Tim Challies

Weekend A La Carte (June 10)

Good morning. May gratitude goes to Zondervan for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about an excellent new book about God’s love for us.

Today’s Kindle deals include some books that are newer and some that are older.
(Yesterday on the blog: Can You Live a Life that’s Worthy of the Gospel?)
Confessions of Faith and the Baptist Tradition
”One of the most-cited arguments against Baptists standards of doctrine and practice is that Baptists have historically opposed confessions of faith. This anti-confessional argument has been used by certain Baptist leaders over the centuries, but it is a false argument.” As it happens, Rick Warren is making a variation of it now.
Who Are the Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Ligonier Ministries provides a brief explanation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses—their history, key beliefs, and so on.
Disappointment as Opportunity
“We know well the saying that life is full of disappointments, and the longer we live, the truer it rings. As fallen humans with largely unreasonable expectations for ourselves and others, we bump into disappointment often. ‘Man makes his plans and the Lord laughs,’ someone has said, and I’m inclined to believe him.”
When Winsome Doesn’t Work
“Christians had better get used to increasing hostility and apathy. Our views are increasingly out of step with society’s, and we’re now the bad guys. We shouldn’t bend the truth, and no matter how kindly we speak, we’re bound to be seen as out of step or worse. We should prepare ourselves and our churches. Short of changing our beliefs, we will be found intolerable by those who preach tolerance.”
Take away the love of sinning
That’s a good prayer, isn’t it? That God would take away our love of sinning.
Young Men with Holy Habits
Bobby Scott reflects on the impact of a classic. “Through Ryle’s pen, God inflamed two desires in me that grew into holy habits in my Christian walk — one desire was for a healthy fear of my sin, and the other was a longing to please God.”
Flashback: When God Interferes With Our Plans
God’s kind providence keeps us from being as sinful as we would otherwise be. So, Christian, thank God for his providence, and prepare to be amazed when, in eternity, God gives you the gift of seeing how often and to what extent he has kept you from sin.

Spiritual stagnancy results from forgetting the very gospel that brought us into the kingdom. Spiritual growth, cultivation of virtue, results from remembering the gospel. —Dane Ortlund

Free Stuff Fridays (Zondervan Reflective)

This week Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Zondervan Reflective. They are giving away five copies of The Great Love of God.

There is a Divine Love that heals our hurts, fears, and loneliness, but have we lost sight of it?
Nothing is more obvious about our world than the reality of how far we have slipped from the ideal of divine love. We live in a society that has sunk into the depths of desperation. An avalanche of problems overwhelms us. Hatred and animosity have reached a state of emergency, and a powerful display of infinite love is our only hope. Isolated in a crowded universe, the only rescue from our loneliness is found in the acceptance of the One Person whose great love we most need, but stubbornly reject. Our quest for the perfect human leader has failed, but there is a perfectly trustworthy Leader in heaven who wants to share his love that never fails, never betrays, and never abuses. As we squint through the darkness of chaos and anxiety, our only hope is to see the blazing light of the One whose infinite love alone casts out our fear.
Sharing his own story of an encounter with God’s deep love, pastor and counselor Heath Lambert articulates what the Bible teaches about the love of God, capturing the beauty of this love while helping readers see and experience how the truth that sets us free from the sickness of hatred, loneliness, and fear so prevalent in our world today.
Now more than ever, and more than anything, people need to find their way into the compassionate embrace of their Father in heaven. An embrace that makes us better, stronger, and wiser as he reveals himself to us as the God of great love. The Great Love of God provides an accessible, passionate exploration of how the divine love casts out fear, provides ultimate hope, and never fails.
Enter Here
There are five copies to win. All you need to do to enter the draw is to enter your name and email address in this form, which will add you to Heath Lambert’s mailing list.
Sweepstakes Rules: You may enter one time. Winners will be notified by email on June 16th, 2023.
Heath Lambert is giving a copy of The Great Love of God to five randomly selected winners who sign up for the mailing list below.

