“When heart and flesh fail, be Thou the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. Let not my courage fail in the trying hour. Permit not the great adversary to harass my soul in the last struggle, but make me a conqueror and more than a conqueror in this fearful conflict.”

I recently came across a wonderful prayer penned by Archibald Alexander many years ago. In it he prays that God would bless and protect him through the years of old age and into the gates of heaven. May his prayer be ours!
O most merciful God, cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength declineth. Now, when I am old and grey-headed, forsake me not; but let Thy grace be sufficient for me; and enable me to bring forth fruit, even in old age. May my hoary head be found in the ways of righteousness! Preserve my mind from dotage and imbecility, and my body from protracted disease and excruciating pain. Deliver me from despondency and discouragement in my declining years, and enable me to bear affliction with patience, fortitude, and perfect submission to Thy holy will.
As, in the course of nature, I must be drawing near to my end, and as I know I must soon put off this tabernacle, I do humbly and earnestly beseech Thee, O Father of mercies, to prepare me for this inevitable and solemn event: Fortify my mind against the terrors of death. Give me, if it please Thee, an easy passage through the gate of death. Dissipate the dark clouds and mists which naturally hang over the grave, and lead me gently down into the gloomy valley. O my kind Shepherd, who hast tasted the bitterness of death for me, and who knowest how to sympathize with and succour the sheep of Thy pasture, be Thou present to guide, to support, and to comfort me. Illumine with beams of heavenly light the valley and shadow of death, so that I may fear no evil. When heart and flesh fail, be Thou the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. Let not my courage fail in the trying hour. Permit not the great adversary to harass my soul in the last struggle, but make me a conqueror and more than a conqueror in this fearful conflict.
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Ultimately, this reality to which the created order witnesses is the Lord God Almighty, who is not just the Maker of heaven and earth, but also our Redeemer. For while the natural law witnesses to the Creator, it is insufficient to save. Rather, God’s special revelation of the good news of Jesus Christ is the only hope for a creation, and people, that longs for restoration. 

One account of morality sees history as the outworking of a competition between groups that are vying for power. Another account grounds morality in personal preference or choice. In contrast to these accounts, the historic Christian faith affirms a revealed standard of morality that is grounded in the divine Creator Himself.
The Basis of Natural Law
While this morality is most clearly revealed in the special revelation of Scripture, the created order and human conscience also bear witness to the same ground of morality. God’s invisible attributes are clearly perceived in the things that have been made (Rom. 1:20). A law is also “written on the heart” (2:15). According to this view, these external (nature) and internal (conscience) witnesses to the Creator’s moral standard render all people “without excuse” (1:20). This universal and accessible law is also called the natural law.
The natural law has been the bedrock of western moral and political thought for centuries. It is built upon two assumptions. First, there is an order to nature—that nature conforms to a law and isn’t chaotic. The Lord God created “plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind” (Gen. 1:11). A maple seed is directed toward its inherent end to become a maple tree and produce more maple seeds. This purpose is not willed upon it by mankind but built into its nature. Second, human beings are rational creatures that can discover this order, which is binding on everyone; the Lord endued men and women with “reasonable” souls (WLC Q. 17).
The natural law is distinct from positive or civil laws that are enacted and enforced by legislators. It is also categorically distinct (though, of course, not separated) from God’s eternal decree. However, the natural law is not autonomous. Herman Bavinck discussed the natural law under the topic of God’s general revelation, where he writes, “This revelation of God is general, perceptible as such, and intelligible to every human. Nature and history are the book of God’s omnipotence and wisdom, his goodness and justice.”[1] Elsewhere, he holds together the books of general and special revelation: “It is one and the same God who in general revelation does not leave himself without a witness to anyone and who in special revelation makes himself knows as a God of grace.”[2]
A fundamental aspect of the natural law is whether nature has an intrinsic aim, or telos. Unfortunately, more modern uses of the natural law assume a mechanistic understanding of nature. For example, Kant’s categorical imperative provides the basis for moral action on the sovereignty of the will. Nature no longer witnesses to morality; instead, nature becomes something to manipulate and master for our own ends. The manipulation of nature for our own ends is demonstrated in the topic of homosexuality.
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How does eternity serve to motivate you? Clearly, the Apostles considered eternity as a great motivator for each of us today. If you have believed on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, then the certainty of your eternal future should motivate the way you live today. 

In life, of course, many things motivate us. If you are a follower of Christ, no doubt the love Jesus Christ demonstrated for you motivates you (c.f., 2 Cor 5:14-15). Further, authentic love for others surely motivates you as well (c.f., Mark 12:29-31). In the Bible, eternity also motivates. God tells us about eternity in order to help us in several ways in our lives. Consider at least one key way how eternity should motivate you.
Eternity Should Motivate Us Toward Purity
The Apostle Peter’s Perspective
As the Bible discusses purity, often it encourages us to ponder eternity as a motivator.

