Christ on Miscellanea

Not My Deserving

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 12:17:01 +0000

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee, I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee, think on thy pity and thy love unswerving, not my deserving.

About Christ

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 14:12:43 +0000

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made;

who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man;

Christ and the Day of Atonement

Sat, 16 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

For Stephen Charnock, the high priest’s activity on the Day of Atonement in Lev 16 prefigured Christ’s priestly ministry in at least three ways.

First, his sacrificing animals outside the tent was a type of Christ’s death.

Second, his entrance into the Holy of Holies was a type of Christ’s ascension to heaven.

Third, his sprinkling blood and burning incense inside the Holy of Holies was a type of Christ’s intercession, both in his presentation of his wounds to the Father (sprinkling) as well as in his pleas for the saints (incense).

Christ's Specific Grace

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

[God’s grace] doesn’t merely cover my life as a whole, leaving the details to work out on their own.

Christ meets us again and again in our particular moments of lust, resentment, fear, negligence, coldness—and says, ‘Father, forgive them, for the sake of my blood.’

Intercession of Christ

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

But the fact that from the seat of exalted and undimmed glory and in the exercise of high priestly prerogative he interposes petition to the Father on behalf of every one of his own, to the end that they also may be glorified with him, should cause us to be filled with holy and adoring amazement at the condescensions of trinitarian love and grace.

And the effect will then be that we shall be humbled to the point of being speechless, in a true sense exasperated, at the thought of the intercession which is interjected to save us from the doom which our continuing sinfulness and unfaithfulness deserve and saved to a glory which consists in glorification with Christ.

Christ's Commitment to Our Salvation

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Christ has a greater commitment to our salvation and we do—a greater concern for our welfare, a greater pity for us in distress, a greater zeal for our advancement, a greater acquaintance with our needs.

Growth of a Believer

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Remember, the growth of a believer is not like a mushroom, but like an oak, which increases slowly indeed but surely.

Many suns, showers, and frosts, pass upon it before it comes to perfection; and in winter, when it seems dead, it is gathering strength at the root.

Be humble, watchful, and diligent in the means, and endeavor to look through all, and fix your eyes upon Jesus, and all shall be well.

We Cannot Be So Evil as He is Good

Fri, 28 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Well, when we have said all we can of the aboundings of sin in us, grace still more abounds in Jesus.

We cannot be so evil as He is good. …

In ourselves we have cause to be abased; but in him we may rejoice.

Blessed be God for Jesus Christ.

Training our Sons

Wed, 24 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Our sons need our training not to respond to unkindness with unkindness, but rather to remember Christ, who was never combative or defensive, but ever loving, kind, and compassionate.

Spend and be Spent

Mon, 22 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Go, labor on; spend, and be spent, your joy to do the Father’s will; it is the way the Master went; should not the servant tread it still?

Calvin on Being an Elder

Sat, 29 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

It is no light matter to be a representative of the Son of God, in discharging an office of such magnitude, the object of which is to erect and extend the kingdom of God, to procure the salvation of souls which the Lord himself hath purchased with his own blood, and to govern the Church, which is God’s inheritance.

Stop Being Judgmental

Mon, 20 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

And it’s only when you know Jesus as Judge and judged in your place, that you will begin to stop being judgmental, and so will I.

Sinner, Pray Hard

Sun, 30 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.

Imitation of Christ

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Yet [1 John] does not simply exhort us to imitate Christ; but from the union we have with him, he proves that we ought to be like him.

Christ is in None of These Ways

Thu, 04 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Some men rejoice in others’ failings; they are malicious and fail more in that sinful joy than their brethren in that which they rejoice at.

Some are angry at weaknesses and infirmities; they are proud and conceited, not considering that they themselves also are in the flesh.

Some delight to dwell always upon a frailty…

Some study revenge more than pardon.

Some pretend to forgive, concealing a rough heart behind a smooth face.

