Thursday, December 20, 2007
Happy Anniversary to A Peculiar Pilgrim!
There are several reasons I chose to start a blog. First, I desired to chronicle my story of turning away from my semi-Pelagian beliefs to Calvinistic ones. Secondly, I wanted to help others who were struggling with the whole Church-Growth/Purpose-Driven movement dominating modern Christianity.
In the beginning I actually had two blogs. My other one was titled Post Tenebras Lux (After Darkness, Light). I used it primarily as a discernment watchblog. After a couple of months I realized I barely had enough time to maintain one blog, much less two. I eventually merged the content of Post Tenebras Lux with this one. In April I posted Coming Out from Among Them - Part 1 (the story of leaving my old church) and my blog emerged from oblivion. To this day, that post has more views than any other - by a comfortable margin.
Another reason I blog is to crystallize my thoughts on various biblical topics. My mind is cloudier than a thick London fog. Writing helps to organize my thoughts as well as develop them more fully. Sometimes my posts are fairly lucid. At other times a post may be little more than a stream of thought put to digital text. in the end, blogging has helped to sharpen my convictions and cement my beliefs in the glorious truths of scripture.This may sound strange, but I look forward to reading my posts several years from now and observing how far I've come in my knowledge and wisdom of God's word. Like the saying goes, I am reformed, yet always reforming.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Righteousness of Noah
Gen 6:5-22 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (7) So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." (8) But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (10) And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (11) Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (12) And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (13) And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. .... (17) For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. (18) But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. (19) And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. (20) Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. (21) Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them." (22) Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
I came away asking this: How could Noah possibly be righteous and blameless in a world corrupted by sin?
While you chew on that, here's another question to ponder: Who is responsible for mankind's redemption in this story? Did God redeem man or did Noah? Well, it looks like God desired to wipe out the whole human race because they were evil. Noah, because of his righteousness, was spared. If Noah had not been blameless in God's sight we would not be here discussing this story. The world would be barren and lifeless. So, we are in fact indebted to Noah and some kind of inherent righteousness he somehow possessed that no other human had. Noah is our hero! All hail to the savior of us all! In spite of God's will to destroy all flesh, man prevailed.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Did God Create Evil?
Hmmm, good question. My knee-jerk reaction is to shout, "of course not! God is good, God is love! He absolutely could not create evil and even if he could, he would not. God is not the author of evil!"
Then again, as I pondered the question I began to consider a few things. Where did the serpent come from? If God is the Sovereign creator of all that exists then logically he must be the creator of evil, right? And what do I do with Isaiah 45:7;
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isa 45:7)
After some initial mental scrutiny, I felt scripture supported God as the creator of evil. The class discussed it briefly without coming to a consensus. The question stuck with me throughout this past week. While I didn't study it to any great depth, I have a handful of scriptures I would like to showcase that I believe clarify the matter somewhat.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Divine Election or Mortal Selection?
In the final analysis, Calvin believes we should study divine election primarily for its ability to tell us why one person who hears the gospel comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ and why another does not. To whom or what, ultimately, do we attribute the distinction? When all is said and done, how do you explain why one person believes unto eternal life and another does not? Who makes one person to differ from another: the person or God? That question can only be answered by looking more closely at the “how” and “why” of God’s sovereign choice. I’ll take that up in the next lesson.
Look with me at John 17:1b-2. Here Jesus prays to the Father and says, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (ESV).
There is so much in this passage that I run the risk of getting de-railed from my primary purpose. But I can’t leave it without making a couple of comments. We must take note that not everyone is given eternal life. Only those whom the Father has “given” to Jesus are granted eternal life. The idea of people being “given” by the Father to the Son is standard Johannine language for divine election (see especially John 6:37-65).
Note also that God has not utterly cast off the world of mankind, although it would have been entirely fitting and just had he done so. He has given ultimate authority over all flesh, over every man, woman, and child to Jesus Christ. Jesus has unassailed, unchallenged, comprehensive authority over all human beings: over red and yellow, black and white; over male and female, young and old; over the powerful and the weak; over the rich and poor; over the educated and the ignorant; over those down under in Australia and those up over at the North Pole; over those who live in caves and those who walk in marble corridors.
As Edwards himself pointed out in a sermon on 1 Peter 2:9, whether they are elected or not, they belong to God. He didn’t lose his rights to humanity because of the fall nor did he forfeit his power and authority to dispose of them as he sees fit. They are still in his hands. Neither did he lose his ultimate end or goal in having created them in the first place (see Prov. 16:4).
Out from among those over whom he has sovereign rights as Creator and Lord, the Father has given some to the Son in order that the Son might give to them eternal life.
