Similitudes

I had the opportunity to write an article for Gospel Centered Discipleship's website. Here is an excerpt:

I may have been taping my wrists, or perhaps I was adjusting my game-socks so the proper amount of white showed below my knees. Though I do not remember exactly what I was doing, I do recall I was sitting at my locker preparing to take the field for a football game as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. This was my rookie season in the Canadian Football League and I was about to learn a valuable lesson.

Mike Kerrigan, a Northwestern football alumnus and one-time New England Patriot quarterback, strode confidently into the locker room. He was not only announcing to the Christian athletes that the pre-game chapel was starting, but he was also doing his best to encourage the non-Christian players to participate in our weekly ritual.

Mike approached my locker and reminded me of the chapel that was about to start. Then he looked at the man in the locker beside me. “Dale, you coming to chapel today?” he asked. Our starting offensive center, a product of Tennessee’s football program, looked up from adjusting his knee braces with a mischievous grin. “What does Jesus have to do with hitting, slapping, punching, pain, blood, sweat, and tears?” he replied half-serious, half-joking.

Kerrigan’s profound response was, for me, unforgettable. It is etched in my memory and I have found myself replaying this veteran quaterback’s reply many times over the ensuing 14 years of my professional football career and beyond. With complete seriousness, and with a passion that indicated the gravity of his words, Mike said, “Jesus knows more about hitting, slapping, punching, pain, blood, sweat, and tears than you or I ever will.”

Read the rest of the article here: Similitudes

Spurgeon a continuationist?

Well readers, that was the longest break from blogging that has occurred since this blog started several years ago. It was unintentional. We had a tough week with having to put our dog down being part of the difficulties. That being said, hopefully there will be no more unscheduled breaks for quite some time.

To get this ball rolling again, I thought I'd post a quote by Spurgeon that is sure to raise some eyebrows. I came across this quote at Peter Cockrell's blog and he gives credit to Rick Ianiello:

Spurgeon on prophecy – may be?

CH Spurgeon a continuationist? His words from Sword and Trowel …

Our personal pathway has been so frequently directed contrary to our own design and beyond our own conception by singularly powerful impulses, and irresistibly suggestive providences, that it were wanton wickedness for us to deride the doctrine that God occasionally grants to his servants a special and perceptible manifestation of his will for their guidance, over and above the strengthening energies of the Holy Spirit, and the sacred teaching of the inspired Word. We are not likely to adopt the peculiarities of the Quakers, but in this respect we are heartily agreed with them.

It needs a deliberate and judicious reflection to distinguish between the actual and apparent in professedly preternatural intimations, and if opposed to Scripture and common sense, we must neither believe in them nor obey them. The precious gift of reason is not to be ignored; we are not to be drifted hither and thither by every wayward impulse of a fickle mind, nor are we to be led into evil by suppositious impressions; these are misuses of a great truth, a murderous use of most useful edged tools. But notwithstanding all the folly of hair-brained rant, we believe that the unseen hand may be at times assuredly felt by gracious souls, and the mysterious power which guided the minds of the seers of old may, even to this day, sensibly overshadow reverent spirits. We would speak discreetly, but we dare say no less.
(HT: Rick Ianniello)

Book Review – Charles Spurgeon by Christian George

As a high school English teacher, one of the ideas my school has been working on is promoting biographies as an entertaining and educational genre for students. Oftentimes, however, it is a hard sell. To be honest, getting kids to focus on something that doesn't have a remote control or video-game controller is hard enough. Make the book a non-fiction work, even about someone they admire, and you don't get a lot of buy in. Having read Charles Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers by Christian George, it occurred to me that perhaps biographical fiction might be a better way to go. This Christian Focus published book presents Spurgeon's life in a way that makes use of many elements of fiction while it teaches the reader about one of Christianity's heroes of the faith. Perhaps this would be a solid 'middle-way' to encourage youth to read biographies.

The Real Spurgeon
Having never read a Spurgeon biography-that is a confession and I hope that does not disqualify me from having anything of value to say in Christian circles-I can only assume that there is historic accuracy in the events promoted in this book. With that assumption in mind, I found the events, peoples, and issues that the author focused on were interesting and inspiring. George weaves his biography through the ups and downs of this saint's life. Spurgeon is not presented as a gold-gilded brightly-haloed saint but rather appears as a real human with faults and foibles like the rest of us. In fact, the struggles of Spurgeon that the author walks us through are definitely one of the strengths of this book. Seeing Spurgeon in his coma-like state after a tragedy at a preaching event or the fear he faced preparing for his first sermon and the rest of his trials make this a compelling story that I think young people will connect with. One can relate to this preacher of preachers despite the esteem he is held in by most of North American Christendom. His relationships with his wife, friends, and acquaintances are also an enjoyable facet of this read. I think that the friendships, romances, and encounters are well-chosen and well-conveyed.