Footsteps of Christ

Tue, 02 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness, hiding, covering, removing of offenses—these are the footsteps of Christ.

Do you see your brother fail? Pity him. Does he continue in it? Earnestly pray for him and admonish him.

If you are angry, vexed, rejoiced, alienated from him, then you are partner with him in evil, instead of helping him.

Jesus is Mine!

Sun, 31 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Jesus is mine! I’m now prepared To meet with what I thought most hard; Yes, let the winds of trouble blow, And comforts melt away like snow:

No blasted trees, or failing crops, Can hinder my eternal hopes; Though creatures change, the Lord’s the same; Then let me triumph in his name.

A House of Rest in a Weary World

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Is there no place where two or three can gather in Jesus name, … to forget human pride, to forget the passions of war, to forget the puzzling problems of industrial strife, and to unite in overflowing gratitude at the foot of the Cross?

If there be such a place, then that is the house of God and that the gate of heaven. And from under the threshold of that house will go forth a river that will revive the weary world.

Jesus Must Increase

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Your maneuvering for power, for influence, for position, for status, for wealth, for reputation of the present is a contradiction of the eschatological nature of life in Christ. Make yourself of some reputation in the arena where Christ makes himself of no reputation? What a fool!

Jesus must increase, and you must be nothing that He may be all-in-all. Enough of these Reformed egomaniacs! Give me servants of Jesus who are content to be of no reputation with their Lord.

Absurdity of the Incarnation?

Sun, 29 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

That which is truly absurd is whatever is in opposition to God; and surely the incarnation is not. Absurdity, therefore, has to be measured not in terms of what we can comprehend, but in terms of what God has said to us.

Power of Sin is Broken

Mon, 09 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

In his finished work Christ did something once for all respecting the power of sin and it is the virtue of this victory which he secured that the power of sin is broken in all those who are united to him. It is in this connection that a strand of New Testament teaching needs to be appreciated but which is frequently overlooked.

It is that not only is Christ regarded as having died for the believer but the believer is represented as having died in Christ and is being raised up with him to newness of life.

The Authentic Face of Christ

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Making pictures of Jesus fails to recognize or submit to God’s inscrutable wisdom in requiring his people to live for a time by faith and not by sight as they wait patiently for the day when God will make himself fully visible to them through the true and authentic face of Christ.

Look on Christ

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Oh look on Christ, this rare pattern, and be humbled! It is an unseemly sight to see God humbling himself and man exalting himself; to see a humble Saviour and a proud sinner.

Not Perfect, Just Forgiven?

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Christians are not yet perfect, but in Christ, God has forgiven them and has begun a good work in them.

To See an Old Disciple

Wed, 16 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

It is one of the best sights to see an old disciple; to see silver hairs adorned with golden virtues.

Christ Outside of Us

Sun, 13 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

We must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from Him, all that He has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us.

New Feelings and Purposes

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The apostle therefore says that if any man is in Christ he experiences a change analogous to that predicted by the prophets, and like to that which we still anticipate when earth shall become heaven.

Old opinions, views, plans, desires, principles and affections are passed away; new views of truth, principles and affections are passed away, new views of truth, new principles, new apprehensions of the destiny of man, and new feelings and purposes fill and govern the soul.

Radical Transformation

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The new life [in Christ] means a radical transformation, passing over from a condition of death and slavery into one of life and liberty, which on this account is not to be explained from human effort and moral strength, but only from creative command of God, no less mighty than the work with which he once called forth light out of darkness.

The Lions Roar but cannot Kill

Fri, 06 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The lions roar but cannot kill, / Then fear them not, my friends, / They bring us, though against their will, / The honey JESUS sends.

Thomas Jefferon on Jesus

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.

But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors.

Beeke on Prayer Meetings

Sun, 03 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

If your minister were to announce that at your forthcoming prayer meeting, the apostle Paul would appear, the entire congregation would attend. That, if course, will not happen, but something more important will: the Lord Jesus Christ will be there.