Click HERE to view the entire article. It is a great read!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Fall of Man, the Rise of Evil and the Seed of the Woman
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
An Essay on the Gospel of Jesus Christ
My friend and brother in the Lord over at the Spice Mines of Kessel has recently written a compilation of essays entitled Retrospect, Faith and Grace. They beautifully detail the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how it has impacted him. The essays are both a teaching and a testimony. He has really poured out his heart into this body of work and I am pleased and honored to recommend it for your edification. The multiple essays have been combined to form one document, which is available in PDF format. Click on the image above to read his introduction. At the bottom of the post you will find the link to download the PDF. Read and be blessed!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The Diminishing Doctrine of Sola Scriptura
The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century recovered many pivotal Christian doctrines that had become buried beneath an avalanche of time-honored traditions and blatantly anti-biblical teachings. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura helped to restore orthodoxy back to the visible church. Sola Scriptura (or Scripture Alone) is the conviction that the bible alone is God's authoritative and infallible message to his people, sufficient for all faith, life and godliness. This doctrine has come under intense fire over the past century. it has suffered immeasurably at the hands of liberal theologians who question the authenticity of the bible as God's word and also false prophets, who utter extra-biblical revelations, claiming that God is doing a 'new thing'. Well, despite the attempts of many a heretic, Sola Scriptura has stood firm her ground, even if multitudes fall away from belief in it. Check out this post at Herescope concerning the latest volley of fiery arrows falling upon this fortified bunker of divine truth. The shocking part is that we may be a victim of friendly fire! Here is an excerpt:
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sunday School Escapades
I have only been at this church for a short time and the Baptist culture is new to me. Over one year ago I left my old Pentecostal church because it had been consumed with the Church Growth/Purpose-Driven way of doing ministry. In other words, they made the gospel appealing to the flesh and doctrine shallow and essentially unnecessary. The Lord directed my steps and I ended up at my community's largest Baptist congregation. I started attending Sunday school about 5 months ago. The classes are divided into age groups. I first attended a 30's group, (a natural selection given that I am in my 30's). I enjoyed the fellowship with the members, many of whom I had actually gone to high school with. I thought the teacher did a fine job of teaching. However, I didn't much care for the curriculum. My church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, so we use Lifeway materials for Sunday school lessons. Lifeway publishes a wide variety of material, custom designed for people in different stages of life; children, youth, young adults, old adults and really old adults. The curriculum used in my class (Life Truths) did not impress me much. I felt it was written basically for a fifth-grade audience. I also sensed that the authors wrote the lessons by looking at the bible through the lens of life rather than life through the lens of the bible - a subtle yet important difference.
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Bible is NOT a Collection of Fortune Cookie Quotes!!!
While I realize this is just another secular business looking to make a buck, I am convinced there are people out there who will actually think this is a good idea. Now I have no problem with memorizing bible verses, but I think this kind of product marketing stems from the actual way many Christians study the bible. Many pastors and teachers also approach the bible like it was all written in the style of the Book of Proverbs - you know, that book primarily written by king Solomon filled with bite-sized pearls of wisdom. The problem is, the bible consists of 66 books written by over forty different authors. Proverbs is the only book of its kind. We cannot hope to interpret the overwhelming majority of the biblical texts in a 'Proverbial' manner - so to speak.
I know of people who wake up in the morning, crack open their bibles, thumb through the pages randomly and then point their finger (while looking the other way) at a verse, and then make that verse their focus for the entire day - without so much as a passing glance at the surrounding text.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Free Tools For Serious Bible Study
Permit me to insert a discernment warning, however. Many resources are available for your study but perhaps not all of them are beneficial. Before downloading components from teachers you aren't familiar with, do a Google search and investigate the orthodoxy of their teachings. Although I realize on the internet every single teacher and preacher of God's word is labeled a heretic or an apostate by some, please make the effort to plow through the rhetoric to verify the reliability of your sources. Keep your discernment radar active at all times!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
My Thanksgiving Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today so very thankful for all the blessings you have poured out on us. We give thanks to you for this holiday season, for bringing family and friends together to enjoy this wonderful dinner. We are thankful for every good thing we have and for all the good times we have experienced. But we are also thankful for our trials and tribulations that we learn not to lean on our own strength or our own understanding but to trust in you and your holy word for everything. Most of all, we are thankful to you, Heavenly Father for giving us your Son, Jesus Christ, who died our death so that we may live.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
A Happy a blessed Thanksgiving to all!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Spurious Conversions

Monday, November 12, 2007
A Brief Discourse on the Heart of the Gospel

I have two student workers who help me out a couple of days during the week, doing various technology related tasks. They are generally enthusiastic and energetic workers. They are also neither one Christians. One is a sort of agnostic who is considering Judaism. (I don't get it either.) The other is a practicing Hindu. I have spent the last year witnessing to these young gentlemen. I have sat down with them and taken them systematically through the full scope of the gospel message, from law to grace, from hell to heaven, from death to life, from the depravity of man to the glory of God. As of yet, neither has put their faith in Christ. One has hardened himself against the message and generally mocks God and his word. The other is more respectful and appears to have a general interest in what I have to say.
So I keep teaching. One tool I frequently utilize is the white board I have in my office. Every week I put up a few scripture verses. When they come in to work, I often take a moment to quickly expound the text for their edification. The student who actually pays attention to me has come to eagerly await a new nugget of wisdom from God's word every week. He is quick to rebuke me whenever I fail to post a new scripture. I can sense that he is digesting the milk I am feeding him. Encouraged by his hunger for knowledge, I keep at it, praying that God will cause the seed I have planted to take root. My hope is that someday it shall sprout into a tree of life.
Last week as I searched for a scripture to display I came across the text from Romans posted above. As I read through it I realized the Apostle Paul here succinctly summarizes the core of the gospel message in these three short verses. I will attempt to expound these verses just as plainly as I explained them to my student workers a few days ago.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Works-Righteousness by Joel Osteen

It is indeed true that there are appeals to the Bible scattered throughout this book. However, in nearly every case a verse is either torn from its context and turned into a "fortune-cookie" kind of promise that one can name-and-claim for oneself or it is actually misquoted to serve Osteen's point. For example, we read that when God confronted Adam and Eve after their sin, "He said, 'Adam, who told you that you were naked?' In other words, 'Who told you that something was wrong with you?' God immediately knew the enemy had been talking to them. God is saying to you today, 'Who told you that you don't have what it takes to succeed?'"3 Where, in the passage he refers to (Genesis 3:11), God asks Adam this question in order to convict him of his sin, Osteen makes it sound as if it were Satan who told Adam that he had failed the test. As in his earlier book, Osteen here never speaks of sin as falling short of God's glory, but of falling short of God's best for your life. In fact, Osteen's attachment to the prosperity gospel is even more explicit in Become a Better You. Just as Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and other "faith teachers" speak of believers as "little gods" who share God's nature, Osteen has an entire chapter devoted to "The Power of Your Bloodline." "You have the DNA of Almighty God."4 It's "what's in you" that is divine seed, he says.5 It is not that God has imputed Christ's righteousness to us and adopted us as his children. We are not saved by an external and alien righteousness, but by an internal and essential righteousness that belongs to us simply by virtue of our being created in his image. Therefore, throughout the book Osteen can address all of his readers as semi-divine without any reference to faith in Christ.
