An Apologist's Take On Yesterday's Historic Election

A Biblical perspective . . .

O Day of Rest and Gladness

O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright:
On Thee, the high and lowly,
Through ages joined in tune,
Sing holy, holy, holy,
To the great God Triune.

On Thee, at the creation,
The light first had its birth;
On Thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth;
On Thee, our Lord, victorious,
The Spirit sent from heav’n,
And thus on Thee, most glorious,
A triple light was giv’n.

Thou art a port protected
From storms that round us rise;
A garden intersected
With streams of paradise;
Thou art a cooling fountain
In life’s dry dreary sand;
From Thee, like Pisgah’s mountain,
We view our promised land.

Today on weary nations
The heav’nly manna falls;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing,
With soul-refreshing streams.

New graces ever gaining
From this, our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blessed.
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father, and to Son;
The church her voice upraises
To Thee, blessed Three in One.

©1997 Christopher Miner Music.

Visit igracemusic for more quality hymns!

Peace through Violence

I recently gave a message to our college group at Grace Covenant during our annual Christmas fellowship. A few weeks before, I began thinking about what I might share with the group of young adults. Of course I knew that I would bring a message on the topic of “Christmas,” but the more I began to think about it, the more I realized how many topics and subtopics can flow out of the heading, “Christmas.” Literally thousands of sermons could be preached on the topic of Christ’s birth—the actual event and surrounding events, the prophecies foretelling it, the implications of his arrival, the essence of his person, the miracle of a Virgin birth, the faith of his parents, et cetera, et cetera!

But as I read the 2000-year old story in Luke 2 about the birth of our Lord, God seemed to bring one concept to my mind more than anything else.

As I read that passage in preparation for the devotion, it was verse 14 that really jumped out at me:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels sang this song from the heavens on that ever-so holy night, they were both proclaiming a doxology of praise to God and passing along the very almost-unbelievable promise of “peace on earth.”

You see, it was this part about peace on earth that stuck with me after reading this passage.
And I’ll tell you why as I ask you—When you read the daily news and see the world’s headlines on TV, does it look to you like there’s “peace on earth”?
No. Of course it doesn’t.

So I had to think deeper on the matter—what exactly were the angels telling those shepherds? How would there be peace on earth through the birth of one little baby in a small town in Bethlehem?

Here’s what J.C. Ryle said about this “peace on earth”—

“Now is come to earth the peace of God which surpasses all understanding,—the perfect peace between a holy God and a sinful man, which Christ was to purchase with his own blood,—the peace which is offered freely to all mankind, the peace which, once admitted into the heart, makes men live at peace with one another, and will one day overspread the whole world.”

You see, I think that this peace on earth is a spiritual peace, not necessarily a physical peace between warring nations or peoples.

Matthew Henry said in his commentary on Luke,

“God's good-will in sending the Messiah introduced peace in this lower world, slew the enmity that sin had raised between God and man, and resettled a peaceable correspondence. If God be at peace with us, all peace results from it: peace of conscience, peace with angels, peace between Jew and Gentile.”

This peace is the peace that God makes with us when he turns our hateful and rebellious hearts of stone into obedient and humble hearts of flesh. This peace is the peace that comes with salvation! Look at these 2 verses that speak about this kind of peace…

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Colossians 3:19-20

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1

So the question, and the ultimate point of that message, is this: How exactly did God the Father secure this peace on earth through that baby Jesus? The angels said that there would be peace on earth, but how would this peace become a reality? How would this peace be given, or transferred, to us??

This is where things get interesting!

Let’s read what God’s prophet Isaiah said to help us figure this out…

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

Whoa!

How was peace brought to us?...through His punishment!
You see, the answer to the question is this: God used violence to bring peace!

I know what you’re thinking: “That’s crazy!”…”How can violence produce peace?”
Well just look at the wars of history—World War II is a good example. Through violence (war), peace was eventually established in both Europe and between America and Japan. Further, throughout the Old Testament we see God using violence to achieve His purposes. One of the most used, God-ordained practices in Israel was blood atonement which always included the killing of an animal. Why do you think God had the Israelites sacrifice to Him like this?...to point to the ultimate sacrifice which came in the person of Jesus Christ!

“In him we have redemption through his blood”
Ephesians1:7

God brought us peace through violence.

The way in which Christ was killed was one of the most violent popular methods of execution known in all of human history! The Romans were brutal when it came to punishing criminals. And yet this is the way God showed His love for us—by allowing His only, beloved Son to come to earth and bring us peace by dying this horrific death. What a Savior we have who was willing to offer Himself in this fashion! And what a Father we worship who gave us this opportunity to find peace in the Prince of Peace, Himself!

Revelation 5:12 reminds us how important an event Christ’s death was for us by telling us that in heaven, the eternal song of the redeemed will be a song about death…

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain”

So it’s as if even the manger was in the shadow of the cross—Christ’s entrance into this world was for the purpose of dying for us in order to bring eternal peace between God and men.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

May we not forget this important lesson this Christmas season in the middle of all of our shopping and gifting and celebrating; instead, thank Jesus for coming to earth, dying for you, and may God indeed receive the glory for all these things.

This and That's

Thought I would post a few more links to quality blogs...

Have you ever considered how the cartoon strip Calvin and Hobbes could relate to modern Evangelical Christianity? Read a terrific and insightful post over at the Scriptorium!




Emergent Church Motivational Posters
(You just have to experience this for yourself!)

Hell

Again, Tim Challies posts another quality blog. This time Tim introduces a discussion on a not-so-popular topic in modern society.

It is the topic of Hell.

Although many evangelical churches may shy away from mentioning the reality of hell in today's feel-good, consumer-friendly world, Challies rightfully notes in his blog, "...it is good and healthy to think about hell." He continues with this: "It would not be healthy to think about it too much or to have a long and deep-seating fascination with it, but because God has revealed to us that there is such a place and because He has seen fit to give us a glimpse of it, it does us good to pay attention."

I encourage you to read the rest of his post here. As you think on such a weighty truth as Hell, consider this important reminder:

"Life is short;

Death is certain;

Hell is real;

But Jesus saves!"

