) whom God has simply "given over" (Romans 1:24,26,28) to the deeper cultivation of their self-delusion, some (many?) who have degenerated to such a degree that they've rendered themselves impervious to the clearest and most persuasive of evidence. But in any and every case, they are still "without excuse" (Romans 1:20). The plea of ignorance will not suffice at the final bar of judgment.
Do not go in search of an honest atheist. You won't find one. Turn, instead, to the heavens above which "declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1a). Turn, instead, to the sky that "proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1b). "Lift up your eyes on high and see" the trillions and trillions of stars and worship the One who "brings out their host by number" and calls "them all by name," whose power alone sustains them so that "not one is missing" (Isaiah 40:26). And then worship!
And then share these glorious truths with a "professing" atheist and direct him to the revelation of Christ in Scripture and pray that the God who said "Let light shine out of darkness" might shine in his heart "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
- Sam Storms
There are, undoubtedly, many who claim to be atheists. They insist, often loudly and angrily, that there is no God and that religion is the cause of virtually all human pain and suffering. The only ultimate reality, so they say, is matter. Physical substance, whether helium or hormones, whether water or fire, is all there is. Everything can be explained or accounted for in terms of the existence and interaction of material substance of one sort or another. In other words, there is no spiritual realm. There are no angels. There is no immaterial soul in man, and above all, there is no "god" or deity or divinity or supernatural being of any sort.
So I'll ask again: do honest atheists exist? You may think that to be a silly question given the notoriety of late among such prominent professing atheists as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, just to name a few. But the operative word here is professing. Yes, many profess to be atheists and make a pretty good living writing books about it or appearing on talk shows or teaching in our universities and colleges. But my question is again whether or not these people, in the depth and quiet of their own hearts, honestly believe there is no God.
I contend they do not. I contend that they are living and speaking in denial of what they know to be true. I contend that they are laboring to persuade themselves of what is indelibly and inescapably inscribed on their hearts: that there is a God and that they are morally accountable to him.
No one has made the case for the non-existence of honest atheists, with greater clarity and force, than John Calvin. "There is within the human mind," said Calvin, "and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity. . . . To prevent anyone from taking refuge in the pretense of ignorance, God himself has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty."
Before we turn to Calvin's biblical defense of this truth, let's hear him make the point again. This sense or awareness of divinity which can never be effaced "is engraved upon men's minds" and "is naturally born in all" and "is fixed deep within, as it were in the very marrow." No matter how vocal their denials or sarcastic their laughter or loud their derision, "the worm of conscience, sharper than any cauterizing iron, gnaws away within." Although many "strive with every nerve" to suppress this truth, "it is not a doctrine that must first be learned in school" but one of which "each of us is master from his mother's womb and which nature itself permits no one to forget."
But how do we know that all men know there is a God? On what grounds do we refuse to honor their claim to being atheists? Calvin points us in two directions. Not only has God "sowed in men's minds that seed of religion," what we often refer to as conscience (see Romans 2:12-16), but he has also "revealed himself and daily discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the universe. As a consequence, men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see him." Upon all his works in the natural order of creation "he has engraved unmistakable marks of his glory, so clear and so prominent that even unlettered and stupid folk cannot plead the excuse of ignorance."
I can't emphasize strongly enough that although such knowledge is inescapable, it is inadequate to impart eternal life or the forgiveness of sins. Although countless burning lamps shine for us in the workmanship of the universe, "although they bathe us wholly in their radiance, yet they can of themselves in no way lead us into the right path." God's existence and eternal power and divine nature are made "plain" to all men, rendering them "without excuse" (Romans 1:20). But we do not have "eyes" to behold his saving splendor "unless they be illumined by the inner revelation of God through faith."
The fault is not with what God has revealed. There is no shortcoming or defect in his handiwork. The failure is in us. The dullness and stupidity and delusion are wholly ours. The problem isn't that mankind lacks sufficient evidence for the existence of God. The problem isn't that the evidence suffers from lack of clarity or beauty or falls short in its persuasive power.
The problem is that mankind, apart from Christ and his regenerating grace, despises what he sees. The problem is that we hate what we know. The problem isn't that men look upon creation or contemplate the conviction of their own conscience and turn away saying, "It's not enough; proof is lacking; it doesn't add up; God doesn't exist." The problem is that they willfully and selfishly and knowingly loathe the God whom they see and know to exist and would rather indulge their own fleshly lusts and worship their own souls than to honor and give thanks to the God of glory (cf. Romans 1:21-25).
Calvin has read Paul rightly. His conclusions are therefore on the mark. There is no such thing as an honest atheist. There are those aplenty who with their mouths scoff at the notion of God and formulate their arguments to "prove" he does not exist. Perhaps there are even some who from years of willful rebellion and self-induced hardening of heart have anesthetized their souls to God's powerful presence. Perhaps there are some (many?) whom God has simply "given over" (Romans 1:24,26,28) to the deeper cultivation of their self-delusion, some (many?) who have degenerated to such a degree that they've rendered themselves impervious to the clearest and most persuasive of evidence. But in any and every case, they are still "without excuse" (Romans 1:20). The plea of ignorance will not suffice at the final bar of judgment.
Do not go in search of an honest atheist. You won't find one. Turn, instead, to the heavens above which "declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1a). Turn, instead, to the sky that "proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1b). "Lift up your eyes on high and see" the trillions and trillions of stars and worship the One who "brings out their host by number" and calls "them all by name," whose power alone sustains them so that "not one is missing" (Isaiah 40:26). And then worship!
