Podcast appearances and mentions of Charles Hodge

This podcast is built on a very simple conviction: in order to be faithful in the present, we must be rooted in the past. The old paths of Presbyterianism in the 18th and 19th century have much to teach us about the path we walk today.In weekly 30 minute episodes, we will reflect on the lives and works of figures such as Archibald Alexander, B.M. Palmer, and Charles Hodge. We will consider enduring themes–prayer, Christian experience, and the church–matters of eternal significance for the people of God until Christ returns.

What is saving faith? Today, Stephen Nichols looks to Charles Hodge's teaching on Galatians 2:20, exploring how true faith rests in Christ alone, trusts in His love, and clings to His atoning work for our salvation. Read the transcript: https://ligonier.org/podcasts/5-minutes-in-church-history-with-stephen-nichols/charles-hodge-what-is-saving-faith/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://donate.ligonier.org/ Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

What is systematic theology? Today, Stephen Nichols delves into Charles Hodge's definition of theology as a science, reflecting on how Hodge arranged biblical truths in a harmonious system while emphasizing the necessity of the Holy Spirit. Read the transcript: https://ligonier.org/podcasts/5-minutes-in-church-history-with-stephen-nichols/charles-hodge-what-is-systematic-theology/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://donate.ligonier.org/ Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Thank you for catching up with us! This is the sermon Worship: What Is Worship? Spirit and Truth - Rev. Roberto Chaple and Charles Hodge. If you'd like to watch our full worship experience live, visit our Online Campus, go to findnewhope.online.church We're live Sundays at 9:00 am EST for our Traditional Service, at 11:00 am EST for our Modern service. Replays happen throughout the week! Watch the sermon and more here: https://www.findnewhope.com/archive Donate via PayPal to support the podcasts and the Technical Arts Ministry of New Hope! https://goo.gl/o2a9oU Subscribe to our New Hope Sunday Sermon Podcast on: * Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-hope-umc-sunday-sermon-podcast/id1093524425?mt=2 * Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2habfMJ6S8jirQnpimNwHg?si=nKlvpZRrQYKnsJSJc6Du3Q) * Stitcher Radio - http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=87782&refid=stpr) * Subscribe on Android - http://subscribeonandroid.com/findnewhopesunday.libsyn.com/rss * Google Play - https://play.google.com/music/m/Ijonx62ajd5qwxv3qgxkizdqnva?t=New_Hope_UMC_Sunday_Sermon_Podcast) * YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFZw6j-ZlY45HU-m-lQ5XYuphsrbeJMsk Connect with New Hope: * Website: http://www.findnewhope.com/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/findnewhopefl * Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/findnewhope

This episode is about John 8:58 "Before Abraham was, I AM". I argue that this is a mistranslation and that Jesus is not making a claim to deity. I show that this passage does not support pre-existence or the deity of Christ but is perfectly compatible with a Biblical Unitarian perspective. I mention Melito of Sardis, Justin Martyr, John Chrysostom, John Calvin, Jordan Peterson, Kathy Newman, 2 Corinthians 3:4-18, John 3:14, Romans 12:4-5, John 6 Bread of Life, John 3 you must be born again, Nicodemus, John 4 The Samaritan Woman at the well, Prologue of John 1, John 9 healing of the blind man, Moses lifting up the serpent, BB Warfield, Charles Hodge, Exodus 3:13-15, Matthew 14:26 Jesus walking on water with Peter, John 20:30-3, Matthew 26:63-68, John 10:27-36 I and the Father are one, and many others as well. Dr. Dustin Smith (  @BiblicalUnitarianPodcast  ) series on theme of misunderstanding : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUNLO9Zm83o

¿Qué hizo Charles Hodge cuando descubrió que sus estudiantes de seminario no podían leer en latín? En este episodio de 5 Minutos en la Historia de la Iglesia, Stephen Nichols nos habla de la teología sistemática en tres volúmenes de Hodge. Lee la transcripción: https://es.ligonier.org/podcasts/5-minutos-en-la-historia-de-la-iglesia-con-stephen-nichols/charles-hodge-y-su-libro Una iniciativa de Ministerios Ligonier apoyada por donantes. Haz tu donativo: https://gift.ligonier.org/1119/spanish-outreach

Apologists Who Emphasize Revelation After covering a couple of apologetic methods that are very similar, are there any that are really that different? Well, entering into the ring is Reformed Apologetics aka Presuppositionalism. Over the next four episodes, we'll cover this one pretty extensively. First of all, well because we like it and are proponents of it. Second, because of how often misunderstood it is and the need to clarify is still needed. Those covered today are John Calvin, Thomas Reed, and Charles Hodge. Timeline: 00:00 - Introduction 03:04 - Clarification On The Book & Video Content 05:24 - Overview Of Reformed Apologetics Presuppositionalism 07:47 - John Calvin's Apologetic 12:27 - The Noetic Effects Of Sin In Apologetics 15:19 - Humanity Is Without Excuse For Unbelief 20:20 - Theistic Proofs Are Of Marginal Value 22:07 - Two Uses Of Theistic Arguments For Calvin 24:19 - Modern Roots Of The Reformed Apologetics Movement 24:54 - Thomas Reed & Common Sense Reformed Apologetics 33:30 - Charles Hodge & Presupposing Fact Finders 40:45 - Proper Role Of Reason For Hodge 41:56 - Conclusion BOOK LINKS: Faith Has Its Reasons By Kenneth Boa & Robert M. Bowman Jr. Kindle Paperback Logos

Pastor Adam BrownTEXT: Romans 5:1-5BIG IDEA: The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings true hope for the sinner, the sufferer, and the saint.OUTLINE: 1. Hope for the Sinner (vs. 1-2) 2. Hope for the Sufferer (vs. 3-4) 3. Hope for the Saint (v. 5)RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible by D.A. Carson; Romans (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) by Thomas R. Schreiner; Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in Romans by Tony Merida; Men Made New by John R.W. Stott; Romans, The Crossway Classic Commentaries by Charles Hodge; Romans: An Expositional Commentary by R.C. Sproul; Romans: Righteousness from Heaven (Preaching the Word) by R. Kent Hughes

Eternal Life      John wrote, “whoever believes will in Him have eternal life” (John 3:15), and “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And Jesus pointed others to Himself, saying, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40), and “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47; cf., 10:28). Jesus, when saying the believer “has” eternal life in John 6:47, used the Greek verb echō (ἔχω – to have or possess), which is in the present tense, meaning it's a right-now-truth. That is, eternal life is what the believer possesses at the moment of faith in Christ. This eternal life is connected with being in a relationship with Jesus Christ. John wrote, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:11-12).      We should also understand that eternal life does not merely refer to our unending existence in which we spend eternity with God in heaven, but that there's a qualitative dimension to it. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), and “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Merrill C. Tenney states, “Eternal, the new life God gives, refers not solely to the duration of existence but also to the quality of life as contrasted with futility. It is a deepening and growing experience. It can never be exhausted in any measurable span of time, but it introduces a totally new quality of life.”[1] In its entirety, eternal life is a free gift offered by God to those who trust in Christ as Savior (John 3:16; Eph 2:8-9), an experience to be enjoyed now (John 10:10), and a future reward for a life of sacrifice (Luke 18:29-30). As we advance spiritually in our walk with the Lord by learning His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), walking obediently by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), praying often (Eph 6:18; 1 Th 5:17), developing an attitude of gratitude (Eph 5:20; 1 Th 5:18), fellowshipping with other believers (Acts 2:42; Heb 10:25), engaging in worship (Eph 5:19; Heb 13:15), and allowing trials to shape us spiritually (Jam 1:2-4), we will experience what Paul told Timothy, when he instructed him to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Tim 6:12). This is the quality of life of believers who, in time, operate with positive volition toward God as their divine Parent and obey His directives to advance to spiritual maturity. Wiersbe notes, “We have ‘eternal life' and need to take hold of it and let it work in our experience.”[2] MacDonald adds, “He is to lay hold on eternal life. This does not mean that he is to strive for salvation. That is already his possession. But here the thought is to live out in daily practice the eternal life which was already his.”[3] Joseph Dillow states: "Possessing eternal life is one thing in the sense of initial entrance, but “taking hold” of it is another. The former is static; the latter is dynamic. The former depends on God; the latter depends on us. The former comes through faith alone; “taking hold” requires faith plus “keeping commandments” (1 Timothy 6:14). Those who are rich in this world and who give generously “will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19). Eternal life is not only the gift of regeneration; it is also “true life” that is cultivated by faith and acts of obedience."[4] Expiation      The doctrine of expiation is closely related to propitiation. Propitiation means satisfaction and refers to God the Father's approval of the death of Christ on behalf of sinners. Expiation emphasizes the removal of sin, as well as its guilt and punishment. Because God is holy and just, sin is an offense that demands His punishment. According to John Stott, God's wrath refers to “His steady, unrelenting, unremitting, uncompromising antagonism to evil in all its forms and manifestations.”[5] By means of the penal substitutionary atoning death of Jesus, God's wrath is satisfied concerning His righteous demands for our sin, and when we turn to Christ as Savior, all our sins are forgiven (Eph 1:7), and we are reconciled to God (Rom 5:10; 2 Cor 5:18-20). Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), and we know “He appeared in order to take away sins” (1 John 3:5), and that Jesus “released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev 1:5). Bruce Demarest states, “the focus of propitiation is Godward—Christ's sacrifice pays the penalty of sin so as to appease God's wrath. But the focus of expiation is humanward—Christ's sacrifice removes the stain of sin and the sinner's liability to suffer sin's punishment.”[6] Charles Hodge adds, “Expiation and propitiation are correlative terms. The sinner, or his guilt is expiated; God, or justice, is propitiated.”[7]      Propitiation is a word that speaks to our relationship with the Father. He was angry with us prior to our coming to Jesus, as we were “enemies” of God (Rom 5:10), spiritually “dead” in our trespasses (Eph 2:1; cf., Col 2:13), and “children of wrath” (Eph 2:3). But now, because of the death of Christ, the Father accepts those who have trusted in Jesus as Savior, and has “forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:13b-14). Robert B. Thieme, Jr. states: "Expiation describes the work of Christ on the cross that canceled mankind's debt owed for the penalty of sin. Man's penalty for sin is spiritual death, total separation from God. This is the status of every human being at birth due to Adam's fall (Rom 6:23a; Eph 2:1). The penalty placed all fallen humanity hopelessly in debt to God and incapable of paying the obligation. The only one qualified to pay was Jesus Christ, the Lamb without sin. He “bore our sins in His body on the cross” and was judged by God the Father (1 Pet 2:24a; cf. Isa 53:6b). Jesus Christ Himself covered the cost of man's spiritual death and “canceled out the certificate of debt” (Col 2:14). As a result, every human being is released from obligation and free to accept or reject the grace gift of salvation."[8] Dr. Steven R. Cook     [1] Merrill C. Tenney, “John,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary: John and Acts, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 9 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 50. [2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 236. [3] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2101. [4] Joseph C. Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of the Servant Kings, 4th Edition (Houston, TX: Grace Theology Press, 2018). [5] John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006), 171. [6] Bruce A. Demarest, The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation, Foundations of Evangelical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1997), 180. [7] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 478. [8] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Expiation”,  Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 94.