Peter writes:

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless…” (2 Peter 3:14).

Looking forward to what things? The coming day of God. The future when God melts away this current earth and universe and recreates a perfect universe in which those who are saved will enjoy throughout eternity. This eternal perspective should motivate us to be pure – without spot or blameless. Again, Peter specifically places the responsibility of purity on our perspective of eternity. Look at his question and explanation:

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:11-13)

What we know about eternity motivates our purity today.
The Apostle John’s Perspective
John also connects purity with eternity. He writes:
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)
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Written by Michael J. Kruger |
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
If we think truth is determined by what is emotionally or pragmatically satisfying, then we will find ourselves always chasing the next great, wonderful thing that comes along—at least for the moment. In such a case, our life would be marked by an endless quest for personal fulfillment, hopping from idea to idea and from religion to religion.

Fighting Dissatisfaction
Some people stop believing Christianity not so much because they think it’s false but because they think it just doesn’t work. As they look around, they might begin to think that other groups or ideas or religions just work better. These groups might seem to be rich, deep, and full of life, even offering a better community, a deeper purpose, and a more compelling vision for the world. On top of this, other groups might just seem, well, more fun.
In short, people don’t always stop following Christ for intellectual reasons. Some people stop because they enjoy other things more than Jesus. To them, Christianity just isn’t satisfying anymore. So how should you deal with this important issue? Here are a few thoughts.
Nothing but the Truth
First, we must remember that Christianity is worthy of our belief not because it always feels better—or even seems to work better than other systems—but because it is true. If Jesus is really the Son of God, if he really rose from the dead, if there really is eternal life only through him, then that is enough to make him worthy of following. And that won’t change even if the Christian life proves more difficult and more challenging than the other alternatives on the table.
After all, there are some false beliefs and false systems that may, at least for a while, give a greater level of emotional satisfaction than true beliefs and systems. I am reminded of the sci-fi film The Matrix, in which the machines have trapped millions of people in a digital dream world so that the machines can live off the bioelectricity produced by their bodies. There is little doubt that the dream world is much more satisfying and fulfilling for these people than the real world would be. Indeed, the latter is harsh, cold, and unpleasant. But the dream world is all a lie. And the theme of the movie is that it is better to know the truth and follow the truth—no matter how unpleasant—than it is to live a lie. In fact, when Neo is deciding to take the red pill or the blue pill, Morpheus is very clear about his promise: “Remember, all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.” He knows Neo will wake up to a less pleasant life. But that’s okay because the truth is what matters.
Here’s the point: we don’t follow Christianity merely because it makes us feel good or because it is emotionally satisfying but because it is true. This doesn’t mean, of course, that there aren’t pragmatic, practical, and even emotional benefits to Christianity. There are many, and we will talk more about these below. But we have to get the order right. As Os Guinness observes, “The Christian faith is not true because it works. It works because it is true.”1
If we reverse the order and begin to think that truth is determined by whatever works for us, then we will run into some serious problems. For one, such an approach would mean that everyone gets to create his own “truth.” After all, people differ—often quite significantly—over what they think “works” for them. For instance, if someone said she found Brazil’s Sunrise Valley religion—whose adherents believe they are aliens in human form—to be the most existentially compelling, then we would be forced to conclude that it is “true.” Indeed, such an approach would force us to conclude that just about any worldview were “true” as long as someone somewhere found that it worked for him.
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The future…when what is broken will be made whole, when what is sorrowful will be soothed, when what has been torn apart will be stitched back together, a time when son and father and father and son will be reunited, never more to part, never more to grieve.

I have many fond memories of my father—memories accumulated over the 43 years we shared this earth. I have fond memories based on my first twenty-one years when I lived in his home and saw him nearly every day. I remember him taking me to old Exhibition Stadium to watch the Blue Jays play. I remember going on a road trip together—just the two of us traveling across Georgian Bay and onto Manitoulin Island. I remember getting up early in the morning and finding that he was already awake, already reading his Bible, already spending time with the Lord. I remember this and so much else.
Then I have fond memories based on the next 23 years of life after I had gotten married and moved out, and after he and the family had left Canada to settle in the American South. Our visits became less frequent then, but no less significant. I remember his joy on those rare occasions when the whole family could be together, the entire collection of kids and grandkids under a single roof. I remember looking out from many church pulpits and conference podiums and seeing his face in the crowd. I remember notes and letters he would send at important moments or following significant events.
But my favorite memory of all is my final memory of all. In June of 2019 dad turned 70 and the family threw him a surprise party to mark the occasion. I made the long journey from Toronto to my sister’s home in Georgia to be part of the fun. It was a wonderful afternoon spent with friends and family, all of whom had gathered to honor dad as he reached a significant milestone. Though I talked to him on the phone after that day, I never actually saw him again and formed no other lasting memories. Just a few months later he collapsed and died at a time that was unexpected but in a way that was exactly as he wanted—with dirt on his hands.
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Now that parents realize the schools have been indoctrinating their kids, will they remain vigilant for other forms of indoctrination? Using our children as fodder in a political fight was a line the left shouldn’t have crossed—but they did. Now they’ve triggered the immune system of the body politic.

