Banking and Salvation

Posted 5/21/14 by Donald Barnhouse

When I mentioned a mutual acquaintance who is a member of the same board, my friend told me of the canny shrewdness which had made this man successful. "I don't know the extent of all his deals," he said, "because I am not on the loan committee, but as a member of the examining committee I see enough to know how clever and foresighted he is." We discussed the functions of a bank director and then I had my illustration.

I once came upon a very good illustration of salvation while talking with a member of the board of directors of a small town bank.

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A Few More Questions

Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 by Aimee Byrd on Housewife Theologian

Derek Thomas proposed a question at the PCRT conference a couple weeks ago in his talk titled "The Holy Christian Life." It has been ringing through my ears as I've been reading about and discussing this sanctification debate in Reformed circles.

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep - Part One

By James Boice

Matthew 18:10-14
Theme: Shepherding.
In this week’s lessons we see God reclaiming the lost.
 
Lesson

There is probably no image of the protecting care of God for his people in the Bible that is more greatly loved than that of the shepherd and his sheep. What Christian can mention God as shepherd without thinking of the Twenty-third Psalm: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want" (v. 1)? Or the tenth chapter of John where Jesus applied the image to himself: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (v. 11)?

A new self-promotion campaign

Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 by Todd Pruitt on 1517

A loyal Ref21 reader recently made me aware of this shameless example of self-promotion:

trueman is my homeboy.jpg

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6 Gritty Benefits of a Robust Christology

by Joe Holland • May 20, 2014

There is this sneaking habit among Evangelicals to dabble with what I call “magic spell” Christianity. In practice, some Christians believe that if they say or write the correct word--like those in our book title engine--then things will actually happen. It is the temptation to avoid the hard work of growth in grace by just saying someone is “gospel-driven.” It is the temptation to avoid working through conflict with a spouse and just claim that the marriage is “christ-centered."

My friends and I have thought up a genius idea to streamline the Christian book industry. Our plan is to create a random book title engine to maximize book hype. You would provide your favorite orthodox doctrine and the engine would add to it -driven, -centered, total-, or -everyday. And no, I’m not being serious! 

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Self

Posted 5/20/14 by Donald Barnhouse

St. Augustine prayed, "O Lord, deliver me from the lust of always vindicating myself." There can be no doubt, for we know it from the Bible as well as from experience, that self always wishes to vindicate itself. In the Bible self is called "flesh." We are clearly taught there is only one way to deal with it; it cannot be trained, it cannot be reformed. Its heart is incurable, its mind is hatred. The whole message of Scripture is a general declaration that God will not deal with man apart from the cross of Jesus Christ.

Self

The God Who Provides - Part Two

By James Boice

In today's world charity is practiced on a wide scale and is thought to be the natural product of the innate benevolence of the human spirit. Actually, that is not so.

In today's world charity is practiced on a wide scale and is thought to be the natural product of the innate benevolence of the human spirit. Actually, that is not so. True charity came into the world through Christianity, and the charity we see today - in the United Way, in the Red Cross, in hospitals, in benevolent foundations, in government - is purely a by-product of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chemistry and Bread

Posted 5/19/14 by Donald Barnhouse

A Christian worker spoke of the narrowness of some believers who were not willing to consider others as worthy of Christian fellowship. "They are so bad," said our friend, "that according to them there would be only about five hundred people who are saved." This statement, though an exaggeration, makes us to think about the essential elements of our salvation.

Chemistry and Bread

The God Who Provides - Part One

By James Boice

It is not difficult to find examples of people who have allowed the love of money to ruin their spirituality and to nullify the effect of their witness. History is full of such examples, and they come from our time also. In the book of Joshua we are told of the sin of Achan that caused the defeat of the armies of Israel at Ai.

It is not difficult to find examples of people who have allowed the love of money to ruin their spirituality and to nullify the effect of their witness. History is full of such examples, and they come from our time also. In the book of Joshua we are told of the sin of Achan that caused the defeat of the armies of Israel at Ai. Israel had just been victorious at Jericho and had dedicated the spoil of the battle to God, as God had indicated. But there was a scar on the victory.

Protecting Our Young Ones

Posted on Monday, May 19, 2014 by Todd Pruitt on 1517

It is a wickedness of massive proportions when children are sexually abused. However, when a child is used for the sexual gratification of a spiritual leader within the church the evil passes into the realm of the indescribable. Sadly this particular manifestation of evil has lurked within the walls of the church for generations. It has only been in recent years, however, that the extent of child sexual abuse within the church is beginning to be revealed. What is more, it is becoming clear that Protestants have nothing to brag about.

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