Sandi Miller tells of her amazing relationship with Elvis and her personal journey into the inner sanctum of the King. As one of the 'gate crew,' Sandi went from hanging around the front gate of the Los Angeles residence to sharing barbecues, movie nights and a lasting friendship with Elvis. Sandi also dated Charles Hodge, one of those closest to Elvis. Sandi was on stage for the 1968 television special and shares her memories of that plus learning of Elvis' passing.  Hosts Mark Andrew and Kevin Hillier take you inside the Kingdom with access to the people who were there when the legend was at his highest and lowest. Hear amazing Elvis stories from  staff, friends, fans, fellow musicians, promoters and some sources that will surprise.  Mark Andrew has been paying homage to Elvis in his live tribute shows for decades and Kevin has been playing Elvis songs on the radio for even longer. They are the perfect combination to bring Elvis to the fans, old and new.     contact us elvispresleypodcast@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A story about Lincoln sent me on a pursuit to learn more about this great man. What did Lincoln believe about God? Did he believe in the God of the Bible or a god who was distant and disinterested, as some might attest? I hope the findings encourage you in your pursuit of faithful living. 

This 100+ podcast is a discussion with author, speaker and podcaster David Moore about the key books and notable theologians of the 19th century.  Listen to a conversation about why we should read and where truth resides. Hear a list of the most influential 19th century people, including theologians Friedrich Schleiermacher, Charles Hodge, B.B. Warfield, and Abraham Kuyper. And learn why you should add Emily Dickinson's poetry, Abraham Lincoln's speeches, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Victor Hugo's novels and Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.

The Reformed tradition of Protestantism has arguably been the most influential form of Christianity in the history of the United States and can boast such important figures in the religious and cultural life of the nation as Johnathan Edwards, Charles Hodge and the brothers Richard and Reinhold Niebohr. Yet, despite a resurgence of interest in reformed theology in conservative evangelicalism in the past two decades, appreciation of its importance to the history of America more broadly is at a low ebb. In this episode of the HCA Podcast we are talking about the Reformed tradition of Christianity in America and asking, what is it? and why is it important for those of us who are interested in American history, society and culture? Todays guest, Dr. David Komline, who is here in Heidelberg on a Humboldt Fellowship working on a book project exploring the history of the Reformed tradition in America, is here to help answer these questions.

Archibald Alexander Hodge - The Day Changed and the Sabbath Preserved (1877) . . . In this short tract, published the year he arrived at Princeton Seminary to assist his father Charles Hodge in teaching systematic theology, A. A. Hodge sets forth a clear biblical, theological, and historical case that the Lord's Day is the Christian Sabbath day, in spite of the change from the seventh day of the week to the first day.

Article from the early days of The Biblical Repertory, Charles Hodge was just 32. The sermon was preached by Samuel Cox who was aiming at Old Calvinism's view of God's Sovereignty in Regeneration.

A new MP3 sermon from The Narrated Puritan is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Regeneration - Critique of A Sermon From The New School Subtitle: The Narrated Puritan - T M S Speaker: Charles Hodge Broadcaster: The Narrated Puritan Event: Audio Book Date: 10/9/2022 Length: 31 min.

A new MP3 sermon from The Narrated Puritan is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Regeneration - Critique of A Sermon From The New School Subtitle: The Narrated Puritan - T M S Speaker: Charles Hodge Broadcaster: The Narrated Puritan Event: Audio Book Date: 10/9/2022 Length: 31 min.

A new MP3 sermon from The Narrated Puritan is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Regeneration - Critique of A Sermon From The New School Subtitle: The Narrated Puritan - T M S Speaker: Charles Hodge Broadcaster: The Narrated Puritan Event: Audio Book Date: 10/9/2022 Length: 31 min.

A presentation titled “Re-evaluating Mark Noll, Scottish Common Sense Realism, and Charles Hodge” by Mark Hallman (Dallas Theological Seminary). This talk was delivered at the 2022 National Convivium hosted at Davenant House in Landrum, SC.

Chalee and Chelsea continue their study of Devoted: Great Men and their Godly Moms.  We discuss Charles Hodge and his mother, their difficult relationship, and how trying to maintain control over your children can irreparably harm your relationship and your witness with your sons. 

Before English textbooks were common in American higher education, many were written in Latin. On this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols describes how Charles Hodge responded to linguistic shifts at Princeton by writing a three-volume work for his students. Read the transcript: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/hodges-systematic-theology/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/donate/

Romans 4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?  2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."Chapters 4-7 in Romans are the key issues which face all believersIn Romans 3:21 and 3:28 Paul has stated God's position on how a man is saved and now in Romans 4:1-12 Paul uses two illustrations to prove it.Abraham, Issac, and Jacob were regarded by the Jews as not having sinned against God3 times Abraham is called God's friend:2 Chron 20:7, James 2:23 andIsaiah 41:8  "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.Charles Hodge points out that Abraham was the centerpiece of the Jews position of righteousness by works. He was known to them as the father of faith. He was believed to have kept the whole law. They even believed that the Torah or the Jewish law had been given before the foundation of the world for Abraham's sake. 1. Abraham Justified by FaithV-1 John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.v- 2 If Justified by works he has something to boast aboutEph 2:4-101Corinth 1:26-31The law was not given until the time of Moses...several hundred years later after Abraham's deathGal 3:1 7 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.v-3 Abraham believed...Gen 26:3-6 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 "And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." 6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.We know that Abraham lied twice about his wife SarahGenesis 20:2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.Gen 12:13  "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." To Pharoah in EgyptGen 15:4-6  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.Accounted or imputed is a financial or legal word that means to take something that belongs to someone else and credit it to another's account. God took his own righteousness and credited it to Abraham as if it were his because Abraham believed. This word is used 9 times in chapter 4 alone.What did Abraham believe? 1.    Went out not knowing where he was going Hebrews 11:82.    Promise of a son even though he and Sarah were past childbearing age. 3.    All nations will be blessed through Abraham  Gen 12:34.    Promises in Gen 22:18 of a blessing through a single descendant; Not just a son, but Jesus ChristGal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises

Why is preaching not a sacrament? That's the question this week. Onsi and Colin talk about what Protestants mean by "means of grace", look closely at some different confessions, explore the Law-Gospel distinction, and meditate on the nature of salvation and union with Christ. NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.Currently ReadingOnsi: Objections to Descartes' Meditations and Descartes' Replies by Rene Descartes  Colin: Eudemian Ethics by Aristotle Texts DiscussedWestminster Larger Catechism, Q.154-155"Article V. Law and Gospel" in the Book of Concord"Of the Sacraments" (Institutes 4.14) by John CalvinExplanation of the 95 Theses by Martin Luther"Charles Hodge, Wrong About and the Reformed Doctrine of the Eucharistic Presence" by Steven WedgeworthSpotlight"Old Aristotle, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Aquinas" - April Fellows Lecture, Thursday 8pm ET on Zoom

Romans 3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"? --as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just. In verses 3:5-8 Now Paul answers the objection that his teaching speaks against the holiness and purity of God's characterObjection 3  If our unrighteousness shows the righteousness of God then isn't it unjust for God to punish our sinV-5 demonstrates the righteousness of GodIf the unrighteousness of the Jews gave occasion for God to call the Gentiles then why are the Jews so blamed and criticizedJude 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.The diamond is often laid on a black cloth to make it appear even more beautifulI speak as a man-- Paul is emphasizing the fact that this unbiblical train of thought comes from unregenerate or corrupt mindsV-6 Certainly not...If God condoned sin then He would have not right and fair way of Judging all menGenesis 18: 25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"Objection 4 If the truth of God's glory and faithfulness has increased through my lie or sin then why am I judged as a sinner…. Luke 7:47V-7 Charles Hodge --according to this reasoning, says Paul, the worse we are the better. For the more wicked we are, the more clearly will the mercy of God be seen in our pardonV-8 Unfortunately some had perverted the Gospel Paul preached. They argued that it not only provided a license to sin, but encouraged them to do so.This argument is called Antinomianism if we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, by Christ alone,  totally apart from works then why does it matter whether we live a righteous life or not. Isn't it good that we sin since God will be given even greater glory as our Savior? If you are a real Christian you will hate sin, and be angry when you and others sin. You will feel bad because you have sinned. Men will use any excuse to justify their sin1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.Exodus 34:7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty,But Paul says that your sin is not justifiable in any way and God who is righteous and holy will judge itMark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.  hisloveministries.podbean.com

Charles Hodge's book -Justification by Faith Alone- - section on the Immutability of the law of God. -Greg Bahnsen's Confession regarding Creation

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was a prolific writer, accomplished scholar, and ranks as one of America's greatest theologians. After studying mathematics and science at Princeton University, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1873, where he was taught by Charles Hodge, in order to train for ministry as a Presbyterian minister. He later returned to America and taught at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In all my podcasts I try to apply scripture to real-life experiences. And I expound on what I believe the scripture is trying to convey to us. We need to dig deep into God's Word to find out what life is all about, and how to live like God wants us to do and how to do it. Please go to this link for an introduction to my videos. https://youtu.be/1QGlmOknCOU Also, check out these links: https://youtu.be/ifbtZVJ6pqc https://hiawathabible.org/down-to-earth-but-heavenly-minded-podcast Links to more audio writings: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Authors-... https://hiawathabible.org/videos-audi...

Free Will: Fact or Misconception?    Do Calvinists believe in free will? Jonathan and James point to the Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 9 to help us tackle this turbulent topic. The Confession is very careful to qualify what it means for man to have free will while establishing the boundaries of human freedom.   What does it mean to be “bound,” or to experience the loss of free will? If we affirm that man is free, well…what is man free from? What is he free for? This mind-expanding conversation will help calibrate your thinking! Show Notes   ·  The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther   We are glad to offer our listeners the opportunity to win a free copy of The Way of Life by Charles Hodge. Click to Register! The books are a generous gift from our friends at Banner of Truth.  