Our Failures, God's Mercy

Our church recently retreated to beautiful Oak Creek Canyon outside of Sedona for our annual summer Family Camp. It was a wonderful weekend of solid messages from God's Word, as well as good food and great fellowship. Pastor Don Lindblad from Kirkland, Washington was our guest speaker for the weekend. Pastor Lindlad's messages were terrific. The weekend's theme was taken from I Samuel 30:6--"But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." But to explain that one verse, Pastor Lindblad took us back to chapters 27, 28, and 29.

In these portions of Scripture we see the depression of David, God's beloved [future] king of Israel. We see David fall into such a deep pit of unchecked depression that he becomes irrational and disobedient to God (chpt. 27). We are shown King Saul's sin as he ultimately falls away from God (chpt. 28). We are shown God's providential intervention and deliverance of David (chpt. 29). And in chapter 30 we find David recovered from his depression and encouraged in the LORD.

It is a beautiful part of Scripture that I had never pondered so deeply before that weekend. While it is sad to see David in such a miserable state throughout chapters 27 through 29, we understand through it that unlike Saul, David recovered from his inner affliction. As Pastor Lindblad so astutely pointed out, chapter 28 ends with Saul and his men going out into the night, while the next chapter concludes with David and his men rising up in the morning. The symbolism here is clear: Saul, going out into the night, without the Lord's protection or guidance, would soon meet his end. David, however, is rescued from his despondency by God and rises victorious.

After studying these chapters, we should find praise to God rolling from our lips. Like David, we all can fall into self-delusion, depression, or disobedience. But like David, may we too be prompted to strengthen ourselves in Jehovah. There will always be consequences to our conduct (or misconduct), but to those who God calls His own He will uphold and show mercy.

The following verses are from a 20th Century hymn composed by Christopher Miner, but taken from the very words of David in Psalm 51. We sang this song at our camp and it fit well with our lessons on the mercy of God to sinners who continually fall short.

God, Be Merciful To Me

God, be merciful to me;
On Thy grace I rest my plea
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within;
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess;
Grief and guilt my soul oppress.
I have sinned against Thy grace,
And provoked Thee to Thy face.
I confess Thy judgment just;
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice,
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true.
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.

Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee
Savior all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.

©1997 Christopher Miner Music. Words: Richard Redhead. Music: Christopher Miner.

If We Are the Body...

I recently heard a song by the band Casting Crowns which really hit home to me. The words speak about Christ’s church. "If We Are the Body" alludes to I Corinthians 12 where Paul writes in verse 12, "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” Here’s the song:

If We Are The Body

It's crowded in worship today

As she slips in trying to fade into the faces

The girl's teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know

Farther than they know

But if we are the body

Why aren't His arms reaching?

Why aren't His hands healing?

Why aren't His words teaching?

And if we are the body

Why aren't His feet going?

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

There is a way

A traveler is far away from home

He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row

The weight of their judgmental glances

Tells him that his chances are better out on the road

Jesus paid much too high a price

For us to pick and choose who should come

And we are the body of Christ

Jesus is the way

Therefore, if we are the body…
“…Why aren't His arms reaching?”
Are we using our arms to reach out and pull people into our churches on Sunday mornings? Are we embracing them in love when they come, especially when they probably feel out of place and uncomfortable? Are we doing our part to welcome them? Are we being like Christ and truly loving the sinner?

Too often I observe even in my own congregation on Sunday mornings at least a few people who continually keep to themselves and their own small group of confidants. These professing believers fail to get out of their circles of familiarity and extend hospitality to newcomers. Thus, these individuals are hindered in the greater fellowship of believers and hamper the outward demonstration of love that Christ desires within His body, the church.

Lord, let my arms reach far, faithfully, and lovingly.

“Why aren’t His words teaching?”
What sort of words are being preached from pulpits? What kind of words are being taught in small groups? Are they words of truth? Are they Biblical words? Are they words like “sin” and “conviction” and “repentance” and “justification through faith alone”?

Too many pastors fail to teach their congregations using the right words, the Bible’s words. Sin has become “mistakes;” conviction is just a strong feeling about something; repentance, if referred to at all, is no more than “saying sorry;” and justification through faith alone is almost an unused expression outside of reformed circles. Because of these watered-down vocabulary and definitions, churchgoers have a false view of biblical reality. It is time that each of us do our part in teaching ourselves and each other with the words of God:

“There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rm. 3:22-23)

“…Unless you repent, you too will all perish."(Lk. 13:5)

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” (Acts 3:19)

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb.10:23-25)

Lord, let my words boldly teach your Truth always.

“Why aren’t his feet going?”
Are we a missions-minded people? Do we heed the Great Commission and actively participate in evangelism? What are we doing to advance the Kingdom of Christ? Are we even praying about the global reach of Christ’s Church? Are we asking God to use us as instruments of evangelism for His glory and the expansion of His kingdom? And then are we using the opportunities He is daily giving us to talk to others about Him?

I don’t think that there is any Christian in the world who could say that he or she is doing the best they can do to tell others about Jesus. This is an area that everyone can do better in. I know that I am lacking in my zeal for missions. I may often talk highly about the subject, but when it comes to converting my thoughts and words into physical actions, I fall very short. I think the same goes for most Christians in the church. Thus, the church’s feet are standing motionless. May this be not so.

Lord, let my feet carry me to share the Gospel with those who don’t know You.

Good Friday

The following is a message that I delivered at Grace Covenant Church at the 2005 Good Friday service. It has been mildly edited for the purpose of this blog. --DG

‘When he received the drink, Jesus said,
“It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.’

It has been said that these words were
“The greatest words ever uttered by the Greatest Man who ever lived!”

Allow me to briefly set the stage: Just over 33 years before these words were spoken, an angel named Gabriel was sent from heaven to a young virgin girl in Nazareth in Galilee. Gabriel told this girl, who we know was called Mary, something that greatly troubled and confused her. But the angel comforted Mary and said, “Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High!...” And to Mary’s betrothed, a man named Joseph of the line of David, the angel spoke, “Do not fear...that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins!” And so it was as the angel Gabriel had said.