Read the rest of the article here.
HT: Monergism
Monday, November 5, 2007
Preachers In the Pulpit: Paul Washer
I first became aware of Paul Washer through a message he preached to a youth gathering a couple of years ago. The sermon blazed like wildfire through the blogosphere and I listened to it from a link at Slice of Laodicea. I couldn't believe my ears. He broke every rule of seeker sensitivity without blinking an eye. He shattered the myths of easy-believism 'I said a prayer' evangelicalism without mercy. He preached the hard message of the gospel; that of dying to self, taking up the cross and following Christ. He didn't promise the kids health, wealth and prosperity. He spoke from experience the true reality of facing death on a daily basis for the cause of the gospel while working as a missionary in the jungles of Peru. He then rebuked the youth for thinking a radical Christian as someone who wears a Christian t-shirt!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Piper on Justification

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Reformation Day!

And remember...
The just shall live by faith! (Rom 1:17b)
Soli Deo Gloria!
Brandon L.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Changing the Heart of Worship
King of endless worth, no one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor, all I have is Yours
Every single breath
The worship leader bristled at the thought that people are weak and poor, so he desired to alter the lyrics a bit to reflect a more positive, self-affirming view of fallen man. He wanted to change the line to:
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Why Celebrate Halloween...
'What other holiday?' you may wonder.
Well, let me enlighten you! The day we most commonly refer to as Halloween is also known as...
REFORMATION DAY!
On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, nailed his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenburg, protesting the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic church. Luther eventually went to trial for heresy at the Diet of Worms where he was asked to repent of his teachings upon penalty of excommunication. His teachings opposed many accepted doctrines and practices of the church. He also challenged the authority and infallibility of the Pope. Luther refused to recant, famously stating:
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Blogger's Block
God Bless
Brandon L.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Responsibility-Index
Perhaps I'll develop this further another time, but the faithful sermon we hear changes our status before God. Of course, I'm not talking about justification, but about accountability. The pan-Biblical principle is: greater privilege = greater responsibility. In this particular connection, we certainly see it in Jesus' words: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22).
So let's say you are in a church that teaches the Word of God — which you should be. As you listen to the Word faithfully preached, something is happening to you. This is true whether you feel it or not, whether your behavior changes or not. Something is happening. What is happening?
What is happening is this: your responsibility-index is rising.
Click HERE to read the rest of the article.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Another New Look
I'll let my readers be the final judge on this. Which theme should I keep?
A.) Original theme with Bunyan pic and contrasting black, white and red.
B.) The clean and elegant (but Bunyan-less) blue-gray theme I have used for the past three days
C.) The current theme
Vote now in the comment section.
Do We Really 'Decide' For Christ?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
A New Look
Monday, October 1, 2007
What Can Separate Us From the Love of God?
The Apostle Paul asks several important questions in this text. He also gives his readers profound answers.
Who can accuse God's people of any crime?
No one. God alone justifies the guilty. He answers to no man. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy.
Who has the right to sentence his saints to death and hell?
No one. Christ took our condemnation up on himself. We are free from the sting of death and the punishment of hell.
Who can separate God's people from the love of Christ, which has been freely bestowed upon them?
Nobody can and nothing will. No circumstance or trial can wedge apart this bond. Through God's love we have been made more than conquerors. Again, he reiterates that no being (angels nor rulers), thing (the sword, death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth) or circumstance (tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger) can separate us from the love of God. He even goes so far as to say 'nor anything else in all creation'. I think that pretty much covers everything, don't you think?
Friday, September 28, 2007
How to Cripple Your Church in 10 Easy Steps
Agree?
Disagree?
Discuss.
(HT: Christian Research Net)
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Is Free Will God's Greatest Gift?
This is what the Lord supposedly told him.
"Free will is the greatest gift I have given to man." - Or something close to that.
My friend did a remarkable thing after hearing the word of the Lord, something I see very few Christians do when they supposedly hear God speak to them.
He discerned the message.
He rightly divided the word of truth. He questioned the scriptural integrity of those words. He did as Spurgeon advised; judged the right from the almost right.
See, the words 'free will is God's greatest gift' may sound good, right and true on the surface, especially in the midst of a doctrinally confused generation of semi-Pelagians dominating the face of evangelicalism.
But is the notion scriptural?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pastor Bob DeWaay on Pietism

A pious person in the world today denotes a religious hypocrite, a sanctimonious spirit, concerned more for dotting his I's and crossing his T's rather than walking in love, mercy and compassion toward others. So, if someone ever calls you a pious churchgoer, don't say 'thank you'. You've just been backhanded!
This caricature has been manufactured by a contemporary evangelicalism that disdains 'dead orthodoxy' and 'dry doctrine'. It is not an accurate depiction of true piety. It actually once had a very positive, biblical definition. Piety meant a deep reverence for God and a sacred obligation to religious duties. Piousness parallels holiness. But there have been some in church history who have taken true piety to unhealthy extremes, creating a man-made system of sanctification outside of God's ordinary means of grace.
