by HARVEYOPP | May 16, 2015 | Rick Phillips
Since the PCRT theme this year was Holiness and Honor: A Reformed View of Sex and Marriage, most of the Q & A was devoted to this theme. Here is another question we did not get to, but which I will address now:
What should I do if I’m dating someone who didn’t wait for marriage before meeting me?
As always, there are different ways of answering. First, there is a categorical answer: This man or woman you are dating who did not wait for marriage is a sinner. But then you are a sinner, too. So you have more in common than you perhaps thought. A non-virgin is not a moral pariah. Moreover, anyone we love is going to be someone who has sins, brokenness, and sorrows that will need our loving ministry.
Second, the question is whether or not this person is repentant. The thing about Christians is not that we don’t sin — since we do — but that we are able to be forgiven and to repent of them. So if this person is repentant over this sin, and is committed to biblical obedience, you should be grateful to be involved with a person who has experienced the grace of the gospel.
Third, what about the person’s worthiness of your love? After all, aren’t we supposed only to want a virgin, especially if we have remained sexually chaste? Here is the dark side, I think, of the chastity industry: it creates the sense that anyone who has failed sexually is broken and unclean. But this is a repudiation of the gospel. Would it be better if he or she had waited until marriage for sex? Of course it would, and we should not downplay the value of sexual purity for singles and youths. But we do believe in forgiveness, redemption, and restoration. Don’t we? It is one thing if the person is still practicing sexual sin and folly. But if the person is genuinely repentant and committed to honor the Lord with his or her body, then we rejoice in the redeeming grace of our Savior.
The issue of whether or not someone has committed a sexual sin is not one of the more important premarital issues, even though it will need some attention. Far more important is the tenderness of their heart toward the Lord as a result, their commitment to biblical repentance and obedience, and their wisdom in handling temptation in the future. It will sometimes be that a virgin is a less desirable marriage candidate because he or she knows little of God’s grace and has little wisdom for handling repentance and sin. This is not at all to promote sexual sin as an avenue to a grace-filled life — it is far better to remain sexually chaste. But let us not make virginity a form of righteousness before God or a replacement for a grace-filled character.
by HARVEYOPP | May 12, 2015 | Kevin DeYoung
Whenever counseling Christians looking for assurance of salvation, I take them to 1 John. This brief epistle is full of help for determining whether we are in the faith or not. In particular, there are three signs in 1 John given to us so we can answer the question “Do I have confidence or condemnation?”
The first sign is theological. You should have confidence if you believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God (5:11-13). John doesn’t want people to be doubting. God wants you to have assurance, to know that you have eternal life. And this is the first sign, that you believe in Jesus. You believe he is the Christ or the Messiah (2:22). You believe he is the Son of God (5:10). And you believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (4:2). So if you get your theology wrong about Jesus you will not have eternal life. But one of the signs that should give you confidence before God is that you believe in his only Son Jesus Christ our Lord (4:14-16; 5:1, 5).
The second sign is moral. You should have confidence if you live a righteous life (3:6-9). Those who practice wickedness, who plunge headlong into sin, who not only stumble, but habitually walk in wickedness-should not be confident. This is no different than what Paul tells us in Romans 6 that we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness and in Galatians 5 that those who walk in the flesh will not inherit the kingdom. This is no different than what Jesus tells us in John 15 that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. So if you live a morally righteous life you should have confidence (3:24). And lest this standard make you despair, keep in mind that part of living a righteous life is refusing to claim that you live without sin and coming to Christ for cleansing when you do sin (1:9-10).
The third sign is social. You should have confidence if you love other Christians (3:14). If you hate like Cain you do not have life. But if your heart and your wallet are open to your brothers and sisters eternal life abides in you. One necessary sign of true spiritual life is that we love one another (4:7-12, 21).
These are John’s three signposts to assure us that we are on the road that leads to eternal life. These are not three things we do to earn salvation, but three indicators that God has indeed saved us. We believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God. We live a righteous life. We are generous toward other Christians. Or we can put it this way: we know we have eternal life if we love Jesus, we love his commands, and we love his people. No one of the three is optional. All must be present in the Christian, and all three are meant to be signs for our assurance (see 2:4, 6; 4:20; 5:2).
