A Calvinist Shares The Gospel

John Piper tells us how...

Here’s a conversation between an unbeliever and an evangelist who believes in the doctrine of definite atonement (sometimes unhelpfully called “limited atonement”)—the biblical teaching that when Jesus died, God’s unalterable purpose was to cancel the sins and commute the death sentence of all whom he would give to the Son (John 6:39).

Unbeliever: So what are you offering me?

Evangelist: Salvation from God’s wrath and from your sin. Everlasting life.

U: How?

E: Because when Jesus, the Son of God, died, he absorbed God’s wrath, removed it, and he bore the guilt of sin for all who trust him.

U: Did he do that for me?

E: If you will have him—receive him—you will have all that he is for you and all that he did for you. If you will trust him, yes, he did it for you.

U: So you don’t know if he did it for me?

E: He is offering himself to you right now freely. He is offering you a wonderful, finished work of redemption—all that he accomplished in absorbing God’s wrath and cancelling sins. All of that is yours for the having, right now. If you won’t have it, it’s not yours. If you will, it is. There’s only one way to know if your sins were cancelled and your death sentence was commuted in the death of Jesus. Believe on him. His promise is absolute: If you believe, you will be saved. If you won’t believe, you remain in your sin, and under God’s wrath.

U: So what are you asking me to receive?

E: Jesus. Receive Jesus! Because Jesus really did these things. He really secured the freedom of his people from the wrath of God. He really bore their sins in his body on the tree. If you receive him, you are one of them. You are included. All that is true for you. He offers to you freely right now.

U: I thought I could know Jesus died for me before I believed? That’s what I’ve always been told: Believe on him, because he died for everybody.

E: I can’t say for sure, but the people who taught you that probably meant this: Jesus died so that the gospel could be offered to all, and all who believe would be saved. That’s true. But if I assured you before you believe that your sins were cancelled and your freedom from God’s wrath was obtained, I would mislead you. Imagine if I said to you, Jesus certainly obtained your deliverance from God’s wrath and certainly covered all your sins. Now believe that. What would you say?

U: I’d say, great. Now what if I don’t believe? Then I’m still saved, right? Since my sins were certainly covered. It’s done.

E: Yes, that’s probably what you would say, and you’d be wrong. Because I would have misled you. The good news that Jesus has for you before you believe on him is not that your sins are certainly cancelled. The good news is that Jesus really propitiated the wrath of God, and really covered the sins of his people. It is finished. And that is what I offer you. It’s free. It’s full. It’s complete. It’s glorious. And his absolute promise to you is this: It’s yours if you will receive him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.

Idle

I remember talking with the refugees during my mission trip to Athens.  To hear the stories of each of their lives was a real eye-opener.  Most had to simply flee, and leave everything behind.  The journey to “freedom” was treacherous and non-stop.  There was no time to “stop and smell the roses” or sit on a park bench; it was not a vacation.  Every one of them was pursuing a goal.

There is a parallel here to the Christian life.  We are on a journey…a mission really.  To proclaim to a lost and dying world the excellencies of Him who saved us (1 Peter 2:9).  We do this primarily by loving our neighbor as ourself (Mt 22:39) and taking the good news of Christ to them (Mt 28:19-20).  But, if we are honest, we probably would admit that we constantly lose focus of our goal.  Why?  That is a question I have asked myself often.  Why am I so easily distracted?  Why do I find myself relaxing on the Christian park bench once again?

I think a key component in answering these kinds of questions is to understand that we will always lose sight of our mission when our love sits IDLE.  Idleness is a focus-killer.  It allows you to sit and contemplate and analyze all things trivial.  Things that don’t matter or have lesser importance become stealers of our time and effort and energy. If any of those refugees were to sit and stare at the leaves, or admire the river waters, or examine the birds above, they could have destroyed their getaway.  They had to keep pressing, keep moving, keep pursuing.  The main goal had to be constantly chased after.

The greatest example of a love that never sat idle is the love of Christ.  It sought and saved the lost (Luke 19:10) and pressed on till the end of the mission (Jn 13:1).  Even today, his love never rests…it is never idle.  It envelops us moment by moment.  And we, in turn, should extend that same love to others.  So, when we sit down to take a break from loving others, we lose sight of our mission and purpose.  And we become engulfed in the trivial things of life.  Pressing, moving, and pursuing people to love will extinguish all that.  It will keep our lives purposeful and Christ-exalting.  It will insure a life of witness and obedience.  It will keep us dependent upon His strength and grace.

We don’t love others because they deserve it; we love others because Christ first loved us.  How are you doing at pursuing love (1 Cor. 14:1) today?