Pastor Bob DeWaay of Twin Cities Fellowship in Minneapolis has written a superb and eye opening article on a heretical movement that has infected the church for centuries. It has taken on various forms and has been called by many different names, but at its core is called 'pietism'. It is not the same as practicing true piety, but bases its belief off of it.
I'll let Pastor DeWaay define the term:
Sunday, September 16, 2007
My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace - Part 3
A great mystery once surrounded the circumstances of my salvation experience that for a decade confounded all my attempts to unveil its secrets.
Let me start at the beginning. In the summer of 1993 I found a job at the recycling center of a local non-profit agency. They provided a training environment for people with developmental disabilities. The job humbled me, but I did enjoy working with the people. My supervisor lived his Christian faith openly, and stood boldly for his convictions. To make a long story short, he preached the gospel to me for a solid year-and-a-half, slowly chipping away at my granite hard heart. One day he quoted a scripture that flew like a steel-tipped arrow, breaching my great wall of enmity.
Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph 6:11-12)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Seek The Lord
"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isa 55:6-11)
It's interesting that God says His word does not return to him empty. What do you think this means? Does it mean that all who hear the word will be saved, or does God have a double-edged intent in the proclamation of biblical truth?
Any thoughts?
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Post of The Week: Are Arminianism and Open Theism Related?
Here's an excerpt:
Over the past several months I have heard a couple of Calvinists make statements along the lines that "consistent Arminianism leads to Open Theism." This is not to say that all Arminians are Open Theists (a heresy that the vast majority of Arminians repudiate), but that if Arminians were consistent they would be Open Theists. Therefore the only thing that keeps an Arminian from being an Open Theist is inconsistency.
Read the entire article here.
Monday, September 10, 2007
A Friend of Sinners

Can you?
I wish I had the Photoshop skills these guys do, then I could fashion my header in a more creative way. It looks very good! I can't use it on my blogroll yet because of the limitations that accompany the free blog package I use here at Wordpress. Oh well, TeamPyro can still count me in as a Friend of Sinners.
A Little Levity
After a thorough examination by Arminian church officials,
Bob was found to be only "slightly dead" in trespasses and sins.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Post of the Week: The Church is Full of Hypocrites
Here is an insightful excerpt:
There are two things at work behind the accusation of hypocrisy, one true, the other false. The first is the sad reality that the church is often marred with shameful sin. More on this later. But, the second thing behind the accusation of hypocrisy is a wrong assumption about what Christianity is. Those that accuse the church of hypocrisy often assume that the whole point of the Church is to make people good, moral. “You're a Christian: you're supposed to be good and holy and all that stuff.” The world sees the church as a place where people go to learn about God's rules, and to talk about how they are keeping them and the world is not.
Here we must be clear that the main point of Christianity is not our morality and goodness. This is, to be sure, the thing driving every other world religion from Judaism to Hinduism, Islam to Mormonism and even Atheism! All of these “ism's” are pointing mankind to achieve more and be better, to climb the ladder of moral success and be a good person. But Christianity is different, it begins not with man's goodness or potential goodness but rather with man's wickedness. From the first chapters of Genesis until the Revelation given to St John the Bible is a record of mankind's failure; it is a testimony of his sin.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Friday, September 7, 2007
John Piper on The Origin of Faith
Thursday, September 6, 2007
My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace - Part 2
Surprisingly, my conversion from free-will, Arminian theology to Calvinism came rather swiftly. It's shocking really, if you only understood the depths of hatred I once held toward those doctrines. (See Part 1 of this series for proof).
I resisted initially, desperately hopeful that some sensible compromise existed between these diametrically opposed belief systems. I figured Arminianism fell into one ditch while Calvinism veered clear over to the other side of the road. I searched in vain for the imaginary highway that ran through the middle of both views, but of course I never found any signs to point the way. After wrangling with Calvinism for about 4 months, I finally beheld its beauty with a clarity only the Holy Spirit could grant.
The ditch I had plowed into, turns out, is really an off-ramp exiting the pothole plagued 'Free Will' service road. It flows into a smoothly paved four-lane interstate winding a clear path to the Celestial City. The road first runs through the firmly established townships of Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura and finally Soli Deo Gloria, which lies at the very gates of the streets of gold.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace - Part 1
Remember my series on TULIP I started many moons ago? I have pretty much finished up articulating the doctrine of Radical Corruption of human nature, but I do have an allegory I plan on penning to help illustrate the point forcefully. Hopefully, I will publish it before twilight sets on 2007. I will then resume the series with a closer look into the doctrine of Unconditional Election. But before all that takes place I thought it might be beneficial to relate the convictions that have brought me to my current level of understanding concerning God's sovereignty in our salvation.
Monday, September 3, 2007
True Discernment

I don't know if there is a greater need in the Body today than the gift of discernment. The number of teachers and preachers in the modern church who sound good and seem right but truly are not, has multiplied exponentially just in this generation. I have rejected a great number of fine-sounding televangelists, teachers, authors and bible commentators over the past couple of years that I had once respected. So much so in fact, people often wonder if there is anybody I do like.
Fair question.
My answer is 'oh yes, a great many fine teachers exist, you just have to seek them out, because most refuse to parade themselves or exploit fellow brethren."
Friday, August 31, 2007
Five Tools to Develop Spiritual Maturity - Saddleback Style
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Three Links in the Chain of Bondage
I have come to understand over the course of this past year what the true definition of bondage means when spoken of in a biblical sense. Bondage is a state of utter slavery to forces stronger than man's will. Whatever a man is in bondage to, he is a slave to serve for all of his days. The state of bondage is so overwhelmingly powerful that escape from it is beyond hope. The scriptures teach man is in bondage under three separate and distinct systems.
