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September 29, 2015  David Murray   1 comment

Blogs

6 Reasons Why Anxiety, Worry, & Fear are Particular Problems for Christians | Ron Edmondson
Can you “over-spiritualize” fear and anxiety?

The Dominant Medium We Neglect | Bob Allen, The Gospel Coalition
In short: Television. Bob examines the current state of Christian television.

James Is, You Know, in the Bible | Rick Phillips, Reformation21
Rick wrestles with Faith and Works.

How An Affair Really Begins | Tim Challies
It’s not with sex.

Reaching a Boiling Point | Barry York, Gentle Reformation
What Deuteronomy 14:21 (“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk”) has to do with us today.

I Went To Planned Parenthood For Birth Control, But They Pushed Abortion | Sarah Owens, The Federalist
Sarah outlines her personal experience with Planned Parenthood as a teenager and her changing views on a woman’s “right to choose.”

Recommended New Book

Happiness by Randy Alcorn. Although I have a couple of reservations about this book, which I’ll explain in my upcoming review, on the whole I am very positive about it.

Kindle Books

God’s Design for Man and Woman: A Biblical-Theological Survey by Andreas and Margaret Kostenberger $2.99.

Truth in a Culture of Doubt: Engaging Skeptical Challenges to the Bible by Andreas Kostenberger $2.99.

How Do Preaching and Corporate Prayer Work Together? by Ryan McGraw

Video

God in Our Midst: A New Teaching Series from Daniel Hyde | Ligonier
Exciting series from Ligonier and Danny Hyde centering on understanding Jesus through understanding of the Old Testament tabernacle.

  • Seth Huckstead

    I would like to hear your take on the issues being brought up by Phillips and Jones. I find it troubling that the other side of this issue, those who that there is a mixing of works into salvation, are resorting to calling people Socinians (at its worst) or neonomists (at their best). What happened to the third use of the law and personal holiness?

    The imbalance on the issue of Justification is troubling. I say this with the background as a man who challenged a church because of their mimicry and adherence to the New Perspective. When I joined the OPC I was shocked at how much sin and license was justified by invoking WCF chapter 20 (On Christian Liberty), when clearly ignoring the exposition of the law as it was set forth in the catechisms (in particular the Larger). For to many Reformed Christians the doctrine of Justification has been misused as a means of continuing some pet sins, or at least minimizing the heinous nature of indwelling sin. It seemed to me that often the “secret life” of the believer took a back seat to the public life of the believer. Great orthodox doctrine, horrible personal holiness.

    Calling people to do good works is not legalism or moralism. Saying that good works is a necessary consequence of Justification is not mixing works with salvation. Insisting that one must persevere to be saved is using biblical language. All of this is in the balance of saying that I am saved fully, surely, and utterly by the complete work of Christ–I have no hell to fear because I am saved by the blood of the lamb. Yet I am bought with a price and am now a slave to my master and am bound to good works to be done in faith and in the surety of Christ’s work.

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