His Great Salvation

Sun, 12 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

By slow steps and gradual stages He at once works out His saving purpose and molds the world for its reception, choosing a people for Himself and training it through long and weary ages, until at last when the fulness of time has come, He bares His arm and sends out the proclamation of His great salvation to all the earth.

Baptism-Curcifixion

Sun, 29 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

At the exodus these judgment waters performed both functions, destroying the Egyptian army but delivering the chosen, priestly nation of Israel. Paul identified these judicial waters of the exodus as a baptism (1 Cor 10:2) reflecting the fact that baptism symbolizes the undergoing of a judgment ordeal.

The waters of baptism are a death passage with forensic significance. Thus, for those who by faith undergo baptismal death in Christ’s baptism-crucifixion, baptism is unto the remission of sins."

The Promise of God’s Word

Sun, 29 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is the promise of God’s Word. In spite of our daily failings, in spite of the accusations of our enemies, [Jesus] is there to quieten our consciences, to encourage our prayers, and to accept us and our services.

He is our advocate and his very appearance in the presence of God—his scarred body in that perfect place—fully pleads our desperate case. He is able to silence our accuser, for in heaven it is a known fact that ’there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.'

God's Ambassadors

Sun, 15 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Though you should deeply appreciate your minister’s efforts to faithfully bring the Word of God, pray that you see ’no man, save Jesus only’ (Matt 17:8). Ministers are simply God’s ambassadors, bringing you the Word of God (2 Cor. 5:20, Heb. 13:7).

Talk to Yourself

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

How faith-driven and Christ-centered is the conversation you have with yourself every day? No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do.

Propitiation is the Fruit of Love

Thu, 26 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

It is one thing to say that the wrathful God is made loving. That would be entirely false. It is another thing to say the wrathful God is loving. That is profoundly true.

But it is also true that the wrath by which he is wrathful is propitiated through the cross. This propitiation is the fruit of the divine love that provided it.

Ten Looks at Christ

Sun, 22 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Do not take up your time so much with studying your own heart as with studying Christ’s heart. ‘For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.’

Jesus!

Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Jesus rose!

Our hope remains in the present: Jesus lives!

Our hope is completed in the future: Jesus is coming!

Pilgrim Life

Sat, 14 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Peter will describe the political and social duties of the Christian pilgrim. But first the pilgrim must know his calling. It is not to pursue the mirage of humanistic hope. Neither is it to bow down to worship the imperial images of totalitarian power. It is to obey Jesus Christ until the day of his appearing.

Ye May Ebb and Flow

Sun, 08 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Ye may yourself ebb and flow, rise and fall, wax and wane; but your Lord is this day as he was yesterday; and it is your comfort that your salvation is not rolled upon wheels of your own making, neither have ye to do with a Christ of your own shaping.

Eschatology of Victory

Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Most assuredly, the eschatology of the New Testament is an ’eschatology of victory’—victory presently being realized by and for the church, through the eschatological kingship of the exalted Christ.

But any outlook that fails to grasp that, short of Christ’s return, this eschatology of victory is an eschatology of suffering—an eschatology of [Christ’s] ‘power perfected in weakness’—confuses the identity of the church.

Real Victory Already Possessed

Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The church today will remain impoverished in understanding its true identity and its task in the creation, until it is grasped by the fully eschatological significance of Christ’s death and resurrection and embraces ‘realized’ or ‘inaugurated’ eschatology taught in the New Testament…

What will challenge and activate and sustain the church (and give it ‘optimism’) in its present calling is its perception not of a presumed promise of future dominion before Christ’s return but of the real victory it already possesses in the exalted Christ.

Lamentably Ignorant

Wed, 12 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I am daily forced to admire how lamentably ignorant many of our people are, that have seemed diligent hearers of me these 10 or 12 years, while I spoke as plainly as I was able to speak! Some know not that each person in the Trinity is God; or that Christ is God and man; nor that he took his human nature with him into heaven; nor many the like necessary principles of our faith.

