Great Quotes: Spurgeon on Sin and Redemption

Charles Spurgeon once said, concerning Sin and the total depravity of the human heart;

"One sin can ruin a soul for ever; it is not in the power of the human mind to grasp the infinity of evil that slumbereth in the bowels of one solitary sin."

Spurgeon once spoke of Christ's redemption on the cross in this manner;

"it seemed as if Hell were put into His cup; He seized it, and, At one tremendous draught of love, He drank damnation dry.”

Tiptoeing Through the TULIP: Radical Corruption - Part 2

In part one we established that man is:

A. A fallen creature
B. A bondservant to the Devil
C. A sinner not only in action but in nature. Man sins because he is a sinner, not a sinner because he sins.

We ended Part 1 with the question, Does man naturally have the desire to turn from his sin in sorrowful repentance and exercise the kind of faith that saves the soul from God's Holy wrath?

It's a good question, deserving of a scriptural answer. But first, let's take a look at man's ability to attain God's righteousness through the keeping of the law.

Tiptoeing Through the TULIP: Radical Corruption - Part 1

The Fall of Man
On the sixth day of creation, God breathed life into man, the pinnacle of His handiwork. He beheld the earth with all the life therein and proclaimed it to be very good. (Gen 1:31) The earth was a paradise, a work of perfection. God gave man dominion over his creation. He had three simple laws for Adam and Eve to obey. They were to be fruitful and multiply. They were also forbidden to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. God warned:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:17).

However, man proved unfaithful to God's law. Satan, that ancient serpent, beguiled Eve into eating the fruit of that tree. She then shared it with Adam, who had done nothing to prevent her fateful decision.

God's judgment came swiftly with great severity. He remained true to his word. In that day death came into the world through sin. Adam and Eve did not die physically that day. In fact, they both would live for many centuries following the incident.

So, in what way did they die in the day they ate of the tree?

Tiptoeing Through the TULIP: Introduction

This upcoming series of posts are for anyone new to the doctrines of God’s Sovereign Grace, or Calvinism, (although I’m not fond of that moniker at all, but it is easier to type). Calvinism (yes, I’m lazy) has been succinctly, but incompletely defined by the TULIP acrostic. Contrary to popular belief, the renowned theologian John Calvin did not formulate TULIP. It was created in response to the Five Points of Arminianism many years after Calvin's death. I suppose Calvin is associated with TULIP and the belief system it represents because he so clearly articulated the doctrines in his own extensive writings.

Mailbag Musings: For God So Loves the World... Or Does He?

 

A reader, after digesting the post entitled Is God in Control?, has posed a few questions. Here is the first part:

 

'In this blog you mention, "God elected certain men to salvation before the foundation of the world. Christ secured their salvation at the cross, dying for sin." Some people may ask what John 3:16 means based on what you have said. Why did Jesus say, "For God so loved the world..." if He was only talking to the "elected certain men"? After all, it was "their" salvation He died for, right?'

Story Time: The House That God Built

Once in a while I'd like to get in the habit of posting some Christian fiction that I've written in my spare time. I'm not what you would call a prolific writer, but as my thoughts begin to flow through my fingers, onto the keyboard and into the blogosphere, I'm hoping my fictional output will increase over the next several years. Writing is a hobby I've always toyed with, but for one reason or another I've never dedicated myself to this noble discipline. My writing may reek, but what the heck, it may be a blessing to some. So for better or worse here is my first offering.
You've been warned!

Mailbag Musings: A Calvinist Explains the Fall

I received an email the other day from a reader with the following question:

How would a Calvinist explain the fall of man to someone who does not understand the story?

First, let me give the straightforward answer to this question.

A Calvinist would explain the fall no differently than any other Christian who believes in the authenticity and authority of scripture.

Most orthodox Christians believe in the literalness of the story. It is not a fable, a myth or an allegory. The story of the fall is all fact, and all truth. Reject a literal interpretation of the fall and the mystery of man's corrupt state remains unanswered. The story of Christ and his redemption would not make sense unless the story were true. Jesus is called the second Adam. Where Adam caused humanity to fall into sin, Christ redeemed humanity from sin.

Cutting the Sinner Off

Now that I have your full attention, let me direct you to this wonderful post by John Hendryx over at the Reformation Theology blog.

John also runs what I simply call the Best. Website. Ever. - Monergism.com. It is the most incredible, comprehensive resource of Reformation Theology ever assembled in cyberspace. John has a keen understanding of the concept of monergism as opposed to synergism. He has an ability of explaining these high level theological systems in a way that is very easy to grasp. I highly recommend that you read every article he has written on the subject. John's writings are only a drop in the ocean, however, compared to all the material from venerable dead theologians he has to offer. Many contemporary reformed theologians are featured there as well. The sheer volume of information available is likely to overwhelm you at first. Just pick a topic and dig in. Centuries of Godly wisdom and knowledge are to be found there. You must check it out!

Yeah, I know, this is yet another post linking to someone else's work, but don't give up on me yet. I'm still recovering from my illness. My energy level is still low, so I don't stay up late blogging like I should. Maybe, I'm getting too old for this sort of foolishness... Naaah!

Believe it or not I have many writing projects on the burner including several mailbag questions I'm in the process of answering. I also plan on launching a series of posts explaining the 5 points of Calvinism. All this and much, much more will be coming to a monitor near you! Stay tuned!

OK, I'm done humiliating myself with cheesy self-promotion. You may continue on with your life now.

Buffet of Beliefs

In this post I am wrapping up the story of the discussion I held with my 'devil's advocate' friend and the student worker 'Ned' in my office. You can read the first part of the dialogue here. The bulk of the discussion had thus far been dominated by Barney and I. After he left, the door stood wide open for Ned and I to continue speaking about religious matters.

I quickly discovered Ned staunchly believes in the 'all roads lead to God' approach to salvation. I tried to sum up his worldview with the following analogy. I said, "So God has set up the religions of the world as a kind of buffet of beliefs, where people can choose what system best fits their tastes. All God requires in return is sincerity and adherence to the commands and dictates of that faith."

Ned shrugged, "Sure. Why not?"

I replied, "Jesus plainly said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' The word proclaims there is 'no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved'. 'Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved'. "

A Healing Break

I've been sick with an extreme cold since last Thursday. I'm not much better today, either. Since my head (and chest) are so congested, I can't string two coherent thoughts together. So, I'm taking a brief break from blogging until my mind and body are back in order. Hopefully, that will be no later than Wednesday or Thursday. In the meantime, amuse yourselves with this witty bit of satire from a fellow blogger.

Pray for a quick and complete healing!

Do We Need Doctrine & Theology?

Good question.

I'll let Dan Phillips (one of those smokin' hot Pyromaniacs) provide the answer in this great post from his blog, Biblical Christianity.