Can You Live a Life that’s Worthy of the Gospel?

There are some Bible verses that seem to go just a little bit too far. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children … he cannot be my disciple” comes to mind, or “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” And then there’s this one: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” (Philippians 1:27). We read a verse like that and rightly ask, “Is it actually possible to live a life that’s worthy of the gospel? Is that a realistic goal? And what would it even look like to say ‘my life is worthy of the gospel?’”

Help comes in the form of Sinclair Ferguson’s new book Worthy: Living in Light of the Gospel, which is the second volume in a series by Union School of Theology titled “Growing Gospel Integrity.” This series, edited by Michael Reeves, is meant to explore the Christian’s call to Christlikeness based on Philippians 1:27-2:3.
Ferguson begins the work by explaining why Christians can find the command “live worthy of the gospel” a confusing one. And really, the answer is quite obvious: “the gospel teaches us we are unworthy. We are saved by grace, not by worth.” Besides that, we are rightly attuned to the creep of legalism and can fear that a call to “live worthy” can be a call to emphasize outward actions ahead of an inward posture of the heart. Yet “Paul well knew that emphasizing God’s grace in Christ in reaction to legalism is not necessarily the same thing as understanding the grace of God in Christ.” In fact, “the richer and fuller the exposition of the grace of God in Christ, the safer it is to expound the all-demanding commands that flow from it as a result.” It is when we have the fullest and most confident understanding of the gospel that we will understand what it means to live a worthy life and be most eager to do so.
Those who are familiar with Ferguson’s writing will recognize how he helps the reader understand the way grace relates to obedience. “The basic idea is that a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ expresses in the form of a lifestyle what the gospel teaches in the form of a message. Such a life takes on a character that reflects the character of the Lord Jesus Christ.” With that groundwork in place, he writes about “The Grammar of the Gospel,” explaining the role of moods (focusing on imperatives and indicatives), prepositions (focusing on Paul’s way of speaking about believers as being “in Christ”), tenses (focusing on what the gospel has done in us and what it will do), and then, finally, the role of negatives and positives—what the gospel tells us to do and not to do and what the gospel tells us to be and not to be.
With this in place, he explains the “instruments” God uses to work change within us, to put sin to death and bring righteousness to life. God uses both his Word and his providence to work change within us—a truth displayed powerfully in the life of Joseph. Suffering introduces the “friction” into our lives that shapes us into Christ’s likeness. There is a kind of “productivity” that suffering brings to our lives that produces endurance and character and hope (as per Romans 5). Meanwhile, God’s Word does not just tell us to change, but it actually works change within us as it is preached. “God’s word preached does not merely tell us to work; it does the work. The preached word works on us and in us even while it is being preached, as well as afterward.” Thus “every exposition of Scripture is an extended personal counseling session in which the Holy Spirit shows us the wonder and power of the gospel and also exposes the secrets of our hearts. … The exposition of a passage of Scripture is not intended to be a popular-level commentary in spoken form but an encounter with the God who speaks.”
A final pair of chapters discuss what it looks like to live with “A Worthy Mindset” and how this kind of life actually comes about for people like you and me (and, by illustration, Saul of Tarsus—a section that provides a fascinating explanation of how Stephen’s example was instrumental in the conversion of Saul).
The Bible calls us to the responsibility and the great privilege of living a life that is worthy of the gospel. Ferguson’s book briefly but oh-so-helpfully explains how this is possible and what this should look like. Written briefly and simply, it’s a book I gladly recommend to any Christian.
Buy from Amazon

A La Carte (June 9)

Good morning, at last, from downtown Recife. I look forward to spending the weekend with Primeira Igreja Presbiteriana do Recife. (I’ll be speaking to a men’s group there this evening at 7; if you’re a man and live in the area, feel free to attend.)