The third point of doctrine involved in this debate is the relation of faith and repentance. If the rudimental element of depravity is blindness of mind, and regeneration is primarily illumination, then faith should be defined as assent to gospel truth simply, and repentance should be defined as the consequence of saving faith, and invariably subsequent to it. To this last point Dr. Hodge would assent. But if our scheme is the true one, that depravity is rudimentally a perverted habitus of will accompanied by a consequent blinding of the mind, and regeneration is primarily an almighty revolution of the will resulting in illumination, then faith is a -receiving and resting upon Christ for salvation,- --with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,--

If you have bibles with you, I invite you to open them up with me to Hebrews 9:15-28. Hear now the word of the Lord. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 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. Hebrews 9:15-28, ESV One of the most precious doctrines, doctrines are referring to theological teachings that the church confesses, a theological teaching that we as Harvest Community profess, that Christians have professed for two thousand years, is a doctrine known as the penal substitutionary view of the atonement. Now you haven't heard that term before, you may assume that lies on the periphery of important Christian doctrine. In fact, the so-called penal substitutionary review of the atonement is no different doctrine of Christianity. In fact, it's the doctrine that lies at the heart of the gospel. So the basic question what are we saying when we refer happily the penal substitutionary view of the atonement? To affirm this doctrine, to break down the phraseology of it, is to say something very specific about the nature of Christ. In the particular it is to claim that when Christ died on the cross 2000 years ago, he first of all voluntarily died in our place. Hence, the word substitution. Then to pay the penalty for our sin by satisfying God's righteous requirements against sinners, hence penal, so that God's sinful people, you and I, could have peace and fellowship with God, hence, atonement. Now understand that this doctrine is predicated on a few assumptions. It's predicated on the assumption that we, as sinners who have rebelled against the holy God of the universe, deserve nothing less than the eternal wrath of God. When Christ entered into human history, he willingly took our place. He died in our place so that the punishment we rightly deserve for our sin was instead poured out to Jesus for all those who trusted him for salvation. This is indispensable. It's a thoroughly biblical doctrine, and we have to confess with every other Bible believing church. Yet, in some quarters over the last few decades, this doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement has sadly come under duress. Not because it's not a biblical doctrine. Again, it's a thorough biblical doctrine, but because it sounds far too harsh for many in our sanitized Western Conference. One theologian about 20 years ago or so who sadly rejects this doctrine, has characterized penal substitution as a teaching rooted in violence that imagines the cross as a form of cosmic child abuse, with the Father pouring out his wrath on the Son. Now there are a legion of problems with that kind of characterization, but the fact of the matter is that this very biblical doctrine that we know as penal substitutionary atonement assumes both a certain view of God, God's character, and a certain view of human sin and humanity, which is simply unpalatable to many people in our western context. You see, when we turn to the Bible, whether we're talking about the Old Testament or the New Testament, one thing we find all over the place is that the shedding of blood is really important and it's really pervasive. Now we could turn to Leviticus, for example, and read all about the various animals that had to be slaughtered. We could turn to Leviticus and read all about all of the various sacrifices that had to be offered, all the animals that had to be slaughtered, and all the blood that had to be poured out at the altar. Or on the other side of the Bible we could turn to Revelation and read about how, after the great harvest of the Earth, a veritable sea of blood as high as a horse's bridle that comprise an area of one hundred and eighty four square miles filled the earth. Now these ideas of sacrifice and the shedding of blood, the pinnacle of which is Christ penal substitutionary death on the cross are frankly a bit difficult for many in our modern world to accept even professing Christians. Yet, even if you rightly profess the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement as biblical and necessary, which it most certainly is, perhaps all of this imagery of blood and sacrifice in the Bible raises the question for you. Why? Why was it necessary for blood to be spilled in a sacrificial system of the Old Testament? Ultimately, why was it necessary for Christ to die? After all, God is God, and if you wanted to forgive sin, why couldn't he just snap his fingers and forgive our sin? Why does God's wrath need to be satisfied, and why does all of this blood have to be shed? Well, fortunately, our passage this morning addresses many of these questions, and for all of the weedy details that we have to work through, its main point couldn't be simpler. That is Christ Jesus had to die. And that's our big idea this morning, Christ had to die. As we work through a passage, we're going to home in on three specific reasons for why Christ had to die. Now again, we might imagine if we were to answer this question in a vacuum, why did Christ have to die? A number of reasons we could give, but just sticking to the text. What we find are three specific reasons given to us in Hebrews by the author in this text for why Christ had to die. 1. Christ had to Die so that We Could Receive 2. Christ had to Die in Order to Represent Us in Heaven 3. Christ had to Die so that He Could Return Christ had to Die so that We Could Receive So first, Christ had to die so that we could receive. Now notice when our passage opens, our author reminds us of something that we've heard a number of times already in Hebrews, he says, right out of the gate that Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. Now to review because this is an important concept, a mediator is someone who stands between two parties. In this case, Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God, stands between God and mankind in order to represent us, the people of God, before God. So that we could draw boldly near to God, near to the throne of grace, unencumbered by the defilement of our sin. This is exactly the privilege that we have in the new covenant. Through Christ, we are invited as the people of God to draw near to God. We have the promise that when we lift up our prayers to the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ, that he hears our many prayers. Also that we sojourn this world with security and belonging in an otherwise insecure and lonely world, because Christ Jesus in the new covenant claims you and me and the church as his own. For all of these great blessings that we enjoy in the so-called new covenant, we learned that before any of that belong to us, before any of that was ours, that Christ Jesus had to spill his blood. The first thing we learned in our passage is that Christ had to spill his blood specifically for us to receive forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins that all of us so desperately need. In order to give us the forgiveness promised in the new covenant, it was required that the mediator, Jesus Christ, spill his blood. But if you look further down in your text, if you're following along with me beginning in 18, we're going to skip around for just a second. Our author tells us that this concept of shedding of blood, which we read all about in the book of Hebrews, how Christ had to shed his blood. Well, we learned that in one sense, this was nothing new because the shedding of blood was characteristic of the so-called first covenant too. Now we've encountered this language of first covenant elsewhere in Hebrew, so you get that language here in verse 18. When our author talks about the first covenant, well, he doesn't view the covenant that God entered into with Israel all the way back towards the beginning of the Bible, all the way back in the Book of Exodus, which we sometimes call the covenant with Moses. Different names, but same covenant, first covenant, covenant with Moses same deal. In verses 19 through 22 of our passage our author reflects on a few chapters in the book of Exodus that tell us about what happened when this covenant with Moses, this first covenant, was ratified or inaugurated. Now, to give some brief biblical theology, we find that throughout the scripture, as God enters into a series of unified covenants with his people. It's a way of advancing his singular promises over time. A covenant is a way of securing a special relationship with a people, and the Lord enters into a series of these covenants with his people in the Bible. He enters into a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants, all the way back in Genesis chapter 12. He enters into a covenant with Moses and the nation of Israel, and that's the one that our author reflects upon as he looks back a few thousand years from when he writes. Then there was a covenant that came later with King David and his sons. With each of these covenant administrations, as we call them, there were formalizing events that accompanied the start of each of these covenants. In verses 19 through 22 of our passage, our author is reflecting on the formalizing event of the first covenant of the Mosaic covenant. Now, if we were to go back in the Book of Exodus, we would find that the formalization of this covenant when this Mosaic covenant, the first covenant actually began, happened right at the start of Exodus 19. Now, as the story goes, some 50 days after God miraculously delivered his people out of slavery and captivity and Egypt well, he gathered them to a certain place in the desert, a place we know as Mount Sinai. Through Moses, God had some really important things to say to Israel at Mount Sinai. First, he reminded them how he just saved them, 50 days earlier out of Egypt, all by himself. When they were laboring in Egypt for 400 years in slavery, the Lord stepped in when they did nothing to deserve it and pulled them out of slavery and captivity without them contributing a single thing to their salvation. Then he called them as his people, as his treasured possession to be his own and so to walk, according to his law. After the Lord issues these things, the people of Israel respond, This God seems pretty good to us, so all that the Lord has spoken, we're going to do it. We're going to do it, they say in Exodus 9:8. Well, following this enactment of the so-called first covenant, Moses, what does he do? Well, he goes up on a mountain, Mount Sinai, and he meets with God one on one. It's on Sinai that Moses received the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, followed by a variety of other specific laws in Exodus 21 to 23. Then in Exodus 24, Moses descends down the mountain, he tells Israel all that God commanded for them, and then Israel responds once again with these ominous words. They say, "All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do." Before the covenant was finally ratified, before it was finally stamped as the start of it, one more thing had to be done. The next morning, Moses wakes up early in the morning and he offers a number of sacrifices to the Lord. He builds an altar at the foot of Sinai. He offers oxen on it. He pours out animal blood on the altar and then he sprinkles blood on God's people and on the book of the law that was just received. Now this is the event that our author reflects upon in our passage in Hebrews and verses 19 through 20. It leaves us with the question I think why all the blood? Why was it necessary that this covenant ratifying ceremony be accompanied by so much blood? Well, the blood symbolized two really important things for God's people to understand. One reason was that the blood symbolized the penalty for breaking the covenant. Understand that God is holy and that God requires those who bear his name, Israel, be holy too. For God to be the perfect God of justice means that he can't just let lawbreaking and unholiness slide under the rug. Otherwise, he just wouldn't be the God of perfect justice. After all, we would never consider a judge to be just in our own day if he gave a criminal a free pass. Now we may quarrel from time to time over what might be a just sentence in any given situation. However if a judge failed to uphold the law at all in view of the clear guilt of a criminal, well, we probably wouldn't consider that person to be a just judge in the slightest. So too, with God. This is why God couldn't just ignore sin. His reputation depended upon it, because perfect justice requires that infractions against an infinitely holy God, be paid with life. This is what all the shed blood so vividly demonstrated. It demonstrated that sin is no light matter. That sin is an infraction against an infinite holy God. That sin requires that blood be shed. On the other hand, just as blood pictured quite potently, the penalty for breaking the covenant. Well, it also foreshadowed it looked forward to a provision, the provision that God would one day make for sinners in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The blood that was spilled at the start of the Covenant with Moses and throughout the long thousand year run of the Covenant of Moses may have been a stark reminder of judgment. It also pointed to the means of our salvation as well. Understand that it wouldn't take long for Israel after twice repeating that they would do everything that God commanded for them to break their end of the bargain. It's a pretty drastic way too. They transgressed God's perfect law, and every one of them as a result deserved to die a sinner's death. Though they violated their end of the deal and friends, though we violate our end of the bargain each and every day too, God wouldn't violate his end of the deal. After all, he bound himself to his people by way of covenant. In the fullness of time, he would send his son to be the perfect sacrifice, to do what the bloody sacrifices under the Mosaic Law could never do. That is bring about true and lasting forgiveness to sinners like you and me. The provision for sin that God's people under the Mosaic Covenant desperately needed and the provision for sin for our sin that we desperately need to be found only in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who died in order that we might live. Christ shed his blood in order to inaugurate a better covenant, the new covenant, a covenant that was better than the first one. In doing so, the sins of all of God's people past, present and future have been completely 100 percent forgiven for all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ. Just as Christ spilled his blood so that God could forgive, well, so too, we learn as we continue in our passage that he also spilled his blood so that he could give. Now, if you look at verses 16 through 17 in our passage and skipping back to the beginning again, our author gives us another important perspective on Christ's death. He relates Christ's death to that of a last will and testament. Now, many of you probably know what a will is. I'm sure some of you probably even have wills as well. In a will, we bequeath property and that property that belongs to us, we bequeathed to other people. Usually, it's other family members. We sometimes call those other family members or people who get some of our inheritance, heirs. They are heirs to the estate when what they will receive eventually one day is called an inheritance. Of course, we also know that heirs don't actually receive their inheritance ordinarily until the one who bequeathed them their inheritance dies. Well, this is the background in verses 16 through 17, when an author tells us that a will takes effect only at death. Only then is the inheritance actually released and distributed to the heirs. When Jesus Christ spilled his blood for you and me, we who belong to Christ, we who, as the Apostle Paul tells us, are heirs according to promise, we received an inheritance, too. That begs the question what is this promised eternal inheritance that we receive as a result of Christ shed blood and broken body? Well, there are various blessings that are part of this inheritance we receive. One theologian, Charles Hodge, mentions things like justification that is being forgiven of our sins and being declared righteous in God's sight. It includes reconciliation with God, that is being put in a right relationship with God once again. It also includes a title to eternal life, the hope of eternal life that we look forward to after death. We could also add to this list things like adoption that is becoming members of God's family as well. Above everything else, the chief blessing that binds all of these other blessings together is Jesus Christ himself. Because every other blessing bequeathed to us in the new covenant flows from the inheritance that is the person of Jesus Christ. Now, as a quick aside, I've been told that there are these certain vacation destinations around the world that are known as all-inclusive. I've never been to one before, but I'm told there are these magical places, typically an exotic or remote locations, where you pay one lump sum and when you arrive, you don't have to pay for anything else. Sounds kind of magical to me. All the food you could ever want is covered. Every activity or excursion you could ever want to do is covered. Transportation is covered, your room is covered. There's nothing, while you're there, that you have to pay for. Nothing that you have to go outside the all- inclusive to get. It's all at your fingertips and you shouldn't have to procure a credit card at any point in your stay. This is how our inheritance in Christ works, too. After all, the Apostle Peter tells us that his divine power has granted us all things, not just some things, not just most things, all things that pertain to life and godliness. The Apostle Paul tells us that in Christ are hidden all the treasures, not some of the treasures, not most of the treasures, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Brothers and sisters Christ Jesus, who we receive as covenant members of the new covenant, is the whole package. When we identify with Christ through faith alone, he gives us everything that the God sized hole in the human heart could ever want. He gives us meaning and purpose so that we don't need to frantically look for it in our vocations. He gives us the kind