As the years passed, this baby named Jesus, from the town of Nazareth, grew and became a man. At the right time, He called twelve men out from their professions to forsake all to follow him and become his disciples. He began to travel and testify to others about God and himself. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, even raised the dead to life....and then on a day which we refer to today as Palm Sunday, as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, we see what is likely the biggest false profession of faith in history, as the Jews there waved their palm branches high and threw there coats at his feet shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna!”

Just five days later, those same people were standing on those same Jerusalem streets, but this time, there were no palm branches in their clenched fists and no shouts of joyful celebration. Instead, Jesus met a mob of his accusers and murderers. This time they shouted “Crucify him! Crucify him!” and it was done as they requested.

As we look at the Apostle John’s account of the last moments of Christ before His death, we are told that Jesus spoke three important words, “It is finished.” In the Greek text, however, the phrase actually just one word: tetelestai.

“IT...IS...FINISHED!” and he died there on that tree.

The question that is begged is simply, “WHAT is ‘finished’?”...

Well, I believe that Scripture clearly shows us elsewhere, outside of this passage in John, exactly what Christ meant when He made this proclamation.

Here we are going to look at 3 ways in which Jesus Christ finished the job.

I. He fulfilled prophesy.

Matthew Henry: "[At the moment of this utterance], The hatred of his persecutors had done its worst!" They had finished their evil deed of crucifying a faultless man.

But what many, if not all of his persecutors did not realize was that they were playing a huge role in fulfilling Old Testament prophesy.

The first prophetic words in the Bible were given by God Himself in the Garden:

Genesis 3:15—“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers; and he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”

Though God was specifically addressing the serpent here, He said it for Adam and Eve to hear the promise He was making so that in this they could hear the hint of grace and see the door of hope opened to them in spite of their tremendous fall from perfection. We are also led to understand that it was by faith in this promise that the patriarchs were justified—they believed God’s promise of a Savior to be true.

And now, here in our passage in John, we see the fulfillment of this promise—the seed of the woman was Jesus. And we can see as Christ hung on the cross with nails through both of his feet that Satan had now truly struck and bruised his heel. But at the same time, when Christ said “It is finished,” and he gave up his spirit, he put the head of Satan under his foot, and I believe that on the Last Day, He will crush him forever!

He fulfilled the first prophecy in the Bible in three simple words, “It is finished!”

Elsewhere in the Old Testament, we see prophesy pointing to the crucifixion of Christ.

Isaiah 53:5—“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
(also Psalms 22 and John 3:14-15; 12:32-33)

When Christ said, “It is finished,” he was saying, “All of the types and prophesies of the Old Testament pointing to the sufferings of the Messiah, I have now accomplished and answered.”

It is finished!

II. He did the will of His Father.

Just a year ago a motion picture came to movie theaters that caused quite a stir in Hollywood

and around the world. The movie, of course, was The Passion of the Christ. Before its World Premiere, a number of outspoken Jews criticized the film for being anti-Semitic because it portrayed the Jewish people as the ones responsible for Christ’s crucifixion. Obviously, those offended Semites had not read the New Testament Gospel account very closely! And I wondered also why the Italians were not speaking out because it likewise portrayed the Roman soldiers as rude and violent and torturous, and just as responsible for putting Christ on that cross.

At the center of the controversy was the movie’s creator, a very wealthy and charismatic Catholic man named Mel Gibson. In a post-premiere television interview with Gibson, Dianne Sawyer asked him a very pointed question, “So who is responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus?”

Gibson gave a reply to the effect of, “Well, we all are; I am, you are, everyone is responsible for the death of Jesus.” While I was surprised and initially pleased with his bold response and agree with it from one perspective, I think that we need to consider a greater, ultimate perspective.

We must realize that the death of Christ was on one hand, the doing of sinful men while on the other hand, at the same time, the will of God the Father. Christ could have in an instance leaped from the cross upon which He hung and swept every last one of his murderers into hell! But he didn’t!

When Jesus gave his disciples the Lord’s Prayer—a prayer by which to pray by—he prayed to His Father, “Thy will be done.” And now, it was as if he was saying, “Thy will IS done!” Christ told his disciples in John 4:34,“My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” He was on a mission from the Almighty, a divine, heavenly errand which only He could complete! Later on in Acts we see that the whole thing was part of God’s plan and purpose:
Acts 2:23—“This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge...”

What an amazing God we have who would love us enough to give up His only Son to die for us! And what an amazing Savior we have who would do the will of His Father, though it meant humiliating Himself as a man and dying a torturous death on the cross! Thank God it is finished!

III. He finished the work of atonement. (John 19:30)

First, Christ did not come to merely set us an example. In his book, Manly Dominion, author and pastor Mark Chanski shows his readers how Christ was a good example for men to imitate and follow:

• He lived his life serving and helping others, while simultaneously, He was the greatest leader to ever live!
• He was obedient to God in all circumstances.
• He was patient in suffering and affliction.
• He was humble.
• He was loving.
• He set the standard for love by His own sacrifice.
• Et cetera.

Throughout history there have always been those who refuse to see Christ as anything more than a good man and a wise Jewish teacher. They’ll say he was a role model, a good example, an icon of morality, but they will refuse to accept Him for who he really is!

In his gospel account, John gets to the point right off the top: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

I was teaching this to my third and fourth grade Sunday School class just a few months ago, and they came to understand that the “Word” that John speaks of here is the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, God’s only Son! And we need to accept that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but is God Himself, otherwise, His atonement was useless and empty.

In the final hours leading up to Jesus’ death, he faced, what Chanski calls, “wholesale desertion.” First, one of his own twelve closest friends betrayed him for a meager 30 pieces of silver. Then, in the Garden, in the moments of extreme mental and emotional agony, his disciples slept while he prayed, and once they woke, they fled. Then one of his dearest disciples, Simon Peter, denied—not once, not twice, but THREE times—that he even knew this man named Jesus!