Blasphemy Then and Now
Carl Trueman examines charges of blasphemy against Monty Python then and now. “Opponents of blasphemy then and of blasphemy now share something in common: a concern to protect that which is sacred. But that is where the similarity begins and ends. Old-style blasphemy involved desecrating God because it was God who was sacred. Today’s blasphemy involves suggesting that man is not all-powerful, that he cannot create himself in any way he chooses, that he is subject to limits beyond his choice and beyond his control.”
How to Distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Serpent
Sinclair Ferguson turns to John Owen to explain how to distinguish very different kinds of promptings.
The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Leadership
“He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” —2 Samuel 2:23 (Sponsored Link)
How Much Should Pastors Make?
John Piper considers pastors and their salaries.
You Can Be Right and Wrong Simultaneously
“I’m sure you can relate to this experience. You’re in a discussion with someone, and they say something incorrect. It’s important enough that it should be set straight. So you begin to interact calmly, identifying their error and offering the correct understanding of the matter. But it’s not that easy.”
No They Can’t and Here’s Why
Anne Kennedy: “Work—meaningful work—which leads to accomplishment produces self-forgetfulness. You get caught up in whatever you’re doing and forget about yourself altogether. It is the common grace of God to give ordinary people momentary relief from the great burden of themselves through the various kinds of work that make life interesting and pleasurable. I think this must be one reason that most kinds of meaningful work have been destroyed, I assume by Satan, who wants you to think about yourself all the live-long day.”
The Rollercoaster
Patsy Kuipers tells about the rollercoaster nature of caring for a declining parent.
Flashback: Could You Use Some Joy Today?
…consider what God has given you, whether wealth, time, talents, or gifts, and consider how you can use them to express generosity to someone else. Consider how you can give to others what God has given you…

In the union of husband and wife their sexual drives are consecrated and directed to the spouse for mutual benefit instead of selfish gratification. —Harold Senkbeil

A La Carte (June 8)

Good morning from Brazil. I’m in São Paulo this morning and making my way to Recife this afternoon. We will soon begin filming yet another episode of Worship Round the World.

Today’s Kindle deals include a couple of good options.
(Yesterday on the blog: Your Loved Ones Love You Still)
The Upside-Down Metaphor: A Hermeneutical Critique of Josh Butler’s Beautiful Union
Anne Kennedy reviews Josh Butler’s now-infamous book. “In his provocative book, Beautiful Union: How God’s Vision for Sex Points Us to the Good, Unlocks the True, and (Sort of) Explains Everything,1 Josh Butler articulates a theological picture of God’s union with humanity in Christ that is sexual, rather than sacramental in nature. Butler makes exegetical and categorical errors that lead him to at least two theologically problematic conclusions.”
The Aim of Satan
What does Satan aim at in his engagements with us? This article explains.
How Can Leaders Become Difference Makers?
“Healthy, courageous leaders are humble, fearful followers.” —David M. Cook and Shane W. Parker (Sponsored Link)
Water into Wine?
Shane Rosenthal: “The account of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana is a well-known story from the Gospel of John. When commenting upon this passage, many focus on the exceptional quality of the wine that Jesus produced, while others prefer to highlight the enormous quantity … But in my opinion, the most noteworthy aspect of this famous story relates not to the quantity or qualityof the wine, but rather to its historical reality.”
What Is Pride?
Christina Fox explains what pride is all about.
Did the Puritans Agree on Eschatology?
Interesting! “Were the Puritans aligned in their eschatological views? Not quite. This article examines various Puritan theologies of eschatology that emerged between the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing on seven prominent Puritan writers and their unique perspectives.”
3 Ways Our Relationship With Social Media Warps Friendship
Chris Martin explains how social media changes (or warps) our friendships.
Flashback: What If Marriage Isn’t Making Me As Holy As I Had Hoped?
Our pursuits of holiness, whether our own or our spouse’s, are only ever incomplete pursuits. They are real and meaningful, but necessarily limited by the harsh reality that there is no perfection to be had on this side of the grave.

