The plain fact is that imitation of Jesus, important as it was for Paul, was swallowed up by something far more important still. Not the example of Jesus, but the redeeming work of Jesus, was the primary thing for Paul. The religion of Paul was not primarily faith in God like Jesus’ faith; it was faith in Jesus; Paul committed to Jesus without reserve the eternal consequences of his soul. -J. Gresham Machen He is the image of the invisible God,...
There is not any real courage at all in attacking hoary or antiquated things, any more than in offering to fight one’s grandmother. The really courageous man is he who defies tyrannies young as the morning and superstitions fresh as the first flowers. G. K. Chesteron He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:9 A few months ago my...
Modern materialism, especially in the realm of psychology, is not content with occupying the lower quarters of the Christian city, but pushes its way into all the higher reaches of life; it is just as opposed to the philosophical idealism of the liberal preacher as to the Biblical doctrines that the liberal preacher has abandoned in the interest of peace. Mere concessiveness, therefore, will never succeed in avoiding the intellectual conflict. In the intellectual battle of the present day there...
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. Jude 3 In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight. J....
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Rom 9:17See how much he has been able to accomplish through me, though I did no more than pray and preach. The Word did it all. Had I wished I might have started a conflagration at Worms. But while I sat and drank beer with Phillip and...
The center about which all the petals clustered was the affirmation of the forgiveness of sins through the utterly unmerited grace of God made possible by the cross of Christ, which reconciled wrath and mercy, routed the hosts of hell, triumphed over sin and death, and by the resurrection manifested that power which enables man to die to sin and rise to newness of life. This was of course the theology of Paul, heightened, intensified, and clarified. Beyond these cardinal...
“I have no notion of the Spirit dwelling in a man and not giving a clear evidence of His presence. And I believe it to be a signal evidence of the Spirit’s presence when the Word is really precious to a man’s soul.” One of the battlegrounds of the Reformation was over the sufficiency of the written Word. Were the Scriptures alone, sola scriptura, sufficient for gaining salvation and for knowing all that God requires? Or, was something more needed to...
What God Knows “Knowing that I am not the one in control gives great encouragement. Knowing the One who is in control is everything.” Alexander Michael If you will recall, I have devoted this year to the study of the life and writings of Martin Luther. I like this guy. He is so human and yet so God-centered. He has a great sense of humor, which he sometimes misuses at the expense of his critics. He is a leader. He is a...
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Heb 13:7-8 “I was born to contend on the field of battle with factions and with wicked spirits. That is why my works abound with war and tempest. It is my task to uproot the stock and the stem, to clear away the briars and under-wood, to fill...
“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point. –Martin Luther (1483-1546) I...
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