Truth or Fiction
There is clearly some creative license apparent in this book. And I think that is what will make this appropriate for youth. As mentioned earlier, straight biographies can be tough to sell to young people, but this book reads very much like a work of fiction. There is convincing characterization, particularly in the case of the protagonist Charles Spurgeon. We see him develop and grow and he is a likeable and intriguing individual. His fears are portrayed honestly, and his insecurities and doubts, as well as his strengths and courage, are all traits that young people will connect with. There are many conflicts both internal and external, which give rise to a plot that build suspense and takes this book beyond regurgitating facts to have the force of a good story. There are many edifying themes throughout the book, and Spurgeon's trust in God despite his shortcomings, and God's faithfulness in spite of Surgeon, will be one theme that resonates with young people.

Recommended Reading
Perhaps the best commendation I can give this book is that I will encourage my own kids to read it. One of my children ambitiously read a short biography of William Wilberforce; she struggled through it and I was proud she didn't give up. However, I don't think she got a lot out of it. I think a book like Charles Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers would be far more appropriate for her and one in which she will be edified in the reading. That being said, as an adult, I enjoyed reading the book. At times it brought tears to my eyes and at times it brought a smile to my face. And it has encouraged me to remove the haven't-read-a-Spurgeon-biography stigma that has plagued me for so long. Get your hands on this book and give it to a young person you know, but give it a quick read yourself before you hand it over.

Lloyd-Jones and Spurgeon on the offense of the cross

“The offence of the cross is this – that I am so condemned and so lost and so hopeless that if He, Jesus Christ, had not died for me, I would never know God, and I could never be forgiven. And that hurts; it annoys; it tells me that I am hopeless, that I am vile, that I am useless; and as a natural man I do not like it.” (Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn. Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 1 ; the Gospel of God. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1985. Print.266)

In a sermon entitled The Offense of the Cross, C. H. Spurgeon explains the offense of the cross:

Let us enquire, first, WHEREIN DOES “THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS” CONSIST? 

Our limits forbid any attempt to be elaborate and we commence by saying that “the offense of the Cross” lies, first, in the way in which it deals with all human wisdom ... But there is something in the Cross of Christ which hurts men’s pride even more than this! And that is, it is opposed to all their notions of human ability ... And the Cross offends men, yet again, because it goes clean contrary to their ideas of human merit ... But there is another offense which is a very grievous one and the world has never forgiven the Cross that “offense” yet—it will not recognize any distinctions between mankind. 

Spurgeon continues on the preaching of the gospel, or lack of it, and the ensuing offense:

If the Cross of Christ is an offense and always was an offense, what is the reason why so many professed Christians go on so easily from January to December and never have any trouble about it? Old John Berridge said, “If you do not preach the Gospel, you may sleep soundly enough. But if you preach it faithfully, you will hardly have a sound place in your skin, for you will soon have enemies enough assailing you.” How is it that we never hear of any slander against a great many ministers? Everything goes easily and comfortably with them. Nobody is ever offended with their preaching. People go out of their chapel doors and say, “What a nice sermon! It was just the thing for everybody, and nobody could be offended.” They do not fully preach the Gospel, or they would be sure to offend some people! Suppose that somebody says to me, “Do you know that Mrs. So-and-So was fearfully offended with your last sermon?” That is no trouble to me if I know that I have preached the Truth of God! A celebrated preacher was once told that he had pleased all his hearers. “Ah,” he said, “there is another sermon lost.”

Of Resolutions and Gopel

Over at Pressing Save, Carolyn Weber has a great post on resolutions and the gospel. Here is an excerpt:

God's Resolution for each of us is not just for a new year, but a New Life.

Because He fulfilled His resolution with His own flesh and blood. Because His Word is restorative beyond all our understanding – a Love that falls beyond the margins of our lists. The movement from womb to tomb, conception to epiphany, death to resurrection … quite the ambitious list. And yet everything on it has been crossed off (if you pardon the pun) and burned in our hearts, even the most doubting ones, for us to see.

Read the whole thing here.

Peter Cockrell, at Already Not Yet, touches upon the gospel as well:


C.H. Spurgeon:

We ought not, as men in Christ Jesus, to be carried away by a childish love of novelty, for we worship a God who is ever the same, and of whose years there is no end. In some matters “the old is better.” There are certain things which are already so truly new, that to change them for anything else would be to lose old gold for new dross.