The great problem of living is not to escape hard and painful experiences, but in such experiences to keep the heart gentle, loving, and sweet. —J.R. Miller

Your Loved Ones Love You Still

The old adage may be trite, but that makes it no less true: Absence makes the heart grow fonder. There is something about being apart that stirs our affections, that causes us to understand and articulate what we might otherwise have taken for granted. It is often only through a time of separation that we come to understand how much another person means to us.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is true when our loved ones leave us for extended periods or when they depart for distant lands. But “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is equally true when our loved ones depart this earth altogether. We learn that death does not cause love to die, but that in its own way, it fosters and amplifies love all the more.
And why shouldn’t it? In the distance that death interposes, we come to overlook old vices and delight in former virtues. Offenses begin to fade from our minds, replaced by memories that are sweet and delightful. A loved one was never so virtuous and never so much a Christian as she is in our memory. And then there’s this: our hearts are naturally inclined toward those who are weak. And who could be weaker than one who is drawing his final breath, one who lies in a coffin, one who is buried in the cold ground? Death displays the ultimate weakness and it moves our hearts in pity and love.
And so, though our loved ones are gone, we love them still. Though our loved ones have been taken, we love them all the more. Their absence makes our hearts grow ever-fonder.
But what of their love for us? Do our loved ones continue to love us even when they have gone to that Land of Love, even when they have finally come face to face with the God of Love?
I am convinced that they do love us still and I am convinced that their love, too, grows all the more. I am convinced that absence makes their hearts grow fonder, just as it does ours.
After all, they are still sentient, still conscious, still human, still themselves. The lives they lived are real, the relationships they formed are genuine, the experiences they enjoyed are authentic. Though torn from this world and separated from their bodies for a time, they are not torn from who they were. They are not whitewashed into new beings, not reset into people radically different from the people they were on Earth. The bonds of marriage may be severed by death, but not the sweet friendship of a husband and wife. A man’s son here will still be his son there, a woman’s mother here still her mother there. There is much we wonder about heaven and much we discuss or debate, but not the continuity of relationships, not the continuity of love.
And so, if we treasure all the sweet memories we once made together, wouldn’t they? If our hearts yearn to make new memories with them, wouldn’t theirs? If our mouths are crying out “Come, Lord Jesus,” wouldn’t their mouths sing the same?
It is a beautiful thing to ponder that even as we remember our loved ones with such tender affection, they are remembering us with hearts just as warm. Even as we long for the day when we can throw our arms around them, they long for the day when they can throw theirs around us. Even as we yearn for the time when what was severed will be restored, they are yearning for it too. Their love for us continues and their love for us grows, for absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

A La Carte (June 7)

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Westminster Books has a deal on an interesting new academic-level book.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few interesting titles.
The Elephant’s Trunk (Video)
This is a really neat video about the elephant’s trunk—a masterpiece of design.
Problems with Preferred Pronouns
“All we’re being asked to do is change one word. It’s a simple request. Just use a different pronoun. It might seem like a no-brainer for a believer to comply. Why cause unnecessary tension by refusing a request to be courteous?” Alan Shlemon gives a list of problems with ceding to preferred pronouns.
What Happened to the God-fearing Leaders?
In Leading from the Foundation Up, David Cook and Shane Parker offer the only book focused on Christian leadership philosophy and practice rooted in reverential awe. (Sponsored Link)
Delighting in the Trinity
“Love for others, then, cannot go very deep in them if they can go for eternity without it. And so, not being essentially loving, such gods are inevitably less than lovely. They may demand our worship, but they cannot win our hearts. They must be served with gritted teeth. How wonderfully different it is with the triune God.”
Not afraid of bad news
Here’s an explanation of how the righteous do not need to be afraid of bad news.
To Confront or Not to Confront? That Is the Question
“In everyday life, there are interactions with loved ones that are difficult. Issues of life that are impacted by personal sin and hardships create tension in relationships and could directly harm others. The question often asked is, ‘Should I confront this issue or overlook it?’ That is a good question, and as we look to the Bible for God’s revelation on the issue, there seems to be visible tension on how to answer it.”
The Inefficient Church
“I’m all for certain kinds of efficiency. I just placed an online order to save a trip to the store. But I’m for the right kind of inefficiency: the inefficiency of caring enough to slow down and treat people like people, to know their names, and to actually care.” But ministry can’t be efficient…
Flashback: The King Is Within Earshot
If you would simply consider how much God loves that other person, you would never speak ill of him. If you would consider the work God has accomplished for that person and in that person, you would only ever speak words that esteem him.