But the ultimate desertion came at Christ’s darkest hour—as he hung upon the cross under the unbearable weight of the sins of you and I as the sole object of His Father’s wrath. But it was at that moment of Christ’s death that mankind’s liberation from the bondage of sin was procured by a merciful Lord!

Spurgeon: The last word but one, "It is finished." There is the complete justification of the believer, since the work by which he is accepted is fully accomplished.

He hung there until His Father’s will was accomplished, until his errand was completed, until his chore was done, until His people had been redeemed, until He said resolutely, “IT...IS...FINISHED!”

Philip Graham Ryken: When Christ said, “It is finished,” he was not merely uttering a sigh of relief or a moan of resignation...He was announcing a victorious proclamation: “IT IS FINISHED!”

Secondly, He came to deliver us from the wrath of God and to take away our sins.

(Romans 1:18, 3:21-26, 5:6-11) When John the Baptist proclaimed in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,” he was giving Christ more than a name or title. He was supplying us with a wonderful description of Jesus the Messiah!

In the Old Testament, the priests would shed the blood of animals which symbolized a covering of one’s sins. But Christ’s death and the shedding of his blood did much more than cover the sins of sinners, it took their sins away entirely!

Matthew Henry says that with Christ’s statement, “It is finished,” came an end to transgression and the bringing in of an everlasting righteousness to those who call upon His name!

Many people have criticized Christianity for holding the cross in such high esteem. They see the cross as a symbol of death and suffering; but as Christians we look at the cross and see life! “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

Hebrews 9.27-28—"Just as it is appointed for man to die once and then to face judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him!"

He came and died once to bear our sins on himself, and after that...It Is Finished!

APPLICATION:

Hebrews 12:1b-2—“...And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We must understand that as Christians, we have been called of God to live a life holy and pleasing to him. We have been called out of our worldly pasts, out of our sinful lives, to be lights that reflect the Glory of God! However, it is important for us to acknowledge that this was not of our own choosing! If it were left to us, as many professing believers believe that it is, we would still be clinging to our much-loved sinful flesh, doing the works of evil, in complete rebellion to God’s Law, and under the full condemnation of God’s judgment! But God, in his infinite mercy and grace, decided before the foundation of the world, before the beginning of time and space, to call a people for His own, not by anything good in themselves, but entirely because it pleased Him to do so!

Though the Christian life is long and hard and full of trials and temptations, Christ said it: “It is finished!” God, through the death and resurrection of His Son, has given us an object to put our faith in, a faith that He Himself initiates in us and carries out to completion! He gave us this promise in I Thes. 5:24—“He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it!”

Let me share with you a quick story that Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on John, gives. It’s the story of a rather eccentric evangelist who was once approached by a young man. The young man asked the evangelist flippantly, “What must I do to be saved?”The evangelist was quick to respond, “It’s too late!” and continued what he was doing. Naturally surprised, the boy asked, “Do you mean that it’s too late for me to be saved?!... Isn’t there something that I can do?!?”

“Too late,” said the evangelist. “It’s already been done...Now just believe!”

To the unbeliever: There is no one work or series of works that you could do that would add to the one work that Christ finished that day on Calvary! Just as “money can’t buy you love,” money can’t buy you heaven! Nothing can get you to heaven, save the righteousness of Jesus.

Anything that we in our own devices may attempt to do to earn our own salvation is done in vain. WHY?—Because Scripture says that all of our deeds are sinful, like filthy rags before Him who is holy.

But consider Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, who came to earth as a baby boy, lived a life of perfection, and then died a faultless man at the hands of angry sinners just like you and I! It was for you that He came! It was for you that he suffered! It was for you that he poured out his life unto death and rose again on the third day! Put your faith in Jesus! Turn from your sins with a repentant and sorrow-filled heart and call upon the name of the only one who saves you, the name of Jesus Christ!

And to you, dear Christian, take comfort here in that you do not have to work for your own salvation—It has already been worked out for you! Even if you tried your best to work toward heaven, as some teach that we can do, you would fall miserably short and would only find eternal death and damnation as the fruit of your labors! Stop trying to win His favor! Stop trying to climb to heaven! Jesus has already climbed that mountain for you and at the end of your life, He’ll carry you to the top with him!

In conclusion dear friends, when Christ cried, “Tetelestai!......It is Finished!” he sealed our pardon with his blood. It was all done. There was no more pain to be inflicted upon this spotless lamb. He had suffered all that the Father willed, and now He died with the weight of the sins of the world upon His back.

It had been completed. The law and prophesies of the Old Testament had been fulfilled perfectly throughout his life, and now, ultimately in his death.

The debt had been paid. The holiness and justice of God demanded a penalty for Adam’s sin; and now Christ, the one and only Son of God, had paid that ransom which relieved men from God’s eternal judgment.

The door had been opened. Now there was a way for sinners to directly meet with God the Father through God the Son. At Christ’s death, the curtain in the temple tore, symbolizing a new-found access to the very throne room of the Almighty. Christ became the new High Priest and Mediator between God and man.

And it could not be reversed. The death of Christ was once-and-for-all! It was a perfect, eternal atonement that could not and need not be altered or added to. Praise God for His Infinite Love!

The Captain of our Souls has already won the Victory! And on that Last Day, the trumpets will blare, the clouds will part, and Christ, the Servant-King, will ride triumphantly threw the ranks of His servants and will take each faithful follower up into Heaven to eternally live with Him!

He speaks now from on high,

“Behold, I am coming soon!

My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the First and the Last,

the Beginning and the End.”

It is finished, indeed! Amen.

The Gospel in a Hymn

"Not What My Hands Have Done"

by Horatius Bonar

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;

Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.

Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;

Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;

Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.

No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;

No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;

Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.

Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,

Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;

And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.

His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb

Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;

He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.

’Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;

I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

Death

For those who know me best, you probably know that the subject of death is one that I actually enjoy thinking about and discussing because, in part, it causes me to think about my life, my God, and the destiny that awaits me.

This last week John Piper's father passed from this world into another. Today, his soul rests in heaven.