of belonging and security that we could never find, even in our most intimate partners on Earth. He gives us forgiveness and rest from the toil and endlessly trying to make ourselves acceptable or worthy in his eyes or in the eyes of the world. Brothers and sisters Christ had to die so that we could receive and when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, well, that's exactly what happens. Boy, do we receive. The exhortation from this first point, then in one sense, it's quite simple. Put away your idols. Brothers and sisters stop hedging all your bets by claiming Christ on the one hand, but then chasing after so many other lovers, on the other hand. Look to the one who gives, look to the one who gives lavishly, look to the one who shed his blood to give, and who gives without us having to do a single thing other than faith alone to receive it. Look to Jesus Christ friends and be satisfied in the God who gives? Christ had to Die to Represent Us in Heaven So Christ had to die so that we could receive, that's our first point. But as we continue in our passage, we hear of a second reason for why Christ had to spill his blood and die on a cross as well. That is, second, Christ had to die in order to represent us in heaven. Now, there's a particularly powerful scene that unfolds later in the Bible, specifically in Revelation chapter five. There the Apostle John, who's peering into the Heavenly Holy of Holies, he sees the slain lamb, Jesus Christ, make his approach to the throne of God. To give a little bit of context after weeping in heaven, in despair that no one was found worthy in heaven to open this scroll and look into it, his eyes suddenly pivot when he sees the lamb of God, Jesus Christ, standing as a slain sacrifice. This lamb then makes his approach to the throne. He takes the scroll from the hand of God, and then all of the heavens erupt in a chorus of praise. Well, that event that John sees unfold in dramatic, symbolic fashion in heaven is the same event that our author now describes in verses 23 through 26 of our passage, albeit from a slightly different angle. Now, we've already heard in Hebrews that when Christ shed his blood, he ascended into the more perfect tent, that is into heaven itself. Remember, our author has made the argument a number of times in Hebrews already that the tabernacle, this mobile tent of worship in the Mosaic Covenant where all the Leviticus priests ministered and offered sacrifices. It was great, but it was only a copy or a blueprint. As carefully constructed and as outwardly ornate as this thing called the Tabernacle in the Old Covenant was, it was only ever supposed to be a replica of the genuine, heavenly tabernacle made without hands. Even though the earthly tabernacle was a replica, well, it was still a serious matter under the Covenant of Moses to draw near to God in it. If we were to go back to the Pentateuch, Exodus and Leviticus, we would see that the Levitical priests had to offer a lot of blood in this tabernacle. Day after day, year after year, they'd have to offer a blood upon blood upon blood to cover the sins of God's people. Blood was sprinkled everywhere. Even the priest's clothes were sprinkled in blood. By one account, over the entire life of the sacrificial system, which would have been close to about a thousand years, over one million animals were eventually sacrificed. That's a lot of blood. Again, all of this points to the fact that human sin is so serious that drawing near to God, even in a divinely instituted copy, because that's all the tabernacle was, required that all of that blood be spilled. Yet, as necessary as all that blood was to enter the copy, there's no chance in the world that it would have gotten you access into the real deal in heaven itself. This is why our author tells us that it was necessary, it had to happen, that the heavenly things would be purified with better sacrifices than the blood of bulls and goats in the old covenant. So what was this better sacrifice? Well, of course it was Jesus. It was Jesus himself who entered heaven after spilling his blood on the cross. Not by virtue of the blood of bulls and goats, but by virtue of his own sinless, undefined blood. Remember that scene that we just referenced a moment ago in Revelation five were the slain lamb made his approach to throne of God? Well, because of the nature of the sacrifice that Christ offered as the sinless eternal one, he was able to go where no one else, even the most morally upstanding person you could think of would ever dare to go. Yet, remarkably, when Christ entered into heaven after paying the debt that we could never pay, we read in our passage that he didn't do this for his sake alone. Our author tells us that he entered into heaven itself in, verse 24, now to appear in the presence of God. That's literally before the face of God. Here's the important phrase, "on our behalf." Understand that Christ didn't ascend into heaven in order to leave us in the rearview mirror. Christ didn't ascend to get away from us and all of the baggage that we bring to the table. Remember what Christ said in his parting words to his disciples in Matthew, 28? Well, he said, "I am with you always to the end of the age." By his spirit, friends, Christ is with us right now on Earth. In heaven the resurrected and ascended Christ represents us. He advocates for us and he invites us to lay our many prayers at the foot of his throne. There's a story from the Bible, which I think at this point is particularly instructive to illustrate all of this. Earlier in the Bible, in the life of Joseph, this can be found in the latter part of Genesis. We read a story about when Joseph had been unjustly imprisoned, that there was a glimmer of hope at one point during his time in prison when he met two fellow prisoners who were Pharaoh's chief cup bearer on the one hand and Pharaoh's chief baker on the other. Now these two people, the chief cup bearer and the chief baker, they were one day serving in the courts of the King of Egypt, pretty high up, and then, for whatever reason, they were thrown in prison where they were now sharing a cell with Joseph. As the story goes, and many of you probably know the story, is that one evening these two prisoners dreamed a dream, and when they awoke from their dream, they were disturbed and they were confounded by the dream symbolic nature. They had no idea what their dreams meant, but they suspected that they were probably pretty important. So one thing leads to another and in steps Joseph to interpret their dreams. First, he hears the chief cup bearer, relay all the details of his dream, and then Joseph tells him the good news that what his dream looks forward to is something that will happen. In three days' time, he will be released from prison and all things will be back to normal for the chief cup bearer. In just three days, he'd be vindicated. He'd be released from prison. He'd get to go, continue to work in the courts of the King of Egypt, Pharaoh, and all would be well for the good old chief cup bearer. After interpreting his dream, Joseph has a request for the chief cup bearer. You might know what he says. He says this, "Remember me when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh and so get me out of this house." The cup bearer is a well-connected man. He some of the closest access that you could get to somebody calling the shots in a kingdom. He's the chief cup bearer. He ministers in the courts of Pharaoh. So Joseph asks that he advocate on his behalf, when in three days' time he gets to go in and minister in Pharaoh's courts once again. What happens? Well, the narrative ends on a dull note when we read that when the chief cup bearer was released, he, "Did not remember Joseph, but forgot him." There was no one to advocate for Joseph's innocence, and as a result, he sat in the despair of prison for another two years. In stark contrast to this, the good news of the gospel is that in our guilt, there is one who has not forgotten us. Brothers and sisters, rest assured that Christ has not forgotten any of his people. Jesus Christ tells us as much in John's 6:39, when he declares to his disciples, "and this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up in the last day." Therefore, we need not be overwhelmed by anxiety when we see the church under duress, possibly concerned with whether or not Jesus' church could ever endure the various onslaughts from the world she faces. We do not fear whether the escalating pool of secularism and worldliness is somehow overpowering Christ's hold on his church. As isolating him as life can sometimes feel for some of you, know that you have not slipped the mind of your advocate. Christ has ascended by virtue of his own perfect blood and from heaven he holds us fast and will by no means relinquish control of any of his saints, any of those who he has already claimed as his own. As we continue our text our author than roots, this security of ours even deeper when he tells us that unlike the Levitical priest who enter the tabernacle repeatedly, they went in and out year after year with bloody sacrifices in tow. Well, Christ, he doesn't need to enter heaven repeatedly. In fact, if this were the case, our author reasons, that would imply that Christ would have to suffer repeatedly since he'd be sacrificing himself over and over again too. Now the Levitical priest they had to offer sacrifices repeatedly, but for Christ, his blood was so effective that it was able to cover the sins of every Old Testament believer, every sin of every believer who has lived in a two thousand years since his first advent, and every sin of every believer yet to be born until the second advent. In heaven, our Lord Jesus sits enthroned. His work is done. Ss a result, he claims us as his own. This is why he had to shed his blood so that he could enter heaven and be our advocate in the heavenly places. That is what he does right now. Christ had to Die so that He Could Return Before we close out our study of this passage, we're then given implicitly one more reason for why Christ had to die. Third, Christ had to die so that he could return. Later in the Bible and this happens in Luke's gospel, when a priest named Zachariah enters the temple one evening to offer incense, well, we learn that there was a crowd while he was ministering in the holy place in the temple, there was a crowd outside the temple praying. Now, Luke doesn't tell us in that narrative what they prayed, and so we can't be certain. Jewish tradition suggests that when a crowd of people gathered outside the temple when the priest was inside, they prayed for God to accept the priest's offering. In the process, they waited expectantly for the priest's return. If the priests offered the right sacrifices, according to the law, that's what would happen. His offering would be accepted and then he would emerge out of the temple to the relief of the crowd of onlookers. In short, the return of the priest was what the people of God hoped for every single day as they waited outside the tabernacle and temple, prayerfully hoping that their sacrifice would be accepted. Likewise, the return of our great high priest, Jesus Christ, is what we anticipate too. Yet for us understand that there's no apprehension or doubt connected with his return. After all, if Christ offered the perfect sacrifice, which the scriptures loudly proclaim that he has, then we can trust that it's inevitable. It's guaranteed that Christ will one day emerge from the heavenly Holy of Holies to the praise of his people too. Now earlier in our text, back in verse 26, our author told us that Christ shed his blood for our salvation. Then he used this phrase, "at the end of the ages." Now that was two thousand years ago, right when Christ shed his blood. According to the New Testament, the time between Christ's first advent and his second is a time that's ubiquitously referred to as the last days. According to the New Testament, we're actually living in the last days right now. Now, of course, that doesn't mean that we know how many 24 hour days we have left until Christ comes again. That's not a call for us to try to wildly calculate when Christ is going to come again. It does mean that there is no more redemptive work that has to happen again until Christ returns. In God's economy the next best thing, the next big thing, rather that we anticipate as the people of God will believe it or not, it's not the next election. It's not the College Football National Championship, especially because Nebraska is not going to be in it. It's not so many of the things that we care so deeply about in this world. Now, of course, it's OK to care about those things. It's not bad to care about those things, but those just aren't the kind of things that should take the lead in shaping the most powerful affections that we have. These aren't the kind of things that that should inform the most important decisions we make in the world. Only Christ, and specifically the hope of Christ's second, advent, the hope of Christ appearing a second time should take pride of place in the life of the church in shaping how we walk in these last days. In summary, the promise that flows from the acceptance of Christ's perfect Blood in heaven is that he is going to come again. As we, as his people are call, we as his people wait for that. The New Testament calls us to wait expectantly for that day to arrive. Application Now on the one hand, implicit in that promise is the urgent call for any of you who really don't know Christ Jesus right now to identify with him by faith alone while there's still time. Now author already told us in verse 27 that you're going to die, you will die. You can't avoid it. After you die, our author tells us, comes judgment. Are you ready for that? If you're not, if you're not trusting in Christ right now, well, that the appeal would be to live expectantly right now by putting your trust in the only one who has done everything necessary to appease the wrath of God for his people. Don't trust in your knowledge to save you. Don't trust in your affluence to save you. Trust in Christ, who alone has the power to save all those he advocates for before the Father in heaven right now. On the other hand, even if you really do identify with Christ by faith alone right now, ask yourself, how am I expectantly waiting for his return right now? Are you harboring grudges and bitterness against your brothers and sisters in Christ or are you learning to forgive one another by pursuing reconciliation as much as it depends on yourself? Are you letting sin fester in your lives and assuming that because no one has seen it in its full ugliness and no one has called you out on it that it must not be a big deal? Or are you constantly learning to put to death that sin that belonged to your former life? The great high priest, Jesus Christ, shed his blood for you and for me. He had to so that we could be saved. He had to so that he could ascend to heaven and he had to so that he could come again. That's what we eagerly anticipate on this side of glory. But are you ready for that day? As we live on this side of glory secured by his blood and yet eagerly awaiting his return, well let me make this final appeal to us in closing. Church learned to be a non-anxious presence in this world. Now, I'm sure I never lived under the Mosaic Covenant so I can't guarantee, but I'm almost certain that it would have been a sight to behold to be an Israelite worshipper during the old covenant. To see the care that was taken in worship and everything from the construction of the place of worship, to all the bells and smells that surrounded the worship ceremony. I can imagine that all of that would have reinforced the gravitas of worship. It would have been hard to avoid that conclusion. Yet I can also imagine a certain level of anxiety accompanying that whole process too. After all, what happened if one of the priests who was supposed to be representing you, what happened if he messed up one of the sacrifices he offered? Well, that happened in Leviticus Chapter 10, Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire. The whole system, in other words, was marked by care, there were also severe consequences, too. While care and consequences are no less present in a new covenant, we just don't need to worry in Jesus Christ, whether or not our high priest will make a mistake. Because Jesus blood was already offered, it was already accepted. We already have an advocate in heaven. We are already secure in him, and we already have the promise that one day Jesus Christ our Lord will emerge from the heavenly Holy of Holies to save those who are eagerly awaiting his return. So as we live our lives until that day, understand that we have no reason to be overcome with paralyzing anxiety in the present. Sure, there's a lot to be anxious about in this world. There are global anxieties. There are individual anxieties. But while we could so easily lose ourselves down the endless rabbit trails of anxiety that are ubiquitous in our world, our passenger reminds us that because the blood of Jesus Christ has been shed, we have been freed to be a non-anxious presence in this world. We've been freed from proving ourselves before God and others, and instead we take to heart Christ advocacy for us in heaven and the identity he gives us on Earth. We've been freed from anxiously caring so much about our reputation or our own comforts. In Christ we've been freed to love and to look outside of ourselves and begin to serve as a people who have already had every single one of our most deeply felt spiritual needs already met in the perfect shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. So whatever the paralyzing fear is, that may have taken root in your heart. Maybe fears that you're bringing into the church with you this morning. Trust in the one who offered his blood on your behalf will in Jesus Christ, hold you fast and he will one day bring you and me and his church into our glorious home. Pray with me. Gracious, Heavenly Father, Lord, we come across these images of blood so often in the scriptures, and we confess that sometimes in our context, that imagery doesn't sit quite well with us. Yet we pray that you would remind us as we continue to encounter that imagery, as we read your word, as we study your words, we hear your word preached and read that you would remind us through it of the seriousness of our sin. The fact that sin is no light matter, but also that you would remind us that we have an advocate. We have one in the heavenly places who's already paid for all of our sin by his precious blood, who holds us fast in heaven, and who will one day bring us home. Lord Jesus, I pray you to remind us of these great benefits that are ours in the new covenant. Benefits that we have not earned, but benefits that we have received through faith alone in Jesus Christ, our Lord. In whose name we pray. Amen.