John belabors the same points again and again. Do you love God? Do you love his commands? Do you love his people? If you don’t, it’s a sign you have death. If you do, it’s sign that you have life. And that means confidence instead of condemnation.
by HARVEYOPP | May 12, 2015 | Scott Henry
“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
Jesus is with His people at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances. He is “Immanuel, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is with every believer to comfort us in the hour of sorrow, to enlighten us in the hour of darkness, to guide us in the hour of doubt, to deliver us in the time of conflict, to strengthen us in the time of weakness, to protect us in the day of trouble, and to support us in the hour of death. Every believer must realize this wondrous truth that Jesus faithfully and continually dwells with the sheep of His pasture, the people of His hand. For this reason, David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
Jesus was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace; He was with Daniel in the lions’ den; He was with the Apostle Paul in the hour of conflict in Corinth; and Jesus was with the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos during his exile. Jesus is, at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances with His people. We read in Matthew 28:20, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” And in Hebrews 13:5 it is written, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” The English word “forsake” is translated from the Greek word “egkataleipo” which can also be translated “to leave behind or to desert.” In other words, the Lord Jesus will never abandon His sheep no matter what the situation, and He will never desert His redeemed no matter what the circumstances. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:16-17: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” We also read in Isaiah 43:1-3: “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”
What about you? Are you passing through the fiery furnace of affliction? Is your health failing? Is your faith weak? Do not be cast down! This furnace is only designed to burn the dross, to work your inward good, to draw you nearer to Jesus, and conform you more and more into Christ’s image. As the hymn writer declared,
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie…
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply…
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design…
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”
Be of good cheer, dear Christian, for Jesus has promised never to leave you nor forsake you, even in your darkest days. “So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).
Take time to listen to this song by Fernando Ortega … it will edify your soul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvM1Cl4t1ZE
by HARVEYOPP | May 5, 2015 | Scott Henry
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3:1).
God the Father loves all those whom He gave to His Son (John 6:37) with the same love with which He loves His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 16:27, “…for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” John is amazed by this love of God and he calls every believer to the same amazement. In other words, be amazed, be astonished by the manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. The term “what manner” is the Greek word “potapos” and we find it used in Matthew 8:27 when the disciples are amazed after Jesus calms the wind and the waves. The men marveled and said: “What manner of men is this?” In other words, from what realm does this man come that even the wind and sea obey Him?
John is saying the same thing in our text. Be amazed – be astonished – be overwhelmed – be humbled that an infinitely holy and righteous God would love us with an intimate, infinite, eternal, all-encompassing love of a tender, loving, forgiving Father, and adopt us into His family, and call us His beloved children. That’s a wondrously amazing love, as Paul wrote in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
And God’s love reaches us only and always for the sake and merits of Jesus Christ, who came into this world in the form of a man, fulfilled all the righteous requirements of God’s Law, suffered the infinite, eternal wrath of His Father on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father — all for the glory of God and the redemption of a multitude of sinners which no man can number (Rev. 7:9). Christ did all this in the place of His sheep as God’s suffering servant, as Isaiah declared: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5). This wondrous theology ought to lead every true believer to a heartfelt doxology. As the hymn writer penned: “What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul! What wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul.” Christian, be astounded by the manner of love the Father has bestowed upon you in Christ.
by HARVEYOPP | May 1, 2015 | Paul Tripp
We’re going to pick up in the third chapter, but today I only want to focus on the first verse: “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.” (Jonah 3:1, ESV)
A second time. A second chance.
The core message of the gospel is a fresh start. Sinners, who have deliberately rebelled against their Creator, have been offered a new beginning, purchased by the blood of Jesus on the Cross.
But the message of the gospel is also one of fresh starts, plural. No matter how many times we stumble, no matter how many times we rebel, no matter how many times we make the selfish choice, God’s grace gives us a fresh start. His mercies really are new every morning.
We serve a God of forgiveness. We serve a God of patience. We serve a God of grace. Our Lord stoops down again and again, not because we’re deserving, but because he’s loving. And if he weren’t, there wouldn’t be hope for any of us.
I don’t know where you are or what you’ve done, but I know this for sure: you can have a fresh start today.
There’s an Enemy who would have you believe that you’re stuck and there is no hope for change in your life. But Jesus’ spilled blood cries out, “You can turn! I will come to you a second time, and a third, and a fourth, and for however long it takes.”
Would you pray this with me today? “Lord, I get it wrong so often; I make so many bad choices. I say I love you and then act out of self-love. I have nothing to offer; I rest in your grace alone. Please help me! Won’t you change my fickle heart?’”
And finally, if you’re going to be a recipient of such amazing grace, you must also be a distributor of that same grace. When someone sins against you, even for the hundredth time, you are called to forgive as Christ forgives you.
No one gives grace better than the person who knows they need it most, and no one gives second chances more than the person who recognizes how many fresh starts they’ve been given in Christ.
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