Love in the Truth.

My Birthday - Just an (Extra)ordinary day!

It was just another day, another ordinary day. It was Saturday, September 18, 1999, and I had to work. Jen would drop me off at the bus stop, and I would hop the red and white rocket - OC Transpo - to work. She would then go grocery shopping with Cameron. I know this all sounds way too exciting to continue reading; like I said, just an ordinary day.

I had come to hate Saturday's. The past few weeks however, Saturdays were getting a little better. We had begun to go to a Saturday evening church service downtown, and strangely enough, I enjoyed it. The people seemed nice, the worship music was great, the preacher was - well he was Eric! You see, I was a salesman, and a good one at that if I do say so myself - and I do! Anyway, Eric was a good speaker, but he always reminded of a used car guy. If you know Eric, I trust you can laugh at that. If you don't know Eric; you should still laugh. Seriously, I loved Eric! My problem was that I was dead. I thought I was living but in reality I was not.

Over the course of a few Saturday nights at City Church, I had heard the gospel many times. I believed it to be true, just not for me. I was beyond that forgiveness; I would have to do something else to make up for my life. Plus week after week I would see the same people running down the aisle getting "saved" all over again? Made no sense to me. "What was the point of getting saved if God couldn't "close the deal", the salesman in me would ask. If they could "lose" it, I would "lose" it because I didn't want it. Check that - I did want it, but I didn't think I needed it!

But, I did...

So, another day of work came to end and we were off to church (well first we made a pit stop at Timmies - some things never change). It was the strangest feeling when we arrived, for the first time, I felt like I didn't belong there. The evening went on and now, it was time for Eric. What Eric was going to talk about that night changed he later told me. He got up to read scripture. He intended to read Isaiah 42:1-9 ; he got as far as "Behold my servant..."

For the next hour at least, all eric talked about was Jesus - His holiness, His righteousness, His glory, His infinite greatness, His wrath. He wanted us to "Behold" who God was and for the first time I did just that. Honestly, I was terrified. I didn't want Jesus; I needed Him! I knew my sin was great and I was in trouble if I had to stand before that God, and I did. So, I begged Him for mercy and He gave me grace.

That was ten years ago today! Let me be perfectly clear - many of those years were very difficult, but I can say with full assurance that I love the Lord. And, more importantly, He loves me.

"For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." Galatians 3:10-14

"There are two things I know for sure. I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Saviour."

Thank you Lord calling me your child.

Love in the Truth.

I'll Be There; Will You?

Uprise will take place on:

Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada,

White Pines Community Theatre

1007 Trunk Road

P6A 5K9

Here's some links for more info:

1. Facebook
2. Uprise!

Now I know that many who read this may not actually be able to attend in person, but you can still pray! Or you can do the same for your city, town, community - you get the idea.

I am also well aware of the fact that many of those who do attend may not be on the same page theologically that I'm on, but I'm still going (I've done my homework - we're all good on essentials).

May we who know, love, and embrace - unashamedly - the Doctrines of Grace never be accused of a lack of love for the Church, a lack of passion for missions, and lack of obedience toward the great commission.

If you have no concern for the lost, than you are not saved yourself; Be sure of that! Charles H. Spurgeon

We too were once dead, walking after the world, living only for the flesh, hating God. We were by nature "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:1-3).

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved..."

Love in the Truth.

Tears of the Saints

Love in the Truth

A Great Answer!

I don't know if you follow football at all. And by football, I don't mean soccer - which I love (Go Liverpool) - I mean NFL - the good stuff (the CFL doesn't really count)! I am a big fan of NFL footaball and the Miami Dolphins in particular, but I am also a big Kurt Warner fan. His story is quite remarkable. But why am I a fan? Well, everytime he gets a chance to speak about his faith in Christ he does just that. He was recently asked a good question and his answer was great! Here's the question and answer for you:

"Kurt, as a professional football player, what aspect of your vocational calling gives you the most joy in life? What is it about the 'job of football' that you love the most?"

His answered came instantly and unequivocally:

"Without question, the greatest joy about my calling as a professional football player is seeing the barriers it breaks-down in giving me the opportunity to talk about Jesus."

He elaborated on this by noting how all the privilege and all the status and all the fame simply serves to give him access to people and places to talk about the Lord that he otherwise would not have had. In essence he made it clear that, to him, the job is an amazing platform from which he gets to steward his main joy in life--telling people about the Jesus.

I wonder how many Christians would give the same answer if we were in Kurt Warner's shoes? I wonder how many of us would give that answer now? What's your answer?

Love in the Truth.

Jesus Wants the Rose!

Love in the Truth.