PSA advocates claim that this theory was there from the beginning, and this is witnessed by the church fathers. Yet the Church Fathers don't really have modern atonement theories when they speak about the cross. They use phrases like “Jesus died for us”, “Jesus shed his blood for us”, they connect the cross with forgiveness, Jesus freeing humanity from a curse, Jesus as a ransom, Jesus as the 2nd Adam, etc. Though they use this “biblical language” do they mean what PSA has defined them as. Many pin a fully formed view of PSA on John Calvin in the 1500s. Calvin was a lawyer and interpreted the Bible through a legal lens. Though Calvin did have most of the PSA building blocks in place he never systematized it like the modern atonement theory school does. This didn't happen until Charles Hodge wrote his systematic theology set in 1871. This was the first time PSA was but together in print as a theory. The building blocks came into being with Augustine. Paul Vendredi notes this with his 17 historical claims of PSA. 3 were made by Augustine, 9 were Anselm, and 5 are the modern atonement schools built on and expanded upon Calvin. (Check out Idol Killer's Youtube for more on this). The 17 Claims: 1. Original Sin 2. Total Depravity / Inability 3. Infant Depravity 4. Sin is an Infinite Offense 5. Sin is a Debt we owe 6. Infants also owe this Debt 7. Animal Sacrifices 8. God could Cancel the sin debt by His will... 9. But, God cannot Forgive a Sin without punishing the Sinner 10. Death Must be Painful 11. "Propitiation" 12. Substitution 13. God pours out His Wrath 14. Jesus Became a Literal Curse 15. The Father turned His back on Christ 16. Old Testament Sacrificial System 17. Ransom Paid TO God Conclusions: • The early church used biblical language to talk about the cross… retribution must be read into them • Healing was the focus and not legal metaphors in all of these • A major focus is on death, sin, and the devil's defeat and these 3 concepts are connected. • The results of their defeat are a rescue and restoration of the image of God. • Until Augustine's 3 foundational points (original sin, Total depravity, and infant depravity) the early church had nothing to build PSA upon, so it is a fallacy to show that they taught it. • PSA has no historical leg to stand on. Most often they read PSA into ransom and then back into other theories like recapitulation taking them out of their context and projecting onto the language of the Church Fathers.

On this episode of CSG we are discussing the human soul! What is the Biblical understanding of what we call the “soul”, is the soul immortal and what are the implications of the soul's immortality (or mortality) on Judgment Day?? I've asked Chris Date, from Rethinking Hell, to join us again on CSG to help give some biblical answer's to these questions and more! Passages from both Old and New Testament books as well as extrabiblical literature are examined to develope a more complete understanding of what ancient Jews and the disciples of Jesus Christ understood to be the truth concerning the fate of the righetous and the wicked, after in "the world to come"! Some of the texts expounded in this epidsode include: Genesis 19 Isaiah 24, 25, 26, 27 Matthew 10:28, 25:46 Luke 12:4-5, 20:35-36 Romans 6:5-9 1 Timothy 6:16 2 Peter 2:4-6 Revelation 14:9-11, 18:1-24, 19:1-3 2 Esdras (4th Ezra) 2:8-14 Chris and I also explore what the Bible means by the terms "immortal", "life", & "death", as well as dig into concepts of Greek mythology like "Tartarus"! Eternal Concious Torment arguments are examined as well and addressed in this episode! For anyone interested in the soul or conditional immortality, this is a great introductory episode to begin your study on this topic! MUCH MORE needs to be said and is in this episode but, Lord willing, God will arrange things in such a way that we will be blessed to continue this discussion in a part 2 episode or with a positve case for the Eternal Concious Torment perspective! A big thanks to Chris for participating and if you all are interested in more of his videos you can find his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/rethinkinghell A.W. Pink quote from "Eternal Punishment": “...Gehenna is the place in which both soul and body are destroyed. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Matt. 19:28 [sic]). This passage is most important, for more than any other it enables us to gather the real scope of this term. The fact that the "soul" as well as the body is destroyed there, is proof positive that our Lord was not referring to the valley of Hinnom. So, too, the fact that the "body" is destroyed there, makes it certain that "Gehenna"is not another name for "Hades." In pondering this solemn verse we should remember that "destroy" does not mean to annihilate. Some have raised a quibble over the fact that Christ did not here expressly say that God would "destroy both soul and body in hell," but merely said "Fear Him which is able to. " This admits of a simple and conclusive reply. Surely it is apparent on the surface that Christ is not here predicating of God a power which none can deny, but which, notwithstanding, He will never exert! He was not simply affirming the omnipotence of God, but uttering a solemn threat which will yet be executed. That such was His meaning is established beyond the shadow of doubt when we compare Matthew 10:28 with the parallel passage in Luke 12:5: "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him." This threat we know will be fulfilled.” Charles Hodge quote from his Systematic Theology Vol. 3 p. 759: "If the Bible says that the sufferings of the lost are to be everlasting, they are to endure forever, unless it can be shown either that the soul is not immortal or that the Scriptures elsewhere teach that those sufferings are to come to an end."