The righteous are those who are willing to disadvantage themselves for the advantage of others, the wicked are those who are willing to advantage themselves at the disadvantage of others. —Bruce Waltke

A La Carte (June 6)

Good morning from Argentina where I’m making a one-day stop in Buenos Aires as I transition from Chile to Brazil.

(Yesterday on the blog: And You Shall Never Displease Me)
7 Reasons Why Mormonism and Christianity Are Not the Same
Kevin DeYoung lists them out.
We’re Commanded to Love Our Neighbors, Not to Make Them Feel Loved
There is a key distinction between loving people and making them feel loved. “We have reached the point where no matter how kindly you articulate the biblical view of gender and sexuality, you will be branded ‘hater.’ Which is to say, you will be seen as unloving (even though you aren’t), and you will hurt feelings (no matter how lovingly you speak the truth). Yet if you have wed the fulfillment of Christ’s command to a runaway train, where then will you go?”
Where Does Leadership Begin?
Why do some leaders stay the course and grow in wisdom while others fall into abuse, deception, and immorality? Learn how the fear of the Lord establishes the only foundation for godly leadership. (Sponsored Link)
True, Lasting Happiness Is Found in Jesus, Not Sex or Sexual Identity
Randy Alcorn says, “One day God’s children will look back on this life with complete clarity. When we do, I believe we’ll see that our only true sacrifices were when we chose sin instead of Jesus. The ‘sacrifice’ of following Jesus produces the greatest, most lasting happiness—both here and now, and forever.”
Who Was Pierre Courthial?
This is a great introduction to the life, thought, and impact of a little-known theologian.
Where Does Courage Come From?
“For years, I tried to bootstrap my own courage, to dig up something from within to make me fearless. I tried to use shame, selfishness, and self-preservation, but they all created a distorted and flimsy version of courage that never lasted. I needed to grab hold of the divine love of Christ as my Good Shepherd.”
Flashback: The Gospel Was Given for a Time Like This
The gospel was not given to a world without sin, without confusion, without difficulty and persecution—that world needs no gospel. The gospel was given to a world like this one, a world marked by every kind of pain and perversity. This world needs a gospel and, praise God!, he gave us one.

God intends the Christian life to be a life of joy—not drudgery. The idea that holiness is associated with a dour disposition is a caricature of the worst sort. In fact, just the opposite is true. Only those who walk in holiness experience true joy. —Jerry Bridges

A Journey into the Love of God

This sponsored post was provided by Zondervan Reflective and is an excerpt from Heath Lambert’s book The Great Love of God.