Monday, August 27, 2007
God Hath Said: Death from a Divine Perspective
Way to go girl! Except for that eating the fruit off the forbidden tree thing... but I digress.
The point is, I will periodically post little snippets of scriptural truth that may not be common knowledge to those not real familiar with the bible.
So, without further ado, here is my first offering.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sanctuary or Auditorium - Does it Really Matter?
This isn't an isolated occurrence. When my old church moved from their sanctuary into the gym (preparing for growth) the term sanctuary was dropped and it became an auditorium. Even the conservative baptist church I attend now calls it an auditorium.
My friend was so troubled by the terminology he confronted the pastor about it. He argued that the church has been referred to as a sanctuary throughout history and carries with it a sense of awe and reverence in the presence of the Holy that should not be changed.
In light of our discussion, a question has been hammering in my brain the past few days:
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Has God Performed a Work in You?
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Crowded - But spaced Out
We live in a narcissistic world. Our tech gadgets, which have become increasingly portable, allow us to enter into our fantasy worlds no matter where in the world we might be. 'Me time' is experienced now anytime, anywhere and anyhow.
Sitting in an airport terminal, waiting on a delayed flight to resume? No problem, simply check the latest news and sports scores on your cell phone.
Waiting in a long line at the grocery store? Just whip out your MP3 player and tap your toes to your favorite tunes.
Bored with the Sunday sermon? Just crank up a favorite movie on your iPod and drift away.
Family get together at Grandmas? Forget about it! You have an appointment to take down the dragon's lair with all your online buddies in a riveting massively multiplayer online RPG.
Itching to evangelize? No need to get your rear out of that chair. Just play on a virtual life simulation online, build a church and preach the gospel.
Notice what's missing from all these scenarios?
Monday, July 30, 2007
What To Do With My Solitude
I am often called a hermit by my family and peers. I shy away from social situations as much as possible. I am most comfortable in quiet settings, often desiring to be alone with my hobbies or my own thoughts.
Three years ago I moved out of the office suite I shared with my co-workers and into a workroom/office isolated from the department - and I just love it. A frequent comment I get from visitors is, "Man this place is quiet! How can you stand it?" My pat answer is simply "Four kids." They nod in sympathetic understanding and leave me be.
I like solitude!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Church on the Downgrade
Spurgeon never compromised his commitment to Sola Scriptura. Will we stand with him?
"An evil resides in the professed camp of the Lord so gross in its impudence that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Post of the Week: Ministry of Error?
The article is Part 6 of a series called Contentiously Contending. I recommend reading them all. This one really spoke to me. These are wise words that I think we all must take to heart.
God Bless!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
My 'Simple' Sunday
Anyway, let me give a brief overview of how church services went Sunday. Pastor gave his first message on 'Creating a Simple Church.' I held my breath, hoping he didn't propose a bunch of radical changes couched in corporate lingo to communicate the need to re-focus the church. I was pleasantly surprised, however. The message did not resemble much, if anything I had read of or listened to about 'Simple Church'. He did center the message around the book's thesis: We need to focus all the ministries in the church around the bible commission to make disciples of all nations. But it appeared to me he took the central idea of the book and built upon it without relying on the book's methods to do so. He made the message his own. Here were his three main points:
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Simple Church
So what has me on edge?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The One Thing Pastors Must Never Forsake
Believe in preaching the love of Christ, believe in preaching the atoning sacrifice, believe in preaching the new birth, believe in preaching the whole counsel of God. The old hammer of the gospel will still break the rock in pieces; the ancient fire of Pentecost will still burn among the multitude. Try nothing new, but go on with preaching, and if we all preach with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, the results of preaching will astound us."
- Charles Spurgeon
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Coming Out From Among Them - Epilogue
The story goes that a small German village called Hamelin suffered from a terrible rat infestation. A man calling himself a rat catcher boasted he could rid the town of every single rodent. The villagers promised the man, (known around those parts as the pied piper) a great sum of money for accomplishing this task. He played his flute, mesmerizing the entire colony, leading them to the nearest river, and drowning them all in the rushing waters. However the villagers weren't as thankful as they ought to have been. Like many of us would do in the midst of a desperate situation, they made a wild promise they could not possibly hope to keep in order to rid the town of its plague. But once they were relieved of their burden they had no intentions of paying the man his due.
After all, the problem wasn't all that bad in the first place, right? It's similar to how quickly a sailor's fear of drowning fades after the storm subsides. The pied piper did not take the villagers' snub very well, so he plotted revenge. One day, while the adults were all gathered together for church service, he came into town and spellbound all the children with his soulful tunes. He led them away to a dark cave. All of the children entered without hesitation, but none of them ever walked back out.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Coming Out From Among Them - Part 4
I still had not found a church home for us to root ourselves in. After 11 years in a pentecostal\charismatic type church and seeing a lot of goofiness done in the name of God, I was looking to make our home in a more conservative, scripture-saturated atmosphere. I didn't completely rule out a 'full-gospel' church since there are a couple in our town with good reputations, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to attend them. I have too many questions and concerns about tongues, prophecies, prophets and spirit baptisms to be comfortable in one right now. Most of the other churches I considered have been influenced, to some degree, by Rick Warren. So many choices, so few options. So while I pondered and prayed over our future, we continued to attend services on Sunday morning and on Wednesday nights.