Romans 4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?  2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Chapters 4-7 in Romans are the key issues which face all believers In Romans 3:21 and 3:28 Paul has stated God's position on how a man is saved and now in Romans 4:1-12 Paul uses two illustrations to prove it. Abraham, Issac, and Jacob were regarded by the Jews as not having sinned against God 3 times Abraham is called God's friend:2 Chron 20:7, James 2:23 and Isaiah 41:8  "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. Charles Hodge points out that Abraham was the centerpiece of the Jews position of righteousness by works. He was known to them as the father of faith. He was believed to have kept the whole law. They even believed that the Torah or the Jewish law had been given before the foundation of the world for Abraham's sake. Abraham Justified by Faith V-1 John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. v- 2 If Justified by works he has something to boast about Eph 2:4-10 1Corinth 1:26-31 The law was not given until the time of Moses...several hundred years later after Abraham's death Gal 3:1 7 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. v-3 Abraham believed... Gen 26:3-6 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 "And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." 6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. We know that Abraham lied twice about his wife Sarah Genesis 20:2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. Gen 12:13  "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." To Pharoah in Egypt Gen 15:4-6  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Accounted or imputed is a financial or legal word that means to take something that belongs to someone else and credit it to another's account. God took his own righteousness and credited it to Abraham as if it were his because Abraham believed. This word is used 9 times in chapter 4 alone. What did Abraham believe? Went out not knowing where he was going Hebrews 11:8 Promise of a son even though he and Sarah were past childbearing age. All nations will be blessed through Abraham Gen 12:3 Promises in Gen 22:18 of a blessing through a single descendant; Not just a son, but Jesus Christ Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. John 8:56-58 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." God could resurrect his son Issac through whom all the promises were given since he was an only child of Abraham and Sarah. Ishmael was born of Hagar his handmaid and is the ancestor of all the Arabs who constantly cause Israel trouble today. Genesis 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.  hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

In this discussion, I further examine Herman Hanko's charge that all revival was revivalism. And define the terms and answer the label he has put upon those who favor it. In this discussion I examine Charles Hodge's The Great Revival as it was published to the website of the Trinity Foundation another group that also does not believe in historic revivals. I discuss that they only published an edited 14 pages of the original 89 of Hodge's text. They leave out this last paragraph as it refutes any idea that Hodge did not believe in revivals. -In many places there was little of these evils, -aberrations in the Great Awakening especially in New Jersey and Virginia. Dickinson and Davies successfully resisted their inroads within the sphere of their influence. And in many other places the soundness of the doctrines taught, the experience detailed, and the permanent effects produced, abundantly attest the genuineness of the revival. To the Presbyterian Church, particularly, it was the commencement of a new life, the vigor of which is still felt in all her veins .

Romans 3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"? --as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just. In verses 3:5-8 Now Paul answers the objection that his teaching speaks against the holiness and purity of God's character Objection 3  If our unrighteousness shows the righteousness of God then isn't it unjust for God to punish our sin V-5 demonstrates the righteousness of God If the unrighteousness of the Jews gave occasion for God to call the Gentiles then why are the Jews so blamed and criticized Jude 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The diamond is often laid on a black cloth to make it appear even more beautiful I speak as a man-- Paul is emphasizing the fact that this unbiblical train of thought comes from unregenerate or corrupt minds V-6 Certainly not...If God condoned sin then He would have not right and fair way of Judging all men Genesis 18: 25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Objection 4 If the truth of God's glory and faithfulness has increased through my lie or sin then why am I judged as a sinner…. Luke 7:47 V-7 Charles Hodge --according to this reasoning, says Paul, the worse we are the better. For the more wicked we are, the more clearly will the mercy of God be seen in our pardon V-8 Unfortunately some had perverted the Gospel Paul preached. They argued that it not only provided a license to sin, but encouraged them to do so. This argument is called Antinomianism if we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, by Christ alone,  totally apart from works then why does it matter whether we live a righteous life or not. Isn't it good that we sin since God will be given even greater glory as our Savior? If you are a real Christian you will hate sin, and be angry when you and others sin. You will feel bad because you have sinned. Men will use any excuse to justify their sin 1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Exodus 34:7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, But Paul says that your sin is not justifiable in any way and God who is righteous and holy will judge it Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.  hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