Christ's Gifted People

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

First, whereas in the OT the Spirit gifted only prophets, priests, and kings, in the new age all of Christ’s people are gifted by the Spirit because they are ‘in’ Jesus, the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. Second, whereas in the OT the Spirit often gifted prophets, priests, and kings in some connection to the temple, in the new age all of Christ’s people employ their gifts in service in the temple because they are all ‘in’ Jesus, the true temple.

Jesus for You

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Jesus’s life, trials, death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit have launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-not yet new-creational reign, bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to advance this new-creational reign and resulting in judgment for the unbelieving, unto the triune God’s glory.

The Old Testament Story

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The Old Testament is the story of God, who progressively reestablishes his new-creational kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit through promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to advance this kingdom and judgment (defeat or exile) for the unfaithful, unto his glory.

Christ Gives More

Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Christ gives more than sin took away.

Christ's image-wife

Thu, 28 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Christ takes his church, his image-wife, in covenant of marriage to bear his glory and his name, to be the fulness of him who fills all in all.

The Old Testament Revelation of the Messiah

Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Old Testament Revelation approaches the concept of a personal Messiah very gradually. It sufficed for fallen man to know that through His divine power and grace God would bring out of the human race victory over the serpent. In that faith could rest. The object of their faith was much less definite than that of ours, who know the personal Messiah. But nonetheless, the essence of this faith, subjectively considered, was the same, viz., trust in God’s grace and power to bring deliverance from sin.

Glory in Our Shame

Sat, 09 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

However, be the Son of God glorified in our shame, and let us be content with this sure testimony, that though we are persecuted and blamed we trust in the living God.

Kline on Baptism

Wed, 28 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

For the passing of Jesus through the divine judgment in the water rite in the Jordan meant to John’s baptism what the passing of Yahweh to the curse of the knife rite of Genesis 15 meant to Abraham’s circumcision. In each case the divine action constituted an invitation to all recipients of these covenant signs of consecration to identify themselves by faith with the Lord himself in their passage through the ordeal. So they might be assured of emerging from the overwhelming curse with a blessing.

Isaac’s Sacrificial Ram

Mon, 26 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

When the hour of darkness should come, it was the Lord who would himself be Isaac’s sacrificial ram.

Entire Life of Repentance

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.

The Word Made Man

Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

By man death has gained its power over men; by the Word made Man death has been destroyed and life raised up anew.

The Inaugurator

Wed, 19 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

For what is intended is not merely that Christ was the First or formed the beginning in terms of chronological order; he was rather the Pioneer, the Inaugurator, who opened up the way. With him the great Resurrection becomes reality. And very similar is the meaning of Firstborn from the dead: he ushers in the world of the resurrection.

The Rose and the Lily

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The Lord Christ is, in the Scripture, compared to all things of eminency in the whole creation. He is in the heavens the sun, and the bright morning star; as the lion among the beasts, the lion of the tribe of Judah. Among the flowers of the field, here he is the rose and the lily.

To be in Christ

Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

To be in Christ is the ground of all salvation.

Renewing in the Image of Jesus

Sun, 12 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

God does not accept me just as I am; he loves me despite how I am. He loves me just as Jesus is; he loves me enough to devote my life to renewing me in the image of Jesus.

Communion with Christ

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

We have communion with Christ in His work because ’there is almost nothing that Christ hath done, which is a spring of that grace whereof we speak, but we are said to do it with him’—whether suffering crucifixion, dying, being made alive, rising, or sitting in the heavenly places.

Mary and Martha

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Do you see how Luke places the story of Mary and Martha after all this activity? This episode isn’t here by accident. I believe God wants us to see that if we heal the sick and cast out demons and preach the gospel and show mercy and do justice and don’t sit at the feet of Jesus, we’ve missed the one thing we truly need.