The old, old gospel is the newest thing in the world; in its very essence it is for ever good news. In the things of God the old is ever new, and if any man brings forward that which seems to be new doctrine and new truth, it is soon perceived that the new dogma is only worn-out heresy dexterously repaired, and the discovery in theology is the digging up of a carcase of error which had better have been left to rot in oblivion.

In the great matter of truth and godliness, we may safely say, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
(HT: Trevin Wax)

No stint

Some things in the economy of grace are measured; for instance our vinegar and gall are given us with such exactness that we never have a single drop too much, but of the salt of grace no stint is made, "Ask what thou wilt and it shall be given unto thee." C. H. Spurgeon

Winter ...

Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if it be upon thee just now it will be very painful to thee: but there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord makes it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes over the once verdant meadows of our joy: He casteth forth His ice like morsels freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all, He is the great Winter King, and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore thou canst not murmur. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills, are of the Lord's sending, and come to us with wise design. Frosts kill noxious insects, and put a bound to raging diseases; they break up the clods, and sweeten the soul. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

His by conquest

According to Charles Spurgeon in this devotional, we are Christ's in three ways. First by His sovereign choice,; second, by his purchase of us by the paying of our debt; and thirdly, as I have shared here, we are His by conquest.

How are they His? By His own sovereign choice ... by purchase ... They are also His by conquest. What a battle He had in us before we would be won! How long He laid siege to our hearts! How often He sent us terms of capitulation! but we barred our gates, and fenced our walls against Him. Do we not remember that glorious hour when He carried our hearts by storm? When He placed His cross against the wall, and scaled our ramparts, planting on our strongholds the blood-red flag of His omnipotent mercy? Yes, we are, indeed, the conquered captives of His omnipotent love. Thus chosen, purchased, and subdued, the rights of our divine possessor are inalienable: we rejoice that we never can be our own; and we desire, day by day, to do His will, and to show forth His glory.

Accepted

In this post, I considered how God rejoiced over his people. Spurgeon's devotional, Morning by Morning, was the springboard for those thoughts. Yesterday in his devotional, Spurgeon returned to the idea of how much God love's us with the following:

“Accepted in the beloved.”
Ephesians 1:6

What a state of privilege! It includes our justification before God, but the term “acceptance” in the Greek means more than that. It signifies that we are the objects of divine complacence, nay, even of divine delight. How marvellous that we, worms, mortals, sinners, should be the objects of divine love! But it is only “in the beloved.” Some Christians seem to be accepted in their own experience, at least, that is their apprehension. When their spirit is lively, and their hopes bright, they think God accepts them, for they feel so high, so heavenly-minded, so drawn above the earth! But when their souls cleave to the dust, they are the victims of the fear that they are no longer accepted. If they could but see that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low despondencies do not really depress them in their Father’s sight, but that they stand accepted in One who never alters, in One who is always the beloved of God, always perfect, always without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier they would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour! Rejoice then, believer, in this: thou art accepted “in the beloved.” Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, “There is nothing acceptable here!” But look at Christ, and see if there is not everything acceptable there. Thy sins trouble thee; but God has cast thy sins behind his back, and thou art accepted in the Righteous One. Thou hast to fight with corruption, and to wrestle with temptation, but thou art already accepted in him who has overcome the powers of evil. The devil tempts thee; be of good cheer, he cannot destroy thee, for thou art accepted in him who has broken Satan’s head. Know by full assurance thy glorious standing. Even glorified souls are not more accepted than thou art. They are only accepted in heaven “in the beloved,” and thou art even now accepted in Christ after the same manner.

A Singing God

I have begun to read Spurgeon's classic devotional Morning by Morning. I try and read before I read my Bible as a means of calibrating my mind and heart to God and things of God. Spurgeon has a way with words, and these brief writings help me get the morning going in the right direction.

His entry from this morning was edifying:

"I will rejoice over them to do them good."—Jeremiah 32:41.

How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in His saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God's people cannot take much delight in us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us. We do not read anywhere that God delighteth in the cloud-capped mountains, or the sparkling stars, but we do read that He delighteth in the habitable parts of the earth, and that His delights are with the sons of men. We do not find it written that even angels give His soul delight; nor doth He say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, "Thou shalt be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee"; but He does say all that to poor fallen creatures like ourselves, debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified by His grace. In what strong language He expresses His delight in His people! Who could have conceived of the eternal One as bursting forth into a song? Yet it is written, "He will rejoice over thee with joy, He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing." As He looked upon the world He had made, He said, "It is very good"; but when He beheld those who are the purchase of Jesus' blood, His own chosen ones, it seemed as if the great heart of the Infinite could restrain itself no longer, but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy. Should not we utter our grateful response to such a marvellous declaration of His love, and sing, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation?"