The final sermon in our series on Joy. Romans 5 tells us we can rejoice in the midst of suffering. How do we do that? What do we gain? Thank you, worship team, and thank you all for participating in that Palm Sunday reading, that's the Palm Sunday expression, how appropriate today, the Sunday before Easter and yet how appropriate it is this coming Friday where we commemorate that five days, just five days after that triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the same crowd or at least mixtures of that crowd that had claimed him were now calling for his his crucifixion. So Palm Sunday prepares us for Good Friday, which ultimately leads us to Easter Sunday. Well we are looking at - this is the last Sunday in this month's emphasis on joy. We've been looking at the the Christian virtue of joy all through this month. What does it mean that as we become aware that, from the first week in the month, that the father, as he looks at us through what Christ has done, taking our sin upon himself, covering us with his righteousness, that God, the father, delights over us with singing - the ultimate basis for our joy. And from there, the second week, we looked at joy in contentment, how Christian contentment, a totally different thing from worldly stoicism, but how there is great joy in Christian contentment. And last week we looked at the joy that we experienced following Christ as we heed his command to bear fruit by abiding in him. But this week - this is the last week of joy. But it is also the hardest. At least that is my experience with the topic for this week. But again, an appropriate topic as we look forward to Good Friday. And it is joy in tribulation, joy in tribulation. And our text is going to be Romans Chapter five, the first five verses. But I will tell you again, Joy is not something that is natural to me. I don't think it really comes natural to any of us. But some of us, some of us, our personalities. Maybe it's a bigger transformation in our lives. And that's me. And this is the hardest week. This is the hardest week for me personally. I'm imagining some of you will be able to identify that as we go into this topic. So I just want to pause at this moment and ask for the Holy Spirit's help. Would you would you pray with me? Lord, we come to you acknowledging that this work of transformation is totally of you, we can't will ourselves to be joyful. Our attempts to do so are artificial. We want this work, Lord of true joy, to be borne out in our lives. And again, as I've already said, Lord, this is the hardest week for me personally, facing joy in the midst of tribulation. So we ask for your Holy Spirit to do what you promise that he he will do that he will take this word, your word, and he will use it like a sword to pierce to the very center of us, pierce beyond our thoughts, pierced beyond our feelings. Pierce to our will, pierce to the very center of our soul. Do your transforming work through your word, by your spirit. We ask you in Jesus name. Amen. Joy and tribulation. When I think of that word tribulation, it's also sometimes translated as trouble, I think of the words spoken by Job's friend Eliphaz and Job Chapter five. Eliphaz says afflictions do not come from the dust. It's not just chants, in other words, that we encounter trouble in our life. Neither does trouble sprout from the ground. But mankind is born for trouble, as surely as sparks fly upward. I don't know what that image of sparks coming up conjures in your mind, it brings me back to raising three boys, being around campfires, either on a camping trip or in our backyard, having a campfire in the summer or the fall. And one of my sons who will remain nameless, but there's always one pyro and every family is there or not, they really enjoy taking sticks and stirring up the fire, which, of course, releases showers of sparks, or occasionally he'd bring a big log. And when nobody was watching him would throw that log in the middle of the fire again, shooting up sparks and sparks come any time there's fire. But you do something like that. And what happens? You shoot not just sparks, but embers burning embers up into the air, often embers that land on clothing and burn holes in clothing or land on tents and burn holes in tents. And that's the image I think of here, because really what Eliphaz is saying it's an observation of of life that surely, as sparks fly up from any fire, even when nobody's stirring it up, sparks fly up as surely as that happens. So surely does trouble in some shape occur in our lives? And there is the sparks of trouble that just generally comes up. There are the sparks of trouble that, like burning embers, burn holes in our life. They leave permanent impressions. They do permanent damage in our lives. And that's just not an Old Testament observation. That's the truth that Jesus himself says. He's he says it this way in John, 16:33 In this world, and he's speaking, by the way, to people who follow him. He's not speaking to people who disregard him, in this world you will have tribulation. That word tribulation is the Greek word in the original text is thlipsis and bring that out only to say that you can search in a Greek concordance, you can search for thlipsis and see how many times tribulation in some form or another appears in the New Testament alone. I've counted at least forty three times. I would say it's a theme. I would say that tribulation thlipsis is a theme all throughout scripture. And in that theme we see it used to indicate situations of pressure, whether it's external or internal pressure situations where where we experience distress, situations of trouble, situations of affliction. In fact, if you go through all the different occurrences of oh, well, let me let me let me unpack a little bit where the word comes from. The word at that time, the most common usage usage of it was to describe what happens when they make olive oil. They use a olive press. You see here a modern recreation of this. This is in Nazareth Village in Israel, where they recreated some of what life was like. An olive press involved a large stone wheel that was turned around again and again in a hollowed out bowl. The olives were put in that bowl and that wheel think again of the meaning of thipsis as pressure pressing down is the meaning of thlipsis that we all that heavy stone, wheel would press down those olives producing the olive oil. You can even see if you can make it out in the picture on the screen there, you see how it's darkened in the bowl there and around that center post. That's the olives that's being pressed down. So that's the image of thlipsis, the image of being pressed down, the image of a weight of some form on you, pressing you down over and over and over again. As we go through the New Testament and we see all the different ways this thlipsis, this this pressure is used, it describes a whole variety of situations. And my guess is, one, if not a number of these you may be experiencing this morning. There is the thlipsis, of sickness and accidents. There is the thlipsis of disabilities that may result from sickness or accident. There is the thlipsis of worldly losses, maybe a business failure, maybe the loss of material possessions due to events beyond your control. There is the thlipsis of financial struggles, even of poverty. There is the thlipsis of relational griefs, not only broken relationships, but the pressure that we feel when we have a loved one who is going through a painful situation or a loved one who is turned away from the Lord and how that is like a weight, a burden, a pressure upon us. There is the thlipsis of bereavement, of losing somebody that we love to death. That can be a form of tribulation. There is the thlipsis of persecution of when people in the world oppose those who follow Jesus and do so by persecuting them, including even killing them. In fact, as you go through those forty three occurrences, the majority of those occurrences of thlipsis apply to some form, some reference to persecution. But I want you to see this because really the reality that we see, both voiced by by Job's friend and by Jesus and the reality borne out by our experience in life is that everybody experiences thlipsis. And maybe, you know, your first decade or two of life, you don't quite appreciate that, but you get into that third decade and beyond and you begin to understand that as sparks fly upward, there's just a constant flow, some small, some large, a lot in between of thlipsis, of tribulation, of situations that come into our lives and press down on us. And I wouldn't ask for a show of hands this morning, but if I did, I imagine that if I asked you to indicate in some way that even as you sit here this morning. Yeah, you're mind is is filling with something that you are under right now that is pressing down on you. That is some form of thlipsis, I might imagine that would be, if not most of you, all of you or if not all of you, most of you, it is a reality. you don't escape thlipsis. You don't escape tribulation by having enough resources, enough money. You don't escape it by by being of a certain social class. It is a reality in life as sparks fly upward. So we encounter thlipsis we encounter trouble. Thlipsis tribulation is the word that Paul uses in our text today. Romans 5:1-5 when he writes that we rejoice in our tribulations, our thlipsis and Paul. Here, let me just read the text. If you have a Bible, I'm going to read the first five verses of Romans Chapter five. Therefore, Paul writes, Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace and which we now stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. But not only this, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God, we also rejoice in our thlipsis in our tribulations and our troubles. Why? Because we know that tribulation produces endurance, perseverance and endurance or perseverance, produces proven character and proven character produces hope. And this hope, this hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Paul says that we rejoice in our tribulations. It is easy for me to rejoice, to find joy in the fact that because of what Christ has done for me, taking my sin upon him, imputing his righteousness to me, God rejoices over me with singing. It is maybe not quite as easy, but still easy by comparison to take joy in the contentment that following Christ can bring. there is even a sense of ease compared to this in which I can rejoice. I can take joy in as I abide in Christ, that I bear fruits and the joy that can be derived from bearing fruit, but finding joy in tribulation, rejoicing in tribulation, that seems to push us over the edge. As a young believer, I was under the mistaken delusion that beginning to follow Jesus, recognizing him as savior and Lord, that that would somehow bring this bubble over me. You know, that the tribulations, the problems that I was wrestling with at the time of coming to Christ would suddenly dissolve and I would be protected in some way by from trouble, from thlipsis. And I'm sure if you relate to that at all, you've experienced the same thing that I have experienced. No, in some ways, it turns up the heat, doesn't it, to follow Jesus. I think of a young man in our extended family, I learned just this week, somewhat of a distant relative, but I know the this part of the family well, who a young man with a promising athletic career could have even potentially led to professional sports. And yet through being involved in an auto accident, not his fault, sustained a disability where that dream in one day went away like that. And now I was just told this week by family members that this young man is saying he is angry at God. He has turned away from the church. He's turned away from from the faith that he was brought up into because he's angry at God. And can we not relate? Have we not all been there where we have lost something, where some tribulation has been allowed to come into our lives? And the immediate response is, God, why did you let this happen? So this is common to all of us. In fact, John Calvin said it this way. Tribulations provoke a great part of mankind to murmur against God and even to curse him. How easy it is when we get in situations like that to say, well, God, you must not love me, God, you must not be powerful enough, God, I don't understand this. And in that situation, that is hard allow it instead to harden our hearts. Now, in the case of that family member God has providentially lined up that Cindy and I are going to actually be able to perhaps have some contact with him. And over time, I pray the story is not over, that his heart is not permanently hardened, and that God may even use us in some way to help him walk through that to the place where he can actually rejoice in his loss. Rejoice in his tribulation. So I want us to see this, Paul is not simply saying here when he says rejoice in tribulation, he is not simply saying don't complain about it. He is not even saying just stoically it. That's two weeks ago we looked at why Stoicism is not Christian. He is actually going beyond that to call us to rejoice in our tribulations. The word rejoice as he means it there or as he uses it there, that term means actually to glory almost to the sense to the sense of to boast in we glory, in perhaps academic achievements, or we glory in sports achievements, or we glory in other achievements in life, vocational achievements. In other words, as we reflect on what has been achieved in our life, we take joy in it. Paul is saying rejoice in tribulation. Paul is saying that it is actually a ground of glorying. And now Charles Hodge helpful to me says this. That does not mean that we glory in the midst of tribulation. And I may still have I know I have a long way to go in my spiritual maturity, but I'm not at the point where in the midst of tribulation, I find a reason to rejoice in the midst of it. But Hodge goes on to say, what it really means is that we rejoice on account of them as we reflect what God can do is doing has done in the midst of our tribulations. That is a cause for rejoicing. How? Well, Paul says, we rejoice in our tribulations knowing that. And let me stop there just for a moment. Many commentators say that's like the most important verb in the verse there, knowing that it is not just a matter of feeling that key to everything else in this verse is what we deliberately focus on. The truth that we know that God's word has said is the reality of facing this tribulation, that we rejoice as we deliberately focus on what we know to be true. And that knowing creates a deliberate focus that can overcome our feelings again, Christianity is not about denying our feelings in the middle of hard circumstances, in the middle of tribulations, but Christianity is saying, I am despite how I feel, I am going to deliberately focus on what I know to be true and what do we know to be true. Well, Paul begins to set out here a chain reaction of what we know and how it leads to rejoicing. Here's the first link in the chain, knowing that tribulation produces endurance. And again, I just want to unpack that word for a moment for you, because in unpacking it, you see the meaning of it, the Greek word that that Paul actually uses there is hupomone. It's a compound word. Hupo means under. Mone means to live or to remain. So think of that in regards to a hard circumstances. Some form of tribulation thlipsis in your life to remain under that, to live under that, not just for a momentary time, but to live under that as long as God allows it in our lives without trying to crawl out from underneath it. I have this picture on the screen that I think of when I think of endurance remaining under living under the hiking that I do, I've seen this a couple of times, a tree growing out of a crack in a rock. And if you could see the wider picture there, you would see this tree, this Ponderosa pine all around it or other trees. And they're just growing out of the soil. They're just growing out of the rich soil that's around it. You know, if that tree had conscious thought, can't you imagine that tree looking around at all the other Ponderosa trees thinking, why do I have to grow out of this rock? Why do I have this impediment of this rock in my life when all these other trees just like me around me don't have this burden don't have this impediment, get advantage of - to take advantage of this rich soil? Isn't that how we often look at our tribulation, we look around us and we perceive that what we're going through, no one else seems to be suffering from that. Of course, the knowledge we don't have is of the particular forms of thlipsis that they're experiencing. My life experience is borne out that everybody is wrestling with something, but we don't see that in the midst of our tribulation. And so we look around and say, why does everybody else get that good soil? Why do I have to grow under these conditions of this pressing rock around me? Rejoicing comes Paul is saying here, When we remain under whatever tribulation that God has providentially brought about in our life where we live under it, as long as he has it in our life without trying to crawl out from underneath it, accepting that this is his providential will, we and rejoicing comes when we can come to the place where we can pray like Jesus. Lord, here's my will that you free me from this, but not my will, but your will be done. That's the prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on Good Friday before he went to the cross. Rejoicing comes when instead we remain under it by turning to his grace for the ability to endure it. This is the first link in the chain reaction. The second link. Paul goes on to say, We rejoice knowing that that endurance, that growing ability to live underneath it produces proven character. And again, I just want to bring out the meaning of the word, I think it's helpful for us to understand it proven character actually comes from one word in the Greek dokimos. And dokimos was a word related to the currency of that day coins were not as neatly minted in that day as they are today. We have nice precise molds that our coins come from. It was a little rougher in those days. And so you get coins that have varying shapes and sizes and the edges. It may have had some extra silver to them and some enterprising individuals quickly figured out, well, I could just take a knife and I could scrape off that edge, that irregular part of that edge. And if I do that to enough coins, I'd have all these shavings that I could melt down and I could take in and and I could actually have silver that I could sell and profit from. Well you can imagine as this caught on that coins could get whittled down further and further and further. And so there was a recognition at some point a coin becomes not worth its weight anymore. Dokimos was the process of of recognizing there is a standard weight. And if that coin gets below that standard weight from people carving it off or anything and just just by wear it's no longer genuine, it's no longer authentic. But dokimos meant that coin was worth its weight. It was authentic. It was genuine. Now, carry that over into what it means to have proven character. You are worth your weight. You are genuine in your faith. You are authentic. Or maybe another way of bringing it out a little more of a modern example is think of what it means to be proven, proven character. What does it mean to be proven? Pastor Stephen Cole gave me a wonderful illustration of this. He lives in Kingman, Arizona, and Ford Motor Company has a proving grounds there in Kingman, Arizona. What they do is they bring in the new models that they have been developing and they subject them to all kinds of stress tests in that hot Arizona heat. And they learn, is this vehicle going to last? Is this vehicle going to endure? So that's where even the campaign that Ford has Ford trucks are anybody know? Ford trucks are built to last. All right. They are proven they are going to last if you buy a Ford truck. This is not a Ford truck commercial, but that's the idea of being proven. You are enduring. You're going to last in your faith. You are authentic and your faith. And that's the cause of rejoicing that when you endure through tribulation, your faith becomes proven. You know, now by experience that your faith is genuine, that it is real, that it is weighty. And there is a wonderful sense of authenticity that you can rejoice in, one you would never experience if you had not been tested, if you had not born that tribulation. So. Tribulation produces endurance and endurance produces proven character, and then the third link in the chain proven character produces hope. Now, this hope is of a little different nature than the hope back in verse two, in fact, I, I could do no better than to read to you from the words of the great preacher Martin Lloyd-Jones, the hope of the glory of God. What we saw back in verse two, that comes from the understanding of the blessing of being justified by faith. That is something that every new believer should experience as we begin, as they begin to follow Christ. But then Paul goes on here in our immediate text today to address how when we go through life and we experience tribulation, it has an effect if we allow it to make us cling to God like we've never clung to God before. And the outcome of that is that we experience his faithfulness to us and in experiencing that he develops proven character in us as we endure. And so we come out the other side of all of that, more certain of the hope. It's a deeper hope even that we experienced as we came to faith. It is the hope of an eternal glory that we could not even fully know before our trials. So our hope becomes stronger. Our hope becomes tempered by the fire of tribulations. You know, that process where a blade, whether it's a sword or a knife, is finally prepared to be used. It's not enough just to forge or sharpen that blade. The blade has to be tempered. It has to be submitted to high, high heat. And it is only through that heat. It is only through the flames that that blade becomes tempered so that it won't break. There is a confidence that it won't break, it won't bend as it's being used. That is the process that God works in us. Paul goes on in verse five and this hope, this hope that has been tempered by the heat of tribulation, it does not disappoint us. It will not leave us ashamed that we have followed Jesus. Instead, it will bring us the experience that God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Knowing that God intends for our tribulations to produce endurance, that in turn produces proven character, that in turn strengthens our hope, that is his way of increasing our awareness of God's love and grace in our lives and towards us. We look back at our trials. This is my experience in the middle of trials and tribulations. Hard to find, joy. But as I look back and I think about some of the difficult things the Lord has brought me through, I wouldn't want to go back there again. I wouldn't want to wish that on anyone else, but I wouldn't trade it away for anything. Because of the effect that God has used it for in my life and as I reflect on that and I realize both his sovereign hand and his loving kindness using that difficult thing in my life, it fills me with joy. There's great rejoicing, recognizing how he has worked something so hard for my good in his life. I want to close with two examples of this rejoicing even in the midst of tribulation because of the effect of tribulation. This is Pastor Wang Yi. This is a pastor that I pray for every week, numerous times during the week. And he's there with his wife. Pastor Wang Yi is the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church in China, which I have mentioned before. And for reasons that we don't have time to go into, the Chinese communist government is intent on eradicating this church. And they have gone about it by all kinds of measures. And in Pastor Yi's case in 2019, just two years ago, they interrupted a church service and they hauled him off in handcuffs and put him into a mock trial and sentenced him to seven years of hard labor for preaching the gospel, for preaching the good news of Jesus. They arrested several of his elders as well, who've been in and out of prison. They arrested his wife, who is in prison for a short time and now is under house arrest. Any time they find groups of believers from Early Rain Covenant church or even gathering in homes to meet, if they learn of that, the Chinese government clamps down on that, breaks it up, hauls them in for questioning, sometimes puts them in jail. Think of tribulation. We haven't experienced anything like that. And yet in the midst of that, as letters from Pastor Yi are smuggled out from his prison, they're filled with joy. He recognizes God is actually strengthening not just him, but strengthening its church through this tribulation. I think about that we don't face hard to totalitarianism here in this nation, but I think we're facing an increasing soft totalitarianism. I think through what we see through social media and other structures in our culture, there is a growing soft totalitarianism that is coming down harder and harder on anyone who wants to live an authentic life following Jesus and the Lord can change anything overnight. The Lord can return. But if that doesn't happen first, we may be in that situation where that soft totalitarianism may make it so difficult for us that that we have to choose. Am I going to faithfully follow Jesus or are we going to faithfully follow the gospel? Are we going to compromise or are we going to walk away from this? Will we rejoice? Will we recognize what God is doing in the midst of it? Will we endure? Will we be able to remain under it and stand up under its will our faith be proven? Will it be established that our faith is genuine, that we are not shallow ground Christians that dry up when the heat of persecution comes out over us? And then an even more severe example, sometimes God permits his children to go through terrible persecution and even martyrdom. And I think of Graham Staines, an Australian missionary in India who in nineteen ninety nine ministering among Hindus in India, a group of radical Hindus surrounded his vehicle. He was in the vehicle with his two young sons who you see in that picture there, and they set the vehicle on fire and burned them to death. He suffered giving even his life. Any reasonable person would ask, how can you rejoice in that, how can you rejoice in the death of those two young boys, much less this adult man who's made this choice to be there? And you know what? If heaven is not real, if Christianity is a myth, then, yes, this is nothing but a waste. But if heaven is true, if what Jesus did on the cross at the empty tomb, if that is true and that's what we celebrate next Sunday, if we truly believe that that is true, then it proves that this hope does not disappoint us. We will not be ashamed for taking a stand even where we're called upon to give our lives, because even if we don't experience it in this earthly life, in eternity, we experience that hope of the glory of God. That's what Graham and his sons are experiencing even now for all of eternity. That's what men and women have given their lives all throughout church history, are experiencing even now. And so we rejoice in our tribulation, knowing that, focusing on setting aside our feelings and deliberately focusing on what we know to be true, not allowing our feelings to cloud this perspective. And what is that perspective? That eternal perspective? Paul says it in Second Corinthians 4:17, that this momentary light affliction, whatever it is in your life and my life, is momentary light affliction. God is actually using to produce for us an eternal weight of glory, a weight of glory far beyond all comparison, far beyond what we can imagine. And knowing that deliberately focusing on that, we look not on the things which are seen the temporal, we focus on the things that are unseen, the eternal. And then finally, one more piece of the perspective, really, the piece that puts it all together, the piece we celebrate on Friday and Sunday, we look to Jesus, who the writer of Hebrews says Hebrews 12:2 knowing that deliberately focusing on that Christ, Jesus, our savior, our Lord for the joy, awaiting him for the joy that he could see that the father had waiting for him. He endured the cross. He endured the tribulation set before him, disregarding the shame we look to Jesus, the author, the finisher of our faith, who models for us what it means to consider it joy that we may be led through tribulation. We look to Jesus, the one who gives us grace, to go through whatever the Lord lays before us. That is tribulation, knowing that for the joy that awaited him, he endured the cross he despised. He disregarded the shame. Let us pray. Father, I of course, I cannot know what each person sitting here is experiencing, what you even bring to their minds about the thlipsis, the tribulation that they're in the midst of. And for some, it might be sickness, it might be disease, it might be accidents. Others it might be financial struggles. Some might be relational grief. Some may be here grieving in bereavement for the loss of someone beloved. Some may even be experiencing some form of opposition or persecution. I think of the brother from Africa who came up to me after the first service expressing the actual persecution that he and his family experienced there because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Whatever it is, Lord, I would imagine that really, if not all of us, most of us right now are wrestling with some form of thlipsis in our lives. Would you, by your word, as your spirit works your word into our hearts? Would you by the truth of your word? Would you help us to focus on to know that in the midst of it, in the midst of our tribulation, you are producing in us endurance the ability to remain under it? And in doing that, you are producing for us proven character the genuineness of our faith. And in doing that, you are making our hope grow. You are giving us an even greater hope than we had when we came to faith in you initially. And that you do that all Lord, that we would have an even greater view of you when you do that, Lord, that we would glorify you and worship you. And we do that now. We pray this Jesus in your name. Amen.