As I read what Piper wrote concerning his father's last moments on earth and his own personal thoughts at the time of his dad's death--and thereafter--I was deeply moved. More importantly, I was encouraged. It made me think about how much of an impact Christian parents can have upon their children, and how their children may be used of God. I think about men like John Piper who have been used of God to preach, shepherd, write, and teach for the advancement of Christ's kingdom; and I think about the parents of men like these. While some of the parents of great Christian leaders are/were not believers, many men--like Augustine, Spurgeon, Piper, etc.--did have parents who were faithful to introduce their children to a knowledge of Jesus Christ and pray diligently for God to save them. These children grew up to call their parents blessed.

Please take a minute to read Piper's account of his father's death:

Tuesday, March 6, 2007. 2 a.m.

The big hospital clock in room 4326 of Greenville Memorial Hospital said, with both hands straight up, midnight. Daddy had just taken his last breath. My watch said 12:01, March 6, 2007.

I had slept a little since his last morphine shot at ten. One ear sleeping, one on the breathing. At 11:45, I awoke. The breaths were coming more frequently and were very shallow. I will not sleep again, I thought. For ten minutes, I prayed aloud into his left ear with Bible texts and pleadings to Jesus to come and take him. I had made this case before, and this time felt an unusual sense of partnership with Daddy as I pressed on the Lord to relieve this warrior of his burden.

Read the rest of the story here.

Fearing God

My wife Paige has an uncle and aunt--Bill and Naomi Hayes--who are traveling ministers/evangelists. We were blessed last year to have been able to spend some time with them while they were here ministering to churches in the Valley of the Sun. While Bill preaches mostly within Assembly of God and Pentecostal circles, he is the first to admit that his message is not typical among many Pentecostal preachers. He preaches themes like "Sin," "Repentance," and "Fearing God." He cuts away the fat to get to the meat and preaches the raw truths of Scripture to people, many of whom are used to having their ears tickled with positive, self-esteem-building words.

The following is an email I received last week from Bill on the topic of Fearing God.

Here we are in the Bahamas, more precisely Nassau, where all the hoopla of the Anna Nicole Smith saga is being acted out. I can hardly get any other news on TV than endless reporting of the body and the baby. Who has the jurisdiction of the body and who is the father? It was reported on one of the cable networks that this is what the people want to see and hear in the news; in fact it has doubled some of the stations’ ratings. One network said 80% of Americans are deeply interested in this story. Does that tell us something about our culture today in America?

A repeated statement by news outlets, “Let her be buried next to her son in the Bahamas, so she will find that rest and peace in death that alluded her in life.” What a pagan way of looking at life and death. Jesus gives no such comfort! In Luke 12:18-21 Christ gives us a glimpse of the result of a wrong connotation placed on prosperity,

“And he told them this parable…a certain rich man said, this is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (NIV)

Here is another example from Luke 16:19ff-- "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day… 22 the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away.” Rest in peace! How is it possible? Too late! As the writer of Hebrews states in Heb 9:27 “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (KJV)

Is it surprising how easy we have made it for men to enter the kingdom of God in modern times? No need for a radical new birth, “Except a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” No need for “REPENTANCE.” Jesus said, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The first word of the Gospel! What we have today is a new version of “Cheap grace,” a phrase used by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in describing the German evangelical posture during the rise of Hitler. Here is a quote from Bonhoeffer:

“The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. Such a man knows that the call to discipleship is a gift of grace, and that the call is inseparable from the grace. But those who try to use this grace as a dispensation from following Christ are simply deceiving themselves.”

Here in the Bahamas the church, the nation, and even the schools are very religious, “evangelical religious.” They can even pray and read the Bible in the public schools and do! But what do they have to show for it? A nation where crime is even higher then America, the murder rate nearly four times higher then the U.S. Sunday morning a pastor of a Baptist church, four robbers kicked open his door, took everything he had, shot him through the heart while his wife and twin daughters watched. Here is a country where STD’s are rampant and HIV is one of the highest in the west. Where single parented families are the norm, the fathers are not deadbeat dads but “Millstone men,” and yes “Millstone women” too. (Read what Jesus said a millstone man is in Matt. 18:5 & 10.) We in America are embracing a similar “cheap grace” Christianity. The most popular preaching centers in, “Your Best Life Now.” Barbara Walters, in a recent interview with a pastor who proclaims this narcissist Christianity stated, “Your gospel has no sin, suffering or sacrifice in it.” And I might add “And we Christians now love to have it so!” Self-help Christianity centers in, “It’s all about me.”

This book and minister are not the only offenders (he merely sits at the top). Leading Pentecostal magazines have almost nothing about a God who is to be greatly feared by his people and the inhabitants of planet earth, – nothing!! Am I being too hard? I tell the congregations where I minister, “I’m not the hard one; it is you that have no fear of God in your message and life; that is hard!” Then I quote Proverbs 28:14, “Happy is the man who fears the Lord always but he who hardens his heart shall fall into trouble.” Isn’t that where we in the evangelical church find ourselves these days: “IN TROUBLE.” Our families disintegrating, divorce higher among people of faith than those with no faith at all, drugs and alcoholic addictions, STD’s spreading like wild fire and every dilemma of a postmodern era has found itself in the heart of the church. Why? Where is the “Keeping power of His Grace?" Where is the power of the cross?

THE CAUSE FOR THIS TRAGEDY IS...
“The way of peace they have not known, (why?) there is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3) Paul the Apostle says this of the world. Today it is characteristic of the church. I am not the only one who is saying this! Henry Blackaby states “The distinguishing characteristic of the church today in America is no fear of God.”

THE CURE...
A revival of the fear of the Lord; God showing up in our churches. A cry from our hearts, “Restore unto us a holy fear of the Lord,” but for that to happen we must have a change of thinking, a realization that indeed God is to be greatly feared.

[bold & italics mine]

Teach Your Children Well

When I was growing up, my parents were very diligent in reading regularly to me and my brother. In doing so, my parents instilled in me from a young age the importance of literature, especially the value of knowing God’s literature, the Bible. In addition to reading Scripture with us, my mom and dad were consistent in introducing us to other quality books, most memorably, Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress and The Holy War, Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, along with countless biographies of men like William Carey, George Mueller, Teddy Roosevelt (“Bully!”), Robert E. Lee, Jim Elliot, and other accounts of God’s providence in the lives of real people in history.