As well as being uplifting and encouraging in and of itself, this short writing reminded me of something that has been brought to the reader's attention previously on this blog:

What God really thinks of His children

Zephaniah 3:14-17

14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:"Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
¹⁷ The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Isaiah 62:5

⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

In this post Chris drew attention to a sermon by Sam Storms entitled The Singing God which he highly recommends and which can be downloaded or listened to here.

Spurgeon's Morning by Morning for today

Here is the Scripture for September 6:

“In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Philippians 2:15

Here is the opening line:

A Christian man should so shine in his life, that a person could not live with him a week without knowing the gospel.

Here was my response:

OUCH!

A well worn path

Consider two quotes about preaching from well known preachers C. H. Spurgeon and Bryan Chapell:

"There are no dark passageways through twisted mazes of logic to biblical truth that require the expertise of the spiritually elite. There is only a well-worn path that anyone can follow if a preacher sheds some ordinary light along the way." Bryan Chapell in Christ-Centered Preaching

"Now the learned tell us that the nineteenth century requires “advanced thought.” I wish the nineteenth century was over; I have heard it bragged about so much that I am sick of the nineteenth century. We are told that this is too sensible a century to need or accept the same gospel as the first, second, and third centuries. Yet these were the centuries of martyrs, the centuries of heroes, the centuries that conquered all the gods of Greece and Rome, the centuries of holy glory, and all this because they were the centuries of the gospel; but now we are so enlightened that our ears ache for something fresh, and under the influence of another gospel, which is not another, our beliefs are dwindling down from alps to anthills, and we ourselves from giants to pigmies. You will want a microscope soon to see Christian faith in the land, it is getting to be so small and scarce. By God’s grace some of us abide by the ark of the covenant, and mean to preach the same gospel which the saints received at the first." Charles H. Spurgeon as quoted at The Puritan's Woodshop

We don't need anything novel or new or new-fangled. We need the tried and tested, true gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a well-worn path path to follow. Keep in mind, it's lack of innovation does not equate to lack of transformation; it is the good news of God's transforming grace. Newness is found not in a neoteric 'gospel' created for the contemporary times. Rather, newness in the gospel of Christ is found in the regeneration and resurrection of dead souls.

Similitude - like a parable

From a sermon delivered on Sabbath Morning, July 25, 1858, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens (Sermon #206):

Now it struck me that God is every day preaching to us by similitudes. When Christ was on earth he preached in parables, and, though he is in heaven now, he is preaching in parables to-day. Providence is God's sermon. The things which we see about us are God's thoughts and God's words to us; and if we were but wise there is not a step that we take, which me should not find to be full of mighty instruction. O ye sons of men! God warns you every day by his own word; he speaks to you by the lips of his servants, his ministers; but, besides this, by similitudes he addresses you at every time. He leaves no stone unturned to bring his wandering children to himself, to make the lost sheep of the house of Israel return to the fold. In addressing myself to you this morning, I shall endeavor to show how every day, and every season of the year, in every place, and in every calling which you are made to exercise, God is speaking to you by similitudes.

Nearer the truth

Humbling Orthodoxy

The doctrine of God’s divine election of unworthy sinners is a humbling truth. Or to use Spurgeon’s words, “a sense of election causes a low opinion of self.” That is the bullet point under which the following quote from Spurgeon comes to us, as recorded in a sermon delivered on July 1, 1888:

Brother, if any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be. If he charges you falsely on some point, yet be satisfied, for if he knew you better he might change the accusation, and you would be no gainer by the correction. If you have your moral portrait painted, and it is ugly, be satisfied; for it only needs a few blacker touches, and it would be still nearer the truth.

From Tony Reinke!

Great post at The Puritan's Woodshop

this was posted at The Puritan's Woodshop:

Charles H. Spurgeon understood that just because our minds cannot get a grip on the harmony of truth it does not mean that they are simply contradictory. He sees God predestinating and the responsibility of man as harmonious. He writes in his autobiography:

“That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory, but they are not. The fault is in our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and I find that in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.” (C.H. Spurgeon Autobiography: Volume 1: The Early Years; Banner of Truth; page 174)

I think Spurgeon had it right here. All truth meets at the cross.

The Christian Religion Defined

So if anyone was ever curious about defining the Christian's life with one word, they need to look no further then to one of my favourite preachers, C.H. Spurgeon.

“If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word- Prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell.”