As I awoke from brain surgery and began the slow road of recovery, I immersed myself in the great love of God. I read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation and paid careful attention to all the passages that addressed the love of God. After that, I began to read all the books I could find about the love of God.
This time of reading and exploration continued in theology, I had never before seen so clearly how the authors of the Bible talk about the love of God in ways that stir the soul and lift the heart to the heavens. Their vision of God increased my own appreciation of his love and has convinced me that I must tell others about it.
God loves you and longs to embrace you in his love. There is power in the great love of God. There is power to change our hateful world into a world full of love and mutual care. There is power in the love of God to lift you out of the rut of loneliness that has had you trapped for so long. There is power in the love of God to transform your hard, selfish, and hateful heart into a soft heart that cares for others. There is power in the great love of God to turn even your most painful situations into experiences of joy.
When you know and experience the great love that God has for you, it changes everything. I want you to know this love. I want you to experience this love. Oh, how I want you to be embraced by this love.
God loves you.
Your story is different from mine. I told you what God has begun to do in my life so that you could have a vision for what he will do in yours. God has you on a journey to experience the embrace of his great love. The hard news about this journey is that it is likely to begin in a dark, sad, and lonely place. But God is leading you out of this darkness, sorrow, and isolation into the brightness and joy of his great love for you. This journey into God’s heart of love is one I want us to take together.
Great love defines God’s essence and will transform your existence.
If you understand this sentence, you will understand how this book will progress. In the chapters that follow, I will begin by showing you God’s character of infinite love and then explaining how he extends that love to you in acts of care I refer to as his embrace. After I help you answer some practical objections some have about God’s love, I will show you how God’s great love changes everything about you.
God loves you.
It really is true. And because that is true, it means all the joys and trials you will ever experience are leading you directly into God’s embrace of infinite love.
This journey into God’s love will be wonderful. In fact, it will be more than wonderful. I promise you, being embraced by the love of God will be the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to you.
Heath’s book The Great Love of God is available now!

And You Shall Never Displease Me

So many people live with a deep sense of failure. So many people go through their lives convinced they are a constant disappointment to the ones they so naturally long to please.

Children consider their parents and feel a sense of shame, certain that in some way their parents regard them as a disappointment. Meanwhile, parents consider their children and feel that same sense of shame, sure that their children regard them with disapproval.
Husbands consider their wives and wives their husbands and, while they may not know exactly what they’ve done wrong or what standard they have failed to uphold, they are convinced their spouse looks toward them with a displeased eye.
Church members are often convinced their pastor is disappointed in them for their level of involvement in the church or for the minimal strides they have made in sanctification. Pastors, meanwhile, often feel a deep sense of disapproval from church members, perhaps because they are ordinary preachers rather than extraordinary ones or because they simply do not have enough hours in the week to accept every meeting and fulfill every request.
There are so many Christians who live under a cloud of disappointment and disapproval. And we cannot allow ourselves off the hook here. Our husbands and our wives, our parents and our children, our pastors and our congregations—all can feel that withering sense of censure from the likes of you and me.
And, if we’re honest, such censure is often real rather than imagined. It is real because we are all susceptible to expecting people to live up to our standards rather than to God’s. Yet where God’s standards are holy, ours are tinged with evil; where God’s standards are rational, ours are arbitrary; and where God’s standards are fixed, ours are constantly shifting. People fail to live up to our standards because it’s impossible for them to live up to our standards. And neither should they, for we have no right to call people to live to any standard other than God’s.
A great gift we can give to others is the gift of our approval. We can assure them that our desire for them is not that they live according to our standards, but that they live according to God’s. If they heed the will of God and live according to a sanctified conscience, we can, we should, and we must be satisfied. We must believe that the best thing they can do is please God and please themselves. And if they have done that, we must not be disapproving of them or be disappointed in them.
Husband, one of the greatest gifts you can give your wife is the assurance that you approve of her and that you delight in her. Let her know: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Wife, one of the greatest blessings you can bestow upon your husband is the confidence that you are pleased with him and that you find joy in him. Let him hear it: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Parents, your children want to know that you approve of them. So be sure they know: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Children, your parents want to know that you approve of them just as much as you want to know that they approve of you. So be sure to tell them: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Pastors and church members, you know what to do. Whether you use these exact words or others like them, make sure the sentiment is plain: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”*
There would be nothing more foolish than to disapprove of decisions that have been approved by God or to be disappointed by actions that please God. There would be nothing more cruel than to make someone believe they have failed in your eyes when they have succeeded in God’s. There would be nothing more disheartening than for them to live a life that’s pleasing to God only to find that they have lived a life that’s displeasing to you. So whether it’s your child or parents, your husband or wife, your pastor or congregation, let them know, and then relate to them in such a way that they believe it: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”

I have seen these words attributed to the Puritan Philip Henry, but have not been able to trace them back to a source.

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