But on top of all of these terrific books, there was one exercise which my parents were dedicated to helping Paul and I do: catechism.

About a year ago I heard Alistair Begg speak at a local church here in Gilbert. In his message that evening he discussed the lack of doctrinal knowledge and spiritual maturity in churches today. He attributed this in part to poor training in Christian homes and in another part to poor preaching in Christian churches. He mentioned the Puritans, and even more recent generations of Christians, and how they were extremely thorough in the doctrinal training of their young people. But somehow in the latter days, children are being raised in homes and churches where there is very little emphasis placed upon theological understanding and training.

I have been to different youth groups, Sunday School classes, Christian school chapekl services, conferences, and churches, and I can truly agree with Alistair Begg’s diagnosis of the problem with youth today. They are not being given a solid, doctrinal foundation upon which to grow spiritually. The Christian leaders in their lives are not working hard to teach even the basics of Christianity to their youth. In other words, the baton is being dropped.

Just last month I attended a conference at which author and speaker Josh McDowell was speaking on a similar topic. He mentioned how the generation of his grandchildren—today’s teens and pre-teens—is being bombarded with postmodern thinking on every front: at school, on television, in Hollywood, in magazines, on the internet, in the news media, at home, and even at church. Spirituality has become little more than a personal feeling, experience, or opinion. Even the fundamentals of the faith are forgotten or ignored. As Pastor Begg accurately mentioned, this is mostly why the Da Vinci Code was such a huge phenomenon for Christians. As he said,
Why do you think so many books were printed for Christians on the subject of Christ’s divinity and the authority of Scripture?
Because so many Christians were confused and bewildered by the ideas that Dan Brown was presenting.
And why were Christians confused?
Because they are ignorant as to some of the most essential tenets of biblical Christianity.
And why are so many Christians so ignorant?
Because the Bible is not properly being exegeted and expounded in by church pastors.

O that parents would teach and pastors would preach the fundamental doctrines of the Bible again!

God has given us so many tools by which we can learn about Him. One of these devices is catechism. Catechism is a systematic way of teaching someone the basic (and not-so-basic) truths of the Bible. A good catechism thoroughly covers topics such as God (His being, nature, attributes, tri-unity, etc.), Christ, sin, repentance, substitutionary atonement, justification, sanctification, God’s Word, heaven, and hell. These are the exact things that Christians need to know, but often don’t. Thus, it’s no wonder so many Christians are afraid to witness to unbelievers—they hardly know what they believe for themselves, how could they share that with someone else? It’s no wonder Christians shrink back in fear when another article or book or movie comes out in an attempt to discredit the deity of Jesus Christ. It’s no wonder young people buy into the philosophies of the day taught to them by their college professors, movies, or magazines. They were never taught by their parents the fundamentals of the faith.

I am so thankful for the biblical education with which my parents blessed me! I thank the Lord that I was warned about Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Vanity Fair, and the Flatterer before I became too set in my ways. I thank the Lord that I was taught to guard Eye Gate, Ear Gate, and Mouth Gate. I thank the Lord for men of character who were moral leaders and examples of godliness. I thank the Lord that I was raised in a good church with sound preaching from caring elders and biblical teaching from loving Sunday School teachers. And I thank the Lord that on at the age of five I was able to share with two Mormon missionaries at our door what the “chief end of man” is.

Please take another moment to read Pastor Tom Chantry’s post on the Benefits of Catechism.


God bless!

Steve Camp on Saddam's Execution

I would be doing a disservice to anyone who reads this blog if I didn't post a link to Steve Camp's excellent post on Saddam's execution. I am always blessed by his posts, and as usual, was very pleased to read his thoughts on the death of Hussein. Here's an exerpt from the post:

But God “takes no delight” in Saddam’s death… Because at the moment of his last breath he entered everlasting perdition and now has knowledge of his torment; of the Lordship of Jesus Christ; the eternal plight of his sin; the futility of the Islamic faith; and has but tasted of God’s holy wrath—for one day, he will receive a physical body in which he will suffer and be tortured night and day forever and ever without relief or reprise by the wrath of a holy God. It is a punishment the weight of which no man can fathom in this life. Saddam has been under the wrath of God all of his life (John 3:36); but he now knows the realty of such divine anger. He is conscience; he is suffering; and he is eternally damned. All who reject Jesus Christ and His gospel are under God’s wrath—and there are no exceptions (John 14:6).

To tell you the truth, I am still mulling over the following words from Camp’s blog:

Beloved, our lives are a vapor (James 4:11); we live once, we die once, and then the judgment (Heb. 9:27). So may I entreat those who do not know Christ to flee… flee to Him; and "flee from the wrath to come" (Matt. 3:7). Do not harden your heart while “today is called today” (Heb. 3:-4) and it be too late for you as it is for Saddam. Do not be contented by thinking you have already fled to Christ. Make certain! Beg the Lord to search your heart and show you yourself. Test yourself to see if you are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). And if not, repent of your sin, trust in Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone for the hope of the salvation of your souls (Roms. 3:21-26). Flee all other means to salvation whereby you may find some glory in your own works, deeds or religious practice. Come to the end of yourself--"deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him" (Matt. 16:24). "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Roms. 10:9-10).

Thanks, Steve, for this very biblical perspective on our world’s current events and a very personal exhortation to each and every reader, both saved and unsaved!


Related News Article:
New York Times

Three Letter Word

Here's another good post by Tim Challies. The funniest thing is that Paige and I were just recently discussing the same problem on which Tim sheds light here at Challies Dot Com.

As it has been said before, "How can you present the cure without first diagnosing the problem.

C'mon! It's time for churches to come back to calling it by name: sin.