And then share these glorious truths with a "professing" atheist and direct him to the revelation of Christ in Scripture and pray that the God who said "Let light shine out of darkness" might shine in his heart "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
- Sam Storms
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Replacing Lies with Truth
For all the negative things we hear or believe, which are often deception and lies coming against our minds, God has an answer of truth for it.
You say, "It's impossible."
God says: "All thing are possible". (Luke 18:27)
You say, "I'm too tired."
God says: "I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28-20)
You say, "Nobody really loves me."
God says: "I love you." (John 3:16 - John 13:34)
You say, "I can't go on."
God says: "My grace is sufficient." (II Cor. 12:9 - Psalm 91:15)
You say, "I can't figure things out."
God says: "I will direct your steps." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
You say, "I can't do it."
God says: "You can do all things through Christ." (Phil 4:13)
You say, "It's not worth it."
God says: "It will be worth it." (Romans 8:28)
You say, "I can't forgive myself."
God says: "I forgive you." (I John 1:9 - Romans 8:1)
You say, "I can't manage."
God says: "I will supply all your needs." (Phil 4:19)
You say, "I'm afraid."
God says: "I have not given you a spirit of fear." (II Tim. 1:7)
You say, "I'm always worried and frustrated."
God says: "Cast all your cares on me." (I Peter 5:7)
You say, "I don't have enough faith."
God says: "I've given everyone a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)
You say, "I'm not smart enough."
God says: "I give you wisdom." (I Cor. 1:30)
You say, "I feel all alone.."
God says: "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Heb. 13:5)
It is always a choice of either believing the feelings, emotions, and lies that come against our minds
or believing the truth of what God has said.
You say, "It's impossible."
God says: "All thing are possible". (Luke 18:27)
You say, "I'm too tired."
God says: "I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28-20)
You say, "Nobody really loves me."
God says: "I love you." (John 3:16 - John 13:34)
You say, "I can't go on."
God says: "My grace is sufficient." (II Cor. 12:9 - Psalm 91:15)
You say, "I can't figure things out."
God says: "I will direct your steps." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
You say, "I can't do it."
God says: "You can do all things through Christ." (Phil 4:13)
You say, "It's not worth it."
God says: "It will be worth it." (Romans 8:28)
You say, "I can't forgive myself."
God says: "I forgive you." (I John 1:9 - Romans 8:1)
You say, "I can't manage."
God says: "I will supply all your needs." (Phil 4:19)
You say, "I'm afraid."
God says: "I have not given you a spirit of fear." (II Tim. 1:7)
You say, "I'm always worried and frustrated."
God says: "Cast all your cares on me." (I Peter 5:7)
You say, "I don't have enough faith."
God says: "I've given everyone a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)
You say, "I'm not smart enough."
God says: "I give you wisdom." (I Cor. 1:30)
You say, "I feel all alone.."
God says: "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Heb. 13:5)
It is always a choice of either believing the feelings, emotions, and lies that come against our minds
or believing the truth of what God has said.
Monday, January 26, 2009
All You Can Possibly Need or Desire
Child of God, all that you can possibly need or desire is treasured up in Christ!
You have . . .
no cross that Christ cannot bear,
no sorrow that Christ cannot alleviate,
no corruption that Christ cannot subdue,
no guilt that Christ cannot remove,
no sin that Christ cannot pardon,
no need that Christ cannot supply!
Lift up your heads, you who are poor, needy and discouraged! Lift up your heads, and rejoice that Christ is ALL you need in this valley of tears--All you will need in the deepest sorrow--All you need under the heaviest affliction--All you need in sickness--All you will need in the hour of death--All you will need in the day of judgment.
Indeed, Christ is IN ALL too.
He is in all your salvation.
He is in all your mercies
He is in all your trials.
He is in all your consolations.
He is in all your afflictions.
What more can you want or desire? A Father who loves you as the apple of His eye and a full Savior to whom you can go moment by moment!
"Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16
- Octavius Winslow
You have . . .
no cross that Christ cannot bear,
no sorrow that Christ cannot alleviate,
no corruption that Christ cannot subdue,
no guilt that Christ cannot remove,
no sin that Christ cannot pardon,
no need that Christ cannot supply!
Lift up your heads, you who are poor, needy and discouraged! Lift up your heads, and rejoice that Christ is ALL you need in this valley of tears--All you will need in the deepest sorrow--All you need under the heaviest affliction--All you need in sickness--All you will need in the hour of death--All you will need in the day of judgment.
Indeed, Christ is IN ALL too.
He is in all your salvation.
He is in all your mercies
He is in all your trials.
He is in all your consolations.
He is in all your afflictions.
What more can you want or desire? A Father who loves you as the apple of His eye and a full Savior to whom you can go moment by moment!
"Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16
- Octavius Winslow
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Time is A Jewel Worth More than a World!
Time is not yours to dispose of as you please; it is a glorious talent, which men must be accountable for, as well as any other talent. Of all talents, time is the hardest to improve well. Ah, beloved, do you not need to improve your use of time, who have much work to do in so short a time: your souls to save, a God to honor, a Christ to exalt, a hell to escape, a race to run, a crown to win, temptations to withstand, corruptions to conquer, afflictions to bear, mercies to improve, and your generation to serve!
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:1
- Thomas Brooks
Time-- We will have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but we only have a short, brief window of time to win them.
- Amy Carmichael
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:1
- Thomas Brooks
Time-- We will have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but we only have a short, brief window of time to win them.
- Amy Carmichael
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