Prayer for Unity

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Christ’s prayer for unity was not born of unfamiliarity with the history of God’s people nor from his inability to govern it. His prayer is the guarantee that unity already exists in him and that in due time, accomplished by him, it will also be manifest in all believers.

The Bright Morning Star

Wed, 06 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

What is it to know all the motions of the orbs and influences of the stars and in the meantime to be ignorant of Christ, the bright Morning Star? What is it to understand the nature of minerals or precious stones, and not to know Christ the true Cornerstone?

Christ and Adam

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Christ does not bring us back to the point on the road where Adam stood but has covered the whole journey for us to the very end.

Christ Becomes What We Are

Sun, 13 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Christ becomes what we are so that we might become what Christ is.

Christ Greater than Adam

Mon, 24 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In Paul we must never overlook the strong emphasis on the superiority of Christ’s gift when compared to the consequence of Adam’s fall.

Glory of Christ

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The glory of Christ is also seen in the stability and security that is given to the whole new creation. The first creation was glorious. Everything depended on God under a covenant of obedience. Everything was brought down by the sin of angels and men. But now everything that belongs to this new creation, including every believer in the world, as well as the angels in heaven, being gathered together under this one head, are all infallibly kept from ever being ruined by sin again. In this new head all is ’established, strengthened and settled’, and that for ever.

Semi Foetal Position

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Why do people often go into the semi foetal position when holding the bread, scrunch up their eyes as if they are trying to imagine Jesus on the cross. It’s a Protestant ritual. Open your eyes and look around you! Recognise the body of Christ. Rejoice in forgiveness of sins, rejoice with your brothers and sisters, look and see, not hide and imagine. The sacraments are a visible word!

To Him be Glory

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.

The Merits of Chris

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Therefore, as soon as you become engrafted into Christ through faith, you are made a son of God, an heir of heaven, a partaker in righteousness, a possessor of life; and… you obtain not the opportunity to gain merit but all the merits of Christ, for they are communicated to you.

The Gospel is Joyous for All

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

After all, the gospel of Christ is a joyous message not just for some people in certain circumstances, but for every person and for the whole person, for the learned as well as the simple.

Alpha and Omega

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’

Christians Past Lives

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[Christians] must never look at our past lives; we must never look at any sin in our past life in any way except that which leads us to praise God and to magnify His grace in Christ Jesus.

Bavinck on Christianity

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Christianity is no less than the real, supreme work of the Triune God, in which the Father reconciles his created but fallen world through the death of his Son and re-creates it through his Spirit into the kingdom of God.

Is There No Place?

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Is there no place where two or three can gather in Jesus name, . . . to forget human pride, to forget the passions of war, to forget the puzzling problems of industrial strife, and to unite in overflowing gratitude at the foot of the Cross? If there be such a place, then that is the house of God and that the gate of heaven. And from under the threshold of that house will go forth a river that will revive the weary world.

Mark Dever on Conversion

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It’s not reciting a creed. It’s not saying a prayer. It’s not a conversation. It’s not becoming a Westerner. It’s not reaching a certain age, attending a class, or passing through some other rite of adulthood. It’s not a journey, everyone strewn along the path at different points. Rather, conversion is turning with our whole lives from self-justification to Christ’s justification, from self rule to God’s rule, from idol worship to God worship.

Christ Not Raised?

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

At the Lamb's high feast we sing

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Where the paschal blood is poured, death’s dark angel sheathes his sword; Israel’s host triumphant go though the wave that drowns the foe. Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed, paschal victim paschal bread; with sincerity and love eat we manna from above.

MacArthur on the Miracle of Redemption

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The great miracle of redemption is not that we accept Christ, but that he accepts us.

No Ordinary People

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal.

The Wonderful Exchange

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This is the wonderful exchange he has made with us: that, becoming Son of man with us, he has made us sons of God with him.