"You Will Recognize Them By Their Fruits" ... PART I

Jesus Christ spoke about two types of trees: 1.) bad trees and 2.) good trees (Matthew 7:15-20). This discourse was a part of His well-known "Sermon on the Mount." Here Christ is speaking to His disciples, warning them of false prophets who will try to attack them. He explains that these false teachers will come dressed up in the clothing of true sheep, or believers, "but inwardly are ravenous wolves." And to describe the method by which the believer is to recognize these wolves, Christ remarks, "You will recognize them by their fruits."

John Gill comments on this passage: "The Jews have a proverb pretty much like this, "a gourd is known by its branches". The gloss upon it is, "it is, as if it was said, from the time it buds forth, and goes out of the branch, it is known whether it is good or not;'' i.e. the goodness of the gourd is known by the fruit its branches bear. So a good preacher is known by the good doctrine he brings, and a bad one, by his unsound doctrine."

Again, Gill on the subject:

The meaning of our Lord is, that from the false doctrines of men comes no good fruit of faith, holiness, joy, peace, and comfort. Their doctrines are like "thorns", which prick and pierce, give pain and uneasiness; and, like "thistles", choke, and are unprofitable, afford no solid food and nourishment; yea, their words eat as do a canker, are contrary to vital religion and powerful godliness. This sense I prefer; because, on the one hand, it is possible for a false teacher to do works, which may be externally good; though indeed no good works, properly speaking, can be performed by an unregenerate man, because he has neither good principles to act from, nor good ends in view: and, on the other hand, a man who is destitute of the grace of God, and lives ill, may yet have right notions of the Gospel, though he has no experimental knowledge and relish of it; but where false doctrines are imbibed, and propagated, no good fruit can follow upon it.

It follows, both textually and logically, that only a good tree bears good fruit and only a bad tree bears bad fruit. Notice, the tree that is good bears the fruit that is good. In saying this, the tree is good even before the bearing of any observable fruit. The fruit, when grown, does not make the tree good or bad. The tree, being either good or bad in the beginning produces fruit that is like the tree, good or bad. Again, Gill :

As a good man does, and will do good works, but his works do not make him a good man; he is so before he performs good works, or he would never be able to do them; these make him appear to be a good man: so a good preacher, that has an experimental knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel, will deliver out sound doctrine, who is first made so by the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God; and by searching the Scriptures, and examining his doctrines by them, he will be known and appear to be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine; and such a good minister of the Gospel, out of the good treasure of Gospel truths put into his earthen vessel, will bring forth, from time to time, good and excellent truths, to the edification and profit of those that hear: "but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit"; if the tree is corrupt, the fruit will be corrupt; and as is the preacher, so will be his doctrines: if he is a corrupt preacher, or a man of a corrupt mind, destitute of the truth, his preaching will be such as will tend to corrupt both the principles and practices of men; for such evil men and seducers, out of the evil treasure of false doctrines, which they have received into their judgments, will bring forth, either more secretly or openly, evil tenets in their ministry, which prove of bad consequence to the souls of men.

Smokey Subject?

Like smoke hovering in the sky, it seems to me that there is a continual cloud of discussion primarily amongst Christians in the air as of late.

It is a conversation on the subject and activity of smoking tobacco, namely cigars. Since this discussion exists, let me provide some of my own personal remarks, most of which (if not all) borrow from the thoughts and words of others.

I begin with a disclaimer (although, as I have learned in the past, even my disclaimers can upset people):
This post is merely one man's opinion. I do not intend to correct, rebuke, encourage, or persuade anyone on the matter of smoking cigars or pipes (From here on, I will refer to the two collectively as cigars or tobacco.). I am simply writing to express my thoughts about smoking.

Let me start by addressing the general anti-smoking hysteria of modern times. It seems that everywhere you look: on billboards, television, newspapers, magazines, websites, etc., there is a conscious effort to discourage people from smoking. (Admittedly, most of these ads are directed at cigarette smoking; however, they can apply to all tobacco use, as well.)

This anti-tobacco propaganda is a reaction based upon recent studies conducted during the past decade or two which make scientific, medically-proven claims about the dangers of tobacco use and the harmful effects of second-hand smoking. While many of the findings of these medical studies are reliable, individuals and organizations have taken these studies and blown them out of proportion, utilizing the specific medical findings in their wide-sweeping, anti-smoking arguments. (For further reading on the anti-smoking trend, read this insightful and frightening article by Dennis Prager.)

I have come into contact with at least three groups of people who oppose the sale and use of tobacco. First, some of these individuals are former tobacco smokers who possess personal vendettas against the tobacco companies for the years they smoked cigarettes without knowledge of any major health ramifications such as lung, mouth, and throat cancer, as well as a series of heart and blood problems. These people seek some sort of revenge or justice. Other society members have jumped on the anti-smoking bandwagon because they have known someone, possibly a friend or relative, who has suffered great physical harm, even death, due in part to the effects of living a life of cigarette smoking. These people are motivated partly by a desire to protect humanity, but also potentially to stick it to the man, the man in this case being the tobacco companies. The third group of people I have encountered consist of religious folk, many of them professing evangelical Christians. These people oppose all tobacco use on the grounds of what they consider Biblical doctrine. Arguments based on notions such as "the body is a temple" and "do not be a stumbling block to the weaker brethren" abound within this anti-smoking group. But again, this group seeks only to promote physical and spiritual welfare within the human community.

All of this modern anti-smoking madness, however, has very little to due with tobacco use in the form of occasional cigar or pipe smoking. I am a tobacco user. I love both good cigars and pipes. Like many of us, I have known people who have suffered physically and/or emotionally from the over-use of tobacco. I have known people who have died young from lung cancer after years of cigarette addiction. And I have heard of individuals who have likewise died of lung cancer without ever taking a puff of a cigarette.

So where's the rub?

The root problem lies not in the occasional consumption of tobacco, but in the over-use; the habit; the addiction.

Tobacco: Tumor-causing, teeth-staining, smelly, puking habit.

Sure. One could make this claim. But it is an appeal to the emotions. One could make a similar claim about other common commodities. Take Starbucks coffee, for example. If one drinks enough of it, I'm sure a double-shot, venti caramel macchiato could cause tumors, stain teeth, make the breath smell bad, and make one vomit, too. How about Coca-Cola? Same thing.