Friday, June 8, 2007
To Fight or To Frolic
"In the early days, when Christianity exercised a dominant influence over American thinking, men and women conceived the world to be a battleground. Our fathers believed in sin and the devil and hell as constituting one force, and they believed in God and righteousness and heaven as the other. By their very nature, these forces were opposed to each other forever in deep, grave, irreconcilable hostility. Humans, our fathers held, had to choose sides-they could not be neutral.
For them it must be life or death, heaven or hell, and if they chose to come out on God’s side they could expect open war with God’s enemies. The fight would be real and deadly and would last as long as life continued here below. People looked forward to heaven as a return from the wars, a laying down of the sword to enjoy in peace the home prepared for them…
How different today. The fact remains the same, but the interpretation has changed completely. People think of the world, not as a battleground, but as a playground. We are not here to fight; we are here to frolic. We are not in a foreign land; we are at home. We are not getting ready to live, but we are already living, and the best we can do is rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life to the full."
- AW Tozer
Friday, June 1, 2007
The True Shepherd
"Ah, brethren, this is the mark of every true shepherd whom Christ sends - he comes in by the door, that is, the blood of Christ. He speaks of sin, because he has seen its greatness; he speaks of pardon, because he has been forgiven; of blood, because he has felt its power. 'He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.' No other qualification will do. All the learning at colleges will never make a minister. All the eloquence in the world will never make a minister."
- Robert Murray M'cheyne
Friday, May 25, 2007
The Only Acceptable Gospel
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Coming Out From Among Them - Part 3
I pulled into the church parking lot one bright Sunday morning, going through my normal routine. I delivered my kids to their various classes and sat down in our gym-turned-auditorium. Service began as usual, with our pop-star praise and worship leader grooving and crooning to the beat. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and attempted to worship God despite the distractions. When our pastor stepped up to the pulpit he declared, "Welcome to XXXX XXXXXXXXXX Church."
Excuse me? What did he just say? I looked around, first to assure myself I had not taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Yep, it was the right place. Next, I gauged the reaction of the congregation. However, nobody blinked an eye at his calling the church by a different name.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
On a More Encouraging Note...
Tozer, now deceased, was a mid-twentieth century pastor/teacher/author who has been called by many a modern day prophet. His bold, uncompromising preaching of the full counsel of God, cutting edge commentary on the culture of his day and stern warnings against the changing methods and message of evangelicalism earned him that title. His warnings hold true more so today than in his time because, as I'm sure you are well aware, evangelicalism has plunged further and further into the depths of silliness and biblical irrelevance. He is one of the most widely quoted men of God in the Christian blogosphere. In fact, I have a post featuring my favorite quote from him.
In a nutshell, Tozer's teachings are strong meat, not skim milk, like many youth ministry teachings today. Kudos to our youth minister for daring to feed his young flock substantial spiritual food. The Pursuit of God is considered a Christian classic. I admit, I haven't yet got my mitts on it, but it is high on my reading list. I've read many devotions and selected passages from his writings so I feel I am at least somewhat qualified to recommend him.
Hmmmm, I wonder if our youth minister will let me sit in on these summer courses. Honestly, I would be thrilled, I'm sure I would learn a lot. It's not everyday an adult believer could actually grow in grace through a youth group, but it looks like this is no ordinary ministry.
Praise God!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Random Ramblings - TD Jakes, Mimes and Helping Yourself
Yikes! And I thought Powerpoint presentations had great potential to divert our attention away from the word, Oh my! Four clowns making wild hand gestures and overly dramatic physical contortions to the tune of a Christian message cancels out the effectiveness of Bishop Jake's usually compelling delivery. Welcome to the brave new world of self-defeating ministry, folks.
He's promoting this book pretty heavily. The sermon he's preaching is lifted from the book and he interrupts himself every few minutes to run a mini-infomercial giving us an inside flap style synopsis of the book's contents. He says it's about personal fulfilment that can be achieved by making small adjustments to your life that, oh by the way, you can only discover if you buy his book. He made a remark that God had given him fresh new perspectives that he is unveiling to the world so we can live the abundant life. The hair on the back of my neck rises every time I hear preachers using words such as 'fresh' and 'new' in the same sentence with 'God' and the 'bible'.
And in an 'Oh my goodness, no he didn't' moment, he actually spouted the old worn cliche' 'God helps those who helps themselves' in the midst of his message! He even quotes the 'faith without works is dead' scripture in support of it. Does he have any inkling of what the grace of God really is? Can man help himself in any way in regards to salvation? Does God expect us to work our way to glory in our own strength? It is utter foolishness at best and rank heresy at worst to make this unsubstantiated claim as if it had any basis in scripture.
I've had enough, time to change the channel. If you are a fan of TD Jakes, may I humbly suggest you do the same.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Coming Out From Among Them - Part 2
In October of 2005 I underwent my own personal reformation of belief, turning away from Arminianism to Calvinism, away from a man-centered theology to a Christocentric theology. This startling change began, due in part, to my intense dissatisfaction with the church and the preaching from the pulpit. As I examined the messages I couldn't help but feel the biblical content was minimal, with the wisdom of men used as filler. That sent me on a journey to discover the truth about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This, in turn, led me to embrace Reformation Theology. However, I did not leave my church immediately. Instead, I turned on my discernment radar and listened closely to every word spoken from the pulpit. Sadly, I must report, the results were appalling.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Coming Out From Among Them - Part 1
So, my family and I have left behind friends, ministries and memories to embark on a new mission that God is leading us into. I am excited for the glories that lie on the horizon, but my heart aches also for those things I have left behind. Leaving a church is akin to getting a divorce from a beloved spouse. You might love her deeply but unfaithfulness must by necessity drive you apart. It is painful; resentment and bitterness can fester on both sides if the Lord is not sought to help heal wounds and forgive trespasses. Feelings of loneliness and isolation can at times be overwhelming. Opposition from those you called brothers and sisters in Christ can suck the life out of you; stirring feelings of guilt and doubt.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Does God Send People to Hell?
