I appreciate my friend Lore’s reflection on beauty.
Are You Smarter Than a 19th Century 5th Grader
Probably not, thanks to Google.
Powerful illustration on the power of the gospel story.
What Led You to Become an Atheist?
David Murray looks at a recent survey of atheists and considers how the church should respond to these answers.
Something in me wants to try this extreme wheelbarrowing. Also I want to invent Extreme Rickshawing:
Some have questioned the idea of preaching the gospel to yourself, because it has no biblical basis. Paul, they say, never preached the gospel to himself. Others (such as Jay Adams) have critiqued the discipline as having a “kind of Monkish mysticism” to it. As if by preaching the gospel to ourselves we will be magically sanctified.
I believe there is validity to these criticisms. I have seen the “Monkish mysticism” that Adams is talking about. But when I’ve seen these things it has been from a complete misunderstanding of what it really means to preach the gospel to oneself. And to those who say the term isn’t biblical, fair enough, I could care less what you call it…but the admonition to remember truths of God and His gospel is all over the Scriptures.
It is because this term is often misunderstood and misapplied that I was happy to see William Farley’s latest book, Hidden in the Gospel, hit the shelves. In this book Farley explains that preaching the gospel to yourself is simply reminding yourself of precious gospel truths on a daily basis.
But what does he mean by “gospel”? Using a more broad definition than those that have gone before him, Farley defines the gospel as, “the good news about all that God has done in Christ to save sinners and redeem the cosmos from the effects of sin” (12).
Farley then spends the remainder of the book exploring eight precious doctrines from election to the new creation. Essentially he shows how from before the foundation of the world into our eternal home of the new creation, God redeems sinners. In each of these chapters he explains the doctrine and then closes with giving an example of how to preach the gospel to yourself.
I love way that Farley has structured this book. He shows how to take big doctrines–like the penal substitutionary death of Christ—and from these work that truth into every day life. It’s an excellent model that I believe shows that this discipline of preaching the gospel to yourself isn’t some magical incantation but it is an attempt to remember what the Lord has accomplished on our behalf and respond accordingly.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to know how to make the precious truths of the gospel practical in their own life.
You can buy it here.
Tony Reinke has helped get me excited about this book release.
Evangelism is Fueled by Knowing God is at Work
Amen.
David Murray and Miles Van Pelt have recently written articles on Jephthah’s foolish vow. In this article Jesse Johnson argues that we should stop trying to rescue Jephthah and celebrate grace. What do you think?
In the middle of this article are 5 consequences to our boredom with God. I found those helpful.
If you are a believer in Jesus you’ve likely experienced seasons of accusation. Those are the terrible times when it feels as if we are cursed and gone astray. We feel condemned, wrecked, ruined, and that we have no hope of gaining salvation.
I’ve had terrible seasons like this in my own life. This is why one of my favorite songs is Embracing Accusation by Shane and Shane. In this song they take on these seasons of Satanic accusation and invite us to embrace them. The song ends with this great lyric:
Oh the devil’s singing over me
An age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He’s forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!
The devil is fine preaching the gospel…at least in parts. He’ll sing the first verse but blind our eyes to the refrain that Jesus saves.
When The Devil Preaches The Refrain
But this got me wondering. Would the devil ever preach the refrain but leave off the first verse? Would he ever preach adoption, forgiveness, justification, peace with God, etc. without preaching the Cross?
The Puritan Richard Baxter believed that he often does. As Baxter wrote:
It is a great project of the devil, and successful with many, to draw them to venture on the sin, by showing them first the effectual remedy, the abundant mercy of God, the sufficient satisfaction made by Christ, the full, and free, and universal promise; that these are sufficient to cleanse the soul of any sin, therefore you need not fear. (Baxter, 102)
I believe Baxter is correct. Satan is very good at preaching grace before sin and the law after.
The moment before engaging in the forbidden, you hear the forked-tongue whisper of, “there is no condemnation, you need not fear, you know God will forgive you. He loves you. It’s okay.”
Then, when you’ve done what ought not be done, the father of lies preaches the first verse so conveniently (and loudly) but leaves off the refrain. “You’ll never be loved again. You’ve blown it. God has abandoned you, and there is no way you’ll ever be in his love again.”
Grace before. Law After.
The Remedy
I love the remedy that Shane & Shane prescribe when the devil preaches a truncated gospel; namely, finish the song. When he’s preaching condemnation embrace the accusation—he’s right. You’ve blown it. Your sin is serious. It’s no light thing. You really do deserve hell.
But finish the song. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Shout the refrain when he loudly sings the first verse.
I believe the same remedy applies when the devil preaches the refrain without the first verse. Finish the song. Yes, the Lord is kind. Yes, the Lord is patient and gracious and merciful. But his kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.
We’d do well to heed the words of Baxter:
There is enough in his grace to save the [repentant]: but if you will sin upon presumption that grace will save you, you have small reason to think that you are penitent, or ever will be, without a very merciful change…it is a terrible thing to sin deliberately and wilfully, because of the greatness of mercy, or the sufficiency of the death of Christ; and this is clean contrary to [repentance] and conversion. (Baxter, 103)
Thankfully, the gospel is true and there is forgiveness and rescue found even for those who have presumed upon His grace. But drop your presumptions and throw yourself at his feet for mercy.
Conclusion
The devil likes to preach grace before sin and the law after. But the gospel preaches Jesus before and Jesus after.
When the devil says, “He’ll forgive you”. We look to our loving Lord and say, “But I don’t want to make him have to. Why would I want to sin against such a sweet Savior? Why would I presume upon his mercy and his kindness? That is the way of the wicked.”
Likewise, when the devil says, “He’ll never forgive you.” We look to our bleeding Savior nailed to a Roman cross and say, “But he already has. There is therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The blood of Jesus Christ has removed the curse of the Law. And in him I have the righteousness of God”.
No matter which part of the gospel the devil is singing, always remember to finish the song.
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Here is the Shane & Shane song with John Piper: