Heaven is Coming
I need a view of heaven in every situation. I need to be reminded of heaven in my relationships with Christians. I need to see eternity in regards to my finances and my job. I need to remember that heaven is coming when I make choices about my family and my friends and my enemies. What a shame it will be when we give an account to God for the grudges that we kept, for the good we refused to do, for the godliness we refused to walk in. These surely must be some of the tears that will need wiping away on that glorious day.
Moses asked God to teach us to “number our days” (Psalm 90:12). David prayed that God would make him to know his end and to “let me know how fleeting I am” (Psalm 39:4-5). James reminds us that we are “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Takeaway: Our life is short.
Jesus understood this truth and reminded his disciples often. He said things like, “For the Son of Man is going to come” (Matt 16:27), or “for the Son of Man is coming” (Matt 24:44). The Apostle Paul would go on to speak of “the Day” revealing and disclosing the secrets of the heart (1 Cor 3:13). Takeaway: Heaven is coming.
Based on these two truths, how then should we live? I have been burdened by these thoughts. Life is short and heaven is coming. We have 70, or by reason of strength 80 years on this earth, and then we walk into eternity.
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Divine Providence
Written by David T. Crum |
Monday, February 20, 2023
Adhering to the Providence of the Lord protects you. It forces you to put yourself outside the situation and strongly submit to the Lord’s will. It often rocks our souls and challenges our thoughts, but the assurance it provides allows us to rejoice that we have a Savior who will care for us every step of the way, even into death.When struck by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Stonewall Jackson remarked, “Why, gentlemen, be quiet. Don’t be bothered. If I live, it’ll be for the best, and if I die, it’ll be for the best. God knows and directs all things for the best for those whose trust is in Him, and my trust is in Him.”[i] Such a reaction should not surprise the reader if they know anything about Jackson and his faith. He firmly adhered to the Providence of God, knowing his life was in the hands of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
If one word summarizes Jackson’s theological beliefs, it is likely Providence. The general constantly wrote of the Lord’s will, ways, and sovereignty. He also reassured his men, when in battle, that they should have comfort in Divine Providence regardless of the outcome. Many theologians of his time taught similar concepts. William S. Plumer wrote, “Providence is the care of God over his creatures. God’s works of Providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.”[ii] He added, “To deny Providence is as truly atheistic as to deny God’s existence. One who neither sees, nor hears, nor knows, nor cares, nor helps, nor saves, is no God at all.”[iii]
You cannot appreciate the comfort and peace of God’s Providence if you do not know the Lord. Providence is the reason we have understanding; it accounts for the ability to ponder on the will of the Lord versus that of our fleshly desires. Granted, this concept of divine intervention or spiritual care is foreign to the unbeliever, but it lays the foundation of the faith for the faithful servant of Christ. The idea challenges our worldview and philosophical thought and provides eternal peace to believers like Jackson. On such peace, Archibald Alexander taught, “It is a sweet and gentle stream which flows from the fountain of life beneath his throne. Happy is he who has received this heavenly gift; it will, in the midst of external storms and troubles, preserve his mind in a tranquil state.”[iv] Undoubtedly, this is the peace Jackson felt when unaware of his fate. Struck three times and bleeding profusely, he maintained peace through comfort in his Providential Savior. It is easy to say that we accept complete Providence or submit to the sovereign will of God, but it is much more challenging to act in such a way when faced with such confusion and pain. However, with genuine belief and reliance on the Lord’s will, the heavenly peace Christ provides makes such unbearable situations possible to endure.
Adhering to the Providence of the Lord protects you. It forces you to put yourself outside the situation and strongly submit to the Lord’s will. It often rocks our souls and challenges our thoughts, but the assurance it provides allows us to rejoice that we have a Savior who will care for us every step of the way, even into death. Charles Hodge wrote, “The Bible no less clearly teaches that God exercises a controlling power over the free acts of men as well as over their external circumstances. This is true of all their acts, good and evil.”[v] He added, “All Christians believe that the hearts of men are in the hand of God, that He works in them both to will and to do according to His good pleasure.”[vi] We have comfort in our Lord, who oversees every good and bad situation. The mere idea of Providence requires the most sincere, earnest submission, relying strictly on the Lord in all of life’s affairs.
Upon his initial injury, Jackson survived surgery in which his arm was amputated, but a few days later he succumbed to death caused by infection and fever. In one of his last words to his wife, Anna, Jackson stated, “I know you would gladly give your life for me, but I am perfectly resigned. Do not be sad. I hope I may yet recover. Pray for me, but always remember in your prayers to use the petition, ‘Thy will be done.’ “[vii] The general died a short time later, noting he preferred to be in Heaven with his Savior.
The ways of the world challenge our minds and, if we allow it, confuse us daily on the purpose and meaning of life. Focusing on the Lord’s Providence grants us peace and protection. However, we must guard such thoughts and live in the Word and in prayer, focusing daily on the ways of the Lord. The Lord has blessed us with such an understanding; may we grow stronger in our desires to submit to Him and respect His will. May we pray for Providential understanding.
David Crum holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology. He serves as an Assistant Professor of History and Dissertation Chair. His research interests include the history of warfare and Christianity. He and his family attend Trinity Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Bedell, New Brunswick.[i] George Truett, “The Grace of Patience” (sermon, First Baptist Church of Dallas, Dallas, TX, November 29, 1942), http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/search/collection/fa-gwt.
[ii] William S. Plumer, Theology for the People Or Biblical Doctrine, Plainly Stated, (Harrisonburg: Sprinkle Publications, 2005), 78.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Archibald Alexander, Practical Truths, (Harrisonburg: Sprinkle Publications, 1998), 82.