Friday, May 4, 2007
Purpose Driven Drivel
Several months ago, I sent out an email to several of my friends and former members of my old church. In it I let my pent up impressions of Rick Warren pour out like a tsunami into digital text. The reaction I received surprised me a bit. The response was overwhelmingly and enthusiastically positive. It seems most everyone could affirm the points I had made. I received several phone calls from concerned believers, confirming with them the dark turn the modern evangelical church as a whole has taken. A turn that leads down a path of heresy and ultimately apostasy from the gospel of Christ if left unconfronted. In the last year I've read many accounts from Purpose-Driven refugees; people forced out of their churches by false teaching, watered down preaching and flesh-titillating outreach methodologies. In the past year I and many others have joined the ranks of the disenchanted. We have made our stand against the ungodliness that has seeped into the church, firmly rooting our feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and His word. God has been faithful to me through it all. He has led me to attend a baptist church that centers their ministry upon God's grace through the cross of Christ.
I am reprinting the email here in hope that it will stir awareness and discernment within my readers, opening their eyes to the insidious errors walking through the front doors of our churches unchallenged.
Note: The last link no longer works. The site publishing the article no longer exists. That is unfortunate because it was the inspiration for my email. Oh well...
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The Psychology of Rick Warren
Warren said that there is a danger in merging Christianity with psychology.
“Absolutely, there’s a danger,” he said. “Because what it does is feed this self-centeredness … I say, it’s not about you. It’s all about God.
OK, it sounds like he is opposed to the merging of psychological philosophy with the church.
Great!
Oh, but wait... then there's this. An article from Christianpost.com written by Warren entitled Six Physical Factors that Affect Your Worship Service is all about psychology. He advocates manipulating environmental factors to help grow the church!
Here are some selected quotes from the article with commentary.
Rick Warren on Nightline - Part 2
So the debate goes on: Is the purpose-driven method simplifying Christianity in exchange for church growth? The founder of the movement says the conflicts and divisions are inevitable costs.
"You know, I wouldn't intentionally want to cause pain to any person or to anyone,"
My comment: No. He would be pleased as punch if all the churches would conform to his image without debate.
Warren said. "Am I willing to put up with pain so the people [that] Jesus Christ died for can come to know him? Absolutely."
Warren said that if some churches may suffer as a result of applying some of those principles, then "that's the price."
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Rick Warren on Nightline - Part 1
Warren said that there is a danger in merging Christianity with psychology. "Absolutely, there's a danger," he said. "Because what it does is feed this self-centeredness … I say, it's not about you. It's all about God. And one of the biggest myths is that all mega churches are alike. Well, they're not."
Monday, April 30, 2007
Blessed Subtraction
This quote by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the bestselling books 'The Purpose Driven Church' and 'The Purpose Driven Life' exemplifies why I left the only church I have attended in the eleven years since embracing Christ as my Savior. I count myself as one of these 'blessed subtractions' for the simple reason that I don't share Warren's vision for the postmodern church. Unfortunately, I appear to be in the minority, as thousands of churches nationwide have adopted the principles he espouses in his books, which many have exalted to near canonical status in laying ecclesiological foundations.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Breaking News: God stripped of His Power and Authority
I have an opinion on the origin of all these PC gender-neutral terms and hierarchical and patriarchal phobic beliefs - and someday I may be brave enough to post about it. For now, enjoy as Dr. Mohler sinks his teeth into this postmodern rebellion.
Enlarging My Borders
Be ye warned! You shall be exposed to heresies, watered down doctrines, false teachers, big teeth and slicked back hair. Please keep barf bags and smelling salts nearby. Things could (and probably will) get a little ugly at times.
For those readers who willingly bring injury to your intellects by digesting both my blogs, I ask for patient endurance as I republish articles from over there. I will continue to post new things interspersed with the discernment articles, so please don't take an extended leave of absence. I have several interesting topics in the skillet - so stay tuned!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Blessed Assurance Through Holiness
Have you been brought to see your own corruption in sin in such a measure that the first two beatitudes are true of you?’ The only people in the world who are truly blessed are those who have been so wrought upon by the Spirit that they are not strangers to these two things: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted’. How does God make men truly blessed, truly happy? First of all, he makes them sad at the sight and sense of their own impoverishment in a state of sin. What is poverty of spirit? Is it some kind of pseudo-pietistic attempt to convince myself that I am a miserable worm and a wretch? Not at all! Poverty of spirit results from just getting a sight of what you really are, and seeing that you are nothing and have nothing and can do nothing that can commend yourself to the grace and saving favour of God; it results from the conviction that he could make you an eternal monument of his righteous wrath, and let you perish in the eternal burning. Have you known an inner stripping that has brought you to poverty of spirit? to holy mourning? to the recognition that your sin has been against the Sovereign God? Have you been brought to the place where you hate your sin enough to forsake it and cleave only to Christ?
Monday, April 23, 2007
Dying to Self - The Absurdity of Pride
In my toddler years as a believer I pondered the importance of the doctrine of dying to self. Why would Jesus demand such a radical position of people in order to follow him? Self isn't all that bad. We make mistakes, but surely God doesn't demand for us to throw away our inherent goodness in word, thought and deed in order to be called a true disciple of Christ. After all, God loves us just as we are, right? I puzzled over it for years without coming to any fruitful conclusions. I classified these verses as hyperbole. After I embraced the doctrines of Grace or Calvinism I came to fully understand man's desperate natural condition. Man is radically corrupt in all his character and nature. Not one part of his being seeks to glorify God in any manner whatsoever.