Charles Hodge is one of the earliest members of Princeton Theological Seminary. He joined the school at the recommendation of Archibald Alexander and stayed a professor there for over 50 years. In this sermon he discusses what a good life following Christ looks like by comparing it to a friend who had recently passed away. Special thanks to John Raynar for reading this sermon. John Raynar has been commercial radio announcer in American Samoa since 2006 where he and his wife Alice have 4 children.  John is also host of a daily devotional called the Pre-Game Proverb, a biblical way to start the day.  Find out more at pregameproverb.blog We are now partnered with ServeNow! If you would like to give to their ministry that gives bikes to pastors in rural areas around the world so that they can spread the Gospel, please check out their website and their new book: Hope Rising. If you'd like to join the premium team go to our Patreon If you'd like to narrate a sermon, send us an email at revivedthoughts@gmail.com And if you enjoy the show, sharing with friends and a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts! Facebook Instagram MeWe Twitter Youtube Revived Thoughts Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Romanos 3:21-24 ✍

A Baptist study on the Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 41-42, held at the Old Paths Christian Church on 13 January 2020. Topics include Christology and the Trinity; ancient creeds and councils; Nestorianism and other ancient heresies; Greek philosophy, essentialism, realism, metaphysics and existence; sacred namers and cults; biblical apologetics and argumentation; and more!!Q. 41. Why was our Mediator called Jesus?A. Our Mediator was called Jesus, because he saveth his people from their sins.w(w) Matt 1:21Q. 42. Why was our Mediator called Christ?A. Our Mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure;x and so set apart, and fully furnished with all authority and ability,y to execute the offices of prophet,z priest,a and king of his church,b in the estate both of his humiliation and exaltation.(x) Matt 3:16; Acts 10:37-38; John 3:34; Ps 45:7(y) John 6:27; Matt 28:18-20; Rom 1:3-4(z) Acts 3:21-22; Luke 4:18,21; Heb 1:1-2; Deut 18:18(a) Heb 5:5-7; Heb 4:14-15(b) Ps 2:6; Luke 1:32-34; John 18:37; Matt 21:5; Isa 9:6-7; Phil 2:8-11Resources+https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/lbcw/the-london-baptist-confession-of-faith-of-1689-with-preface-baptist-catechism-and-appendix-on-baptism +https://reformedbrotherhood.com/trb-113-nestorianism/“Human nature, therefore, although endowed with intelligence and will, may be, and in fact is, in the person of Christ impersonal. That it is so is the plain doctrine of Scripture, for the Son of God, a divine person, assumed a perfect human nature, and, nevertheless, remains one person.” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology2.html)+Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Fourth Edition Zondervan Academic, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GCG55EM/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdb_t1_x_V8cfEbQNFNPY7+J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines: Revised Edition, https://www.amazon.com/dp/006064334X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YBnNEbZ1WRQ8WRoger Olson, The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition & Reform, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/372001517+The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology: A Comparison Between Seventeenth-Century Particular Baptist and Paedobaptist Federalism [Revised Edition] by Pascal Denault, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23827777+Gordon H. Clark, “Atheism,” http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=50+Gordon H. Clark, The Trinity, http://www.trinitylectures.org/trinity-the-p-78.html; and The Incarnation, http://www.trinitylectures.org/incarnation-the-p-92.html

REFLECTION QUOTES “I don't remember a time not being anxious.” ~Lena Dunham, American actress, writer, producer and director “Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat out denial of the gospel of grace.” ~Brennan Manning (1934-2013), Franciscan priest and author “The gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.” ~Charles Hodge, principal of Princeton Theological Seminary (1851-1878) “The law says, ‘Do'; grace says, ‘Done.' The law says, ‘Do, and live'; grace says, ‘Live, and do.' The gospel says to the sinner, ‘Come'; it says to the Christian, ‘Go.'” ~D.L. Moody (1837-1899), Massachusetts-born evangelist, publisher and founder of Northfield Mount Hermon School “…it was not the cold blood about the heart, but a single word in Chapter 1 [Romans 1:17], ‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed,' that had stood in my way. For I hated that word ‘righteousness of God,' which…I had been taught to understand… [as the righteousness] with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner…. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted. At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith…. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open.” ~Martin Luther (1483-1517), German reformer “Christians never graduate from the gospel.” ~Conrad Mbewe, pastor in Lusaka, Zambia SERMON PASSAGE Selected Passages from Romans (NIV) Romans 1 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ…. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed— a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 3 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

This week on Theology on the Go, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Andrew Hoffecker, Professor of Church History (Emeritus) at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Hoffecker has written and edited several books, including a two-volume series on Christian worldview.  He is also the author of Charles Hodge: the Pride of Princeton in the American Reformed Biographies series published by P&R.  Today Dr. Master will be talking to Dr. Hoffecker about Old Princeton Professor Charles Hodge. Over the next several weeks, Theology on the Go will focus on Old Princeton and the theologians that made her great.  In order to make this series even more special, The Banner of Truth Trust has graciously donated several books on old Princeton to be given away throughout the series!  This week we are giving away A. A. Hodge's book, The Life of Charles Hodge. Winners Michael C., Douglasville, GA Matthew D. Tinton Falls, NJ

Today Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Andrew Hoffecker, Professor of Church History (Emeritus) at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Hoffecker has written and edited many books, including a two-volume series on Christian worldview. He stops by to talk with Jonathan about that topic and how Christians can foster a biblically-centered worldview.Just for listening, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to give you a free resource. An MP3 of Phil Johnson's sermon entitled "Divine Interpretation" is free to download. Go to ReformedResources.org to download your free MP3!Theology on the Go is a brief conversation on eternal truths with Jonathan Master, Executive Editor of PlaceForTruth.org, a voice of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Each program features a pastor/theologian discussing key biblical doctrines in thoughtful and accessible ways. Theology on the Go will help you better understand the finer points of theology, while showing how relevant and important theology truly is for Christians today.Dr. Hoffecker's Publications:Building a Christian Worldview Volume 1: God, Man, and KnowledgeBuilding a Christian Worldview Volume 2: The Universe, Society, and EthicsRevelations in Worldview: Understanding the Flow of Western ThoughtCharles Hodge: The Pride of PrincetonPiety and Princeton Theologians: Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge, and Benjamin Warfield