[v] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1988),87.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Mary Anna Jackson, Life and Letters of General Thomas J. Jackson, (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1892), 100.
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Pastor, Preach Repentance
Much contemporary preaching demands faith. This is right insofar as it goes, but it is not all. Preachers should not demand faith only. We are saved by faith in Christ, yes, but Christ saves us, through faith, from sin. He was called Jesus (literally, Savior) because he was going to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). If the preaching of salvation through Christ has no reference to sin, then the people to whom we preach are robbed of the whole context of sin which gives penitent faith in Christ its significance. It is easier, even pleasant, to preach faith in Christ as the only necessary response to the proclamation of gospel truth, but it is sin to which sinners are attached.
True repentance grows in the gospel soil of God’s sovereign grace. Its roots comprise both biblically-informed grief over sin and biblically-informed apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ. Its trunk and branches are turning from sin and turning to God. Its fruit is the endeavor for new obedience in full dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
All this we have gleaned so far from looking at chapter 15 of the Second London Baptist Confession. The chapter now concludes by examining the necessity of preaching repentance in the light of what we know about sin:
Such is the provision which God hath made through Christ in the covenant of grace for the preservation of believers unto salvation; that although there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; yet there is no sin so great that it shall bring damnation on them that repent; which makes the constant preaching of repentance necessary.
No Sin So Small
The Confession completes its treatment of repentance with some particular and searching counsel about the necessity of preaching repentance in the light of what we know about sin. As we noted when we began, every sin is grievous, and the “least” sin (as men perceive it) is sufficient for the condemnation of any man. However, that God is willing to forgive the sins of those who come to him in faith and repentance is the hope of the sinner, and must therefore be preached to sinners fully and freely.
Never underestimate sin. There is no sin so small but it deserves damnation. The wages of sin — all sin, each and every sin — is death (Rom. 6:23). In this sense, no sin should be considered small, as it brings so great a condemnation. The holy law of God is like a great and fragile object, perhaps a beautiful window or some other work of art, all made of one piece. If I make a crack in this great and fragile thing, no one accuses me of breaking only a part of it. The entire object is no longer whole. Thus it is with the law of God: to break it at all is to break it all (James 2.10). To stumble in any point is to become a lawbreaker, and therefore to be guilty, and deserving of punishment.
When David cries out for forgiveness in Psalm 51, there is a comprehensiveness in his desperate request. David is concerned for particular sins, yes, but with every particular sin also. He wants God to cleanse him from sin in its totality and sins in their plurality. He desires a complete cleansing (for example, Ps. 51:2, 7, 9), because he knows that one sin is fatal to peace with God. All this means that when we look at any man or woman, boy or girl, we are looking at someone who is a lawbreaker, who has offended the gracious and holy God, and is therefore liable to the just and fearful punishment of that God for the transgression of his revealed will. That proper and righteous punishment is death and hell. This is the horror of sin.
No Sin So Great
We should not underestimate sin, yet neither should we underestimate the Christ who saves us from sin. Here is cause for great praise and thanksgiving! Such is the provision which God has made through Christ in his covenant of grace for the preservation of believers unto salvation, that there is no sin so great that it shall bring damnation on them that repent.[1] The blood of Christ is sufficient to wash away the deepest stain of iniquity — his blood can make the foulest clean. The gospel offer, the gospel provision, for repenting sinners is that those whose sins are like scarlet shall be made as white as snow through the blood of the Lamb; though our sins are red like crimson, they shall be as pure new wool (Isa. 1:18).
All upon whom God has set his love are so provided for by the atoning blood of Christ in his propitiating sacrifice that each sin, all sin, and every sin can be covered, transgressions swept away as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). Again, this is no ground for sinning with impunity, but is rather the great motivation to holiness of life and fleeing every sin.
We should also be very clear in our minds and hearts, and in our preaching, about the certainty of forgiveness where true repentance is demonstrated. As we should ourselves repent with an “apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ,” so we should preach to others.
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Reformed Experiential Preaching
Reformed experiential preaching explains how things ought to go in the Christian life (the ideal of Romans 8), how they actually go in Christian struggles (the reality of Romans 7), and the ultimate goal in the kingdom of glory (the optimism of Revelation 21–22). This kind of preaching reaches people where they are in the trenches and gives them tactics and hope for the battle.
Perhaps you have heard preaching that fills the head but not the heart. You come away better informed and educated, but little moved by God’s glory to do God’s will. In the worst case, such preaching puffs people up with knowledge. At its best, it is light without heat. You may also have heard preaching that touches the heart but not the head. Hearing it can be an emotionally moving experience. People leave the service excited, fired up, and feeling good. But they have zeal without knowledge. Like cotton candy, such preaching has lots of flavor but no nutritional value. It might bring people back for more (until they get sick), but it will not nurture life or develop maturity.
The greatest tragedy about these two abuses of preaching is that they sever the vital connection between truth and love in Christ: “But speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:15). It’s not just that we need both truth and love.
Therefore, the truth of Christ must be brought home to the heart by the Holy Spirit in order to produce love. That’s the kind of preaching we need.
Reformed experiential preaching is not merely aesthetic, causing people to walk away thinking, “What a beautiful idea!” It is not merely informative, imparting knowledge about the Bible and theology. It is not merely emotional, warming hearts and producing strong feelings. It is not merely moralistic, instructing and exhorting in what is right and wrong. All of these elements are present in good preaching, but none of them is the heart of the matter.It breaks us and remakes us. It is both exhilarating and humbling. Such preaching brings us face to face with the most glorious and delightful Being in the universe, and also face to face with our own profound wickedness.
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