I now realize why Jesus demanded self abandonment.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Spurgeon on Revivalism
It very often happens that the converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over.
–Charles Spurgeon
Friday, April 13, 2007
CS Lewis on Old Books Vs. Modern Books
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Random Ramblings: Busyness, Pastors.com and Righteous Anger
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
My (half-hearted) Apology to Jacob Arminius
I am truly sorry for your loss. Your reputation over the past century has been diminished at the hands of believers everywhere who hold to free-will and Calvinist theology. I, along with multitudes of others, have used your name in vain. We have ascribed the fruits of your theological studies to the works of another man, much more notorious than yourself. Many adherents to modern evangelicalism's methods of bringing souls to Christ by a simple act of the will apart from a work of grace are lumped together in a category of aberrant theology we call Arminianism. I have realized, to my chagrin, this is giving them far more credit than they deserve. To call preachers who ask lost souls to recite a canned sinner's prayer devoid of repentance an Arminian is an insult to your good name. Preachers who teach, either directly or indirectly, man's innate ability to choose Christ contrary to his sinful nature, should not be labeled with your name but with the name of a heretic from ages ago; Pelagius.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Dirt + Spit = Glory to God
Phil Johnson of Pyromaniacs has some great insights into John 9:6-7 that I think everyone should read.
Check it out HERE.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
My Heart Breaks
Friday, April 6, 2007
Random Ramblings - Apologetics, Books and Freemasonry
Church Stuff
After Wednesday service ended last night I talked a few moments with my pastor. I asked for wisdom in my witness to my Hindu friend. I briefly told him what I had spoke with him on, and he agreed that my approach was good. He asked if I had invited him to Easter service. I said yes, and that I was very hopeful that he would come.
Pastor then told me I should study apologetics because he thought I had the mind for it. I was surprised. I thought he knew me better than that... I thanked him for the encouragement, but said I was still trying to get my theology straightened out. Apologetics wasn't a big priority at the moment. I gave him my view that while apologetics was important, the preaching of the gospel is what saves souls and that's my main focus. I did defend apologetics, giving him my illustration that apologetics is akin to keeping the fish in the pond so they don't float off down a shallow stream of deceit and die. Apologetics keeps fish in the pond so they can get caught up in the gospel net. Apologetics makes for better fishing! Someday when I have grasped my theology better I will engage this noble ministry more fully.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The Fruit of Free-Will Theology
So what happened to wreck my spiritual growth?
The simple answer lies in my efforts to establish my own righteousness after having received grace. I based my assurance on my spiritual performance. The cause of this faulty understanding had much to do with my limited exposure to teachers and preachers of God's word. I swore allegiance to only 2 teachers and my pastor. Coming from a Pentecostal/Charismatic background I was taught early on to only listen to so-called 'spirit-filled' preachers, teachers and prophets.
Translation: I should only perk my ears toward pentecostal types who believed in tongues and spirit baptisms.
I could hardly tolerate any of the TBN preachers and teachers who fit this profile, although I would tune in to John Hagee and Hal Lindsey from time to time. I didn't bother with the so-called 'dried-up non-spirit-filled' teachers, so my options were very limited. My pastor preached messages that were focused more on the happy life than on the scriptures so I wasn't growing in the word much through him.
Note: Little did I know at the time my pastor was following the Church growth/Seeker-sensitive blueprint for manufacturing mega-churches. But that is another story...
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Why the World Doesn't Need Superman
The main thrust of this post is not a review of the film itself but about some concerns I have with its content. Mainly, I'm talking about the ramifications of purposely portraying Superman as a Christ figure. Wikipedia explains the term like this:
A Christ figure is a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Singing the Praises of ... Free Will?
Beware: If you are of the Reformed persuasion you may go into shock viewing this video. It is pure unadulterated Pelagianism. You've been warned.
Link: There's more to Christian Music Than the Style
Saturday, March 24, 2007
From Adam to Christ
Last week as they were leaving my office I made an appointment to meet with them at the student union after work, have a drink and discuss religion. They agreed without hesitation to meet on Tuesday. The day came and I had them working with me that afternoon. We never discussed anything about the meeting or religion during work. At 5:00 they headed home. I almost forgot the appointment myself. I raced out the door and caught them just outside the building.
I said, "Remember our appointment today? Are you guys still game?"
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Why We Should Read the Puritans
I must admit, I haven't read a lot of Puritan works aside from John Bunyan (highly recommended), John Owen (highly recommended with a caveat; he is difficult to read) and selected texts from others of that period. I've been reading Jonathon Edwards, yet he wasn't really considered a Puritan. He came along after their time, yet his works do reflect the Puritan mindset, theological leanings and pure devotion to God and His glory. Edwards is widely considered to be the greatest theologian ever born on American soil. I cannot dispute that claim.
Great teachers still teach long after their deaths. The Puritans were outstanding teachers and preachers of God's word and we can still benefit from their collective wisdom today in this Postmodern world.
I thank God for books. They allow us to build upon the wisdom of generations gone by. I thank God that every new generation that rises up in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ doesn't need to re-invent the wheel, theologically and doctrinally. The bible is a huge volume of knowledge and wisdom. Its contents are not easily digested. It would take many lifetimes of intense study to master it. Yet, we don't need to start with a blank page. The dead speak to us from the grave. Many men in church history have devoted their lives to mine the great truths of this holy volume. Take heed and learn!
Note: If you are interested in purchasing Puritan books check out this section from Monergism Books. Personally, I plan on getting the Puritan Paperback Bundle (bottom of page) at some point in the future.