Great post by Justin Taylor!
Levels of Doctrine
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Saint Patrick's Legacy
Today is March 17th, 2010. Every year on this day we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. This celebration usually consists of drinking copius amounts of green beer and sometimes passing out in the parking lot outside the local pub. So this year, before imbibing too much lime colored ale, let's take five minutes to consider the heart of St. Patrick, on this the day which bears his name. Would he have enjoyed a pint of ale from the local brewery? Probably. But that was not what got him up in the morning and it certainly was not the legacy he would have hoped to leave behind.
Born a wealthy in Roman Britain, Patrick became a rebel in his youth, a slave in his young adult years, a Christian in his desperation, and a pastor and a missionary for the last two thirds of his life. He was a man of the cross, who lived his life, poured himself out, for love of Jesus and the witness of the Gospel. He went to the hardest place he could imagine, Ireland, the land in which he was previously enslaved and there preached the good news of Jesus Christ. He gloried in the message of the Cross and saw tribe after tribe of the "barbarian" Celts come to know Jesus.
The great irony in our celebration of St. Patrick's day is that we have gotten it backawards. We remember the name of Patrick, all the while acting like the pre-Patrick Celts of Ireland. Patrick did not spend last 40 years of his life on the Emerald Isle for the beer, he did for Jesus and His namesake. He lived so Jesus would be glorified and the people (of Ireland) would see His glory. In his own words, "I am a servant of Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Saint Patrick's Breastplate
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Born a wealthy in Roman Britain, Patrick became a rebel in his youth, a slave in his young adult years, a Christian in his desperation, and a pastor and a missionary for the last two thirds of his life. He was a man of the cross, who lived his life, poured himself out, for love of Jesus and the witness of the Gospel. He went to the hardest place he could imagine, Ireland, the land in which he was previously enslaved and there preached the good news of Jesus Christ. He gloried in the message of the Cross and saw tribe after tribe of the "barbarian" Celts come to know Jesus.
The great irony in our celebration of St. Patrick's day is that we have gotten it backawards. We remember the name of Patrick, all the while acting like the pre-Patrick Celts of Ireland. Patrick did not spend last 40 years of his life on the Emerald Isle for the beer, he did for Jesus and His namesake. He lived so Jesus would be glorified and the people (of Ireland) would see His glory. In his own words, "I am a servant of Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Saint Patrick's Breastplate
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
This About Sums It Up
"Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy;- but the Father for love!" - Octavius Winslow
Much thanks to John R. Stott who included this quote in his masterpiece 'The Cross of Christ.'
Much thanks to John R. Stott who included this quote in his masterpiece 'The Cross of Christ.'
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Thank You New Day Church!
I am so thankful to New Day Church in Grandview, MO for four awesome years of the Gospel, worship, and community! Thank you for giving my wife and I the opportunity to meet one another, get married, and serve to Lord with you. Sarah and I will miss you all dearly. However, we are excited about what the Lord has in store... both for us and for New Day. So, that being said, "to Him who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." - Jude 1: 24-25
www.newdaykc.org
www.newdaykc.org
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A Different Gospel?
There are new teachings in the church today that are attempting to undercut the very heart of the Gospel. These new "doctrines" (a term which, I am sure, would be offensive to many who espouse them) are no more than a man centered theology. One without power, conviction, or, in the end, hope that God is truly that different then us. If we are pretty decent people and not deeply depraved, then what need do we have of God? Why did Jesus come and die, was He just a divinely inspired role model for how we are to give our lives away? That seems a bit extreme; if He wanted to be a role model He could have just come and given his entire life to feeding the poor, healing the sick, and consoling the widows. But no, He came to live like we would not live, die like we should have died, and rise like we could not rise!
Paul's words in the first chapter of Galatians resound as a warning to those who come in the name of Jesus bearing a "different gospel" and to those who listen and take their teaching to heart. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1: 6-9).
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, speaking of the church in his day said the following:
"There has sprung up in the Church of Christ an idea that there are many things taught in the Bible which are not essential; that we may alter them just a little to suit our convenience: that provided we are right in the fundamentals, the other things are of no concern.... But this know, that the slightest violation of the divine law will bring judgments down upon the Church, and has brought judgments, and is even at this day withholding God's hand from blessing us.... The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.... Until we come back to that the Church will have to suffer.... Our victories of the Church have not been like the victories of olden times. Why is this? My theory to account for it is this. In the first place, the absence of the Holy Spirit in great measure from us. But if you come to the root of it to know the reason, my fuller answer is this: the Church has forsaken her original purity, and therefore, she has lost her power."
Why is the church lacking for power or potency? Because, we lack conviction, which is rooted in a right understanding of the Cross of Christ, fired and refined by the Word of God, and sealed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. But, many who say "Lord, Lord" will give up these truths in search of a weaker, watered down theology, one which will not offend the masses! But what then is forsaken? Simply the very words of Jesus: “Go and tell... what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Luke 7: 22-23).
However, if we will love the Cross, cherish and search the Word of God, and truly open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, then these words of Jesus are for us, "You will see greater things than these.... Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1: 50-51).
Paul's words in the first chapter of Galatians resound as a warning to those who come in the name of Jesus bearing a "different gospel" and to those who listen and take their teaching to heart. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1: 6-9).
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, speaking of the church in his day said the following:
"There has sprung up in the Church of Christ an idea that there are many things taught in the Bible which are not essential; that we may alter them just a little to suit our convenience: that provided we are right in the fundamentals, the other things are of no concern.... But this know, that the slightest violation of the divine law will bring judgments down upon the Church, and has brought judgments, and is even at this day withholding God's hand from blessing us.... The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.... Until we come back to that the Church will have to suffer.... Our victories of the Church have not been like the victories of olden times. Why is this? My theory to account for it is this. In the first place, the absence of the Holy Spirit in great measure from us. But if you come to the root of it to know the reason, my fuller answer is this: the Church has forsaken her original purity, and therefore, she has lost her power."
Why is the church lacking for power or potency? Because, we lack conviction, which is rooted in a right understanding of the Cross of Christ, fired and refined by the Word of God, and sealed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. But, many who say "Lord, Lord" will give up these truths in search of a weaker, watered down theology, one which will not offend the masses! But what then is forsaken? Simply the very words of Jesus: “Go and tell... what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Luke 7: 22-23).
However, if we will love the Cross, cherish and search the Word of God, and truly open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, then these words of Jesus are for us, "You will see greater things than these.... Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1: 50-51).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)