The point is this, and we've heard it before: Everything in moderation.

Whether the item be a La Gloria Cubana, an iced Frappuccino, a Diet Mountain Dew, Cheeto's, Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough, or Baileys on the rocks, remember one thing: moderation.

Now I understand that there are indeed other issues that can come into play for the Bible-believing Christian, one such issue being the matter of the conscience. For example, if I know that my Christian brother, Joe Schmo, is constrained by his conscience not to partake in the consumption of ice cream due to his past problem with gluttony, as the stronger brother (Romans 14-15) I am obligated by Scripture to abstain from ice cream in Joe's presence. However, outside of Joe's presence, I am granted the liberty by Scripture and my own conscience to eat my ice cream, even if Joe knows I am doing so. And according to the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, brother Joe must not attempt to bind my conscience in the consumption of ice cream or despise me; nor should I flaunt my spiritual liberty or look down on him. In this mutual understanding, brothers and sisters in Christ should remain at peace with one another. In theory, I suppose.

This subject of Christian liberty plays a major role in the issue of cigar smoking. While at the same time, addiction (or most often, the lack of self-discipline/control) is another part of the equation. The matter of addiction is a serious one and should be dealt with biblically. However, let me just note that according to statistics, the amount of people who smoke cigars and are addicted to them, are very, very few compared to the number of people who smoke cigars for pleasure and recreation.

Which leads me to another major idea: the activity of smoking cigars is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable activities known to man. (I did mention that this is my opinion, correct?!) Cigar smoking is an activity that can be engaged in exclusive of anything else, and it is also an activity which can be easily accompanied by a number of other leisurely activities: golfing, camping, driving, hunting, walking, boating, reading, playing board games, contemplating, bird-watching, and my favorite: theologue-ing.

Cigar smoking accompanied by the discussion of theology is a time-old tradition, especially among reformed individuals. This is due in part to the influence of the pipe-smoking, White Horse Tavern Puritans upon the modern-day reformed community, formalized by the greatest theologian of the 19th Century, Charles H. Spurgeon, and contemporized by great thinkers and writers like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and others. Thus, for centuries, smoking and theology have gone hand-in-hand. Today still, cigars are precious to many members of the reformed community. They remain a symbol of our reformed heritage, our God-given liberties, and a wonderful pastime!

In closing, avoid the current anti-tobacco craze, and allow yourself to muse over the following two poems celebrating God's creation, the tobacco leaf.



Great Poem by Bach:

Whene'er I take my pipe and stuff it
And smoke to pass the time away
My thoughts, as I sit there and puff it,
Dwell on a picture sad and grey:
It teaches me that very like
Am I myself unto my pipe.
Like me this pipe, so fragrant burning,
Is made of naught but earthen clay; T
o earth I too shall be returning,
And cannot halt my slow decay.
My well used pipe, now cracked and broken,
Of mortal life is but a token.
No stain, the pipe's hue yet doth darken;
It remains white.
Thus do I know
That when to death's call I must harken
My body, too, all pale will grow.
To black beneath the sod 'twill turn,
Likewise the pipe, if oft it burn.
Or when the pipe is fairly glowing,
Behold then instantaneously,
The smoke off into thin air going,
'Til naught but ash is left to see.
Man's fame likewise away will burn
And unto dust his body turn.
How oft it happens when one's smoking,
The tamper's missing from it's shelf,
And one goes with one's finger poking
Into the bowl and burns oneself.
If in the pipe such pain doth dwell
How hot must be the pains of Hell!
Thus o'er my pipe in contemplation
Of such things - I can constantly
Indulge in fruitful meditation,
And so, puffing contentedly,
On land, at sea, at home, abroad,
I smoke my pipe and worship God.

Johann Sebastian Bach - 1725 (1685-1750)
From: The Second Little Clavier Book For Anna Magdalena Bach




Smoking Spiritualized
by Ralph Erskine

This Indian weed now witherd quite,
Tho green at noon, cut down at night,
Shows thy decay;
All flesh is hay.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The pipe so lily-like and weak,
Does thus thy mortal state bespeak.
Thou art ev'n such,
Gone with a touch.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And when the smoke ascends on high,
Then thou beholdst the vanity
Of worldly stuff,
Gone with a puff.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And when the pipe grows foul within,
Think on thy soul defild with sin;
For then the fire,
It does require.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And seest the ashes cast away;
Then to thyself thou mayest say
That to the dust
Return thou must.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

PART II.
Was this small plant for thee cut down?
So was the plant of great renown;
Which mercy sends
For nobler ends.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

Doth juice medicinal proceed
From such a naughty foreign weed?
Then whats the pow'r
Of Jesse's flow'r?
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The promise, like the pipe, inlays,
And by the mouth of faith conveys
What virtue flows
From Sharon's rose.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

In vain th unlighted pipe you blow;
Your pains in inward means are so,
Till heav'nly fire
Thy heart inspire.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The smoke, like burning incense tow'rs
So should a praying heart of yours,
With ardent cries,
Surmount the skies.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.


Further Resources:

Check out this interesting story about Billy Graham:

Spurgeon's famous thoughts on cigar smoking.

A Townhall.com political take on smoking:

American Cancer Society's information on cigar smoking:

Crosswalk.com thread on cigars, etc.

Terrible sermon here on smoking as a sin.

Here is a terrific article on the inferring of sin.

Steve Camp:
There may be many good reasons not to practice birth control, smoke cigars, charge interest, grow huckleberries, listen to the Beatles, drink Bushmill's Irish whiskey, dance at weddings, drive a convertible, send your daughters to Ivy League colleges, sport Afros, invest in mutual funds, play the slots in Las Vegas, watch R-rated movies, learn to whittle, or wear linen sport coats but none of those reasons have any inherent bearing on sin. If you cannot practice these things in good conscience, then don't practice them (Rom. 14:23). Just don't criticize Christians who do practice them.

Click here for an ARBCA elder's blog thoughts on cigar smoking.