Protests against Critical Race Theory (CRT) are breaking out all over America. It may even be shaping up as a major election issue next year. Parents are protesting against CRT at school board meetings and with their local school administrations. It has become such a heated issue that even state and local governments are getting involved — and they’re not coming down on the side of CRT.
But CRT supporters are telling opponents that they simply don’t understand what it is. They claim they’re fighting racism by giving children a complete and well-rounded picture of the issue. They assert that opponents are denying the reality of history by not supporting CRT. But is that really the case? Are opponents just a bunch of ignorant rubes that don’t get it?
There are a number of books and papers on CRT which provide numerous philosophical interpretations. However, they all subscribe to five basic tenets.
Tenet 1—Racism is a Central Component of American Life
Translation: Racism pervades everything that defines our American culture. Systems, institutions, and even our history are all compromised by racism. Buildings must be renamed and monuments removed. In Wisconsin, even a rock was removed because it was deemed a symbol of racism. The theory is that racism has corrupted everything in America.
Tenet 2—CRT Rejects the Goal of Color Blindness
Translation: CRT does not subscribe to the notion that we should “judge each other by the content of our character rather than the color of our skin.” It teaches us to remain cognizant of each other’s melanin level at all times. CRT rejects “color blindness” because it views the races as engaged in a grand contest. Its proponents view attempts to create a “color blind” society as privileged whites trying the end the game while they’re ahead. They don’t want equality — equal opportunity. They want equity — equal results. The competition must continue until reparations (payback) for past wrongs have been extracted.
Tenet 3—Anecdotal Experiences of People of Color are More Valid than Statistical or Empirical Evidence
Translation: It doesn’t matter what the data shows, if people of color (POC) feel oppressed, they are. If they feel targeted by police, it’s because of systemic racism. If they feel held back at work, it’s because of the color of their skin. If they think they heard a fan at a baseball game yell a racial epithet, it doesn’t matter that he was actually yelling “Dinger” at the club mascot. The content of the fan’s character is irrelevant, if someone thinks he’s a racist, he’s guilty. For proponents of CRT, perception is deemed more relevant than reality.
Tenet 4—CRT Challenges the Lessons of Conventional History
Translation: If history doesn’t comport with claims of systemic racism, history must be changed. America fought a civil war to end slavery and embarked on a civil rights movement to stamp out the last vestiges of actual systemic racism. But to accept those facts would be to acknowledge that there is something truly noble and exceptional about America. Such a historical perspective cannot be allowed to stand. Hence, we’ve been treated to the 1619 Project, which asserts that America was not founded in 1776 as a beacon of liberty to the world, but rather in 1619 when the first slaves arrived in the western hemisphere. We’re to believe that this country was founded on the principle of human rights not for everyone, but only for the privileged few. The country was founded on the basis of a lie and is therefore irredeemable.
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Written by C.R. Carmichael |
Monday, September 13, 2021
David describes the good person as one who delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates every day and night. Never let a day pass without reading a portion of Holy Scripture, and realize that an important duty of the day has been neglected if Scripture reading has been omitted. 

No one can be an eminent Christian, no matter how frequently he hears his favorite preacher, who does not converse much with his Bible in secret. Anyone who wishes to grow in grace and in knowledge must commune daily with the Bible’s prophets and apostles. Through the medium of these inspired texts, the Christian must drink largely of the pure living waters and undiluted milk of the word. Alas, it is a weak and sickly faith that depends solely upon the hearing of sermons or the reading of Christian “bestsellers” for its spiritual support.
God’s word is the food of the soul. There is more concentrated nourishment in a single text of Scripture, drawn out by the digestive process of meditation to strengthen the heart of the believer, than in many pages of uninspired, though instructive, composition. God’s words are life, and they are spirit. Read the pages of Christian martyrology and you will find that the secret of the martyrs’ strength was in their intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures. They were Bible Christians, and not mere sermon Christians.
If you have any deep experience in the ways of God and the devices of Satan, then you would easily remember times of peril when the perusal of a single chapter, or even the pondering upon a single verse, sounded like the voice of God and seemed like the mightiness of His omnipotence coming into your soul. If, then, you want to relish the uncorrupted sweetness of the word; if you want to realize all its strength-giving efficacy; if you want to grow to the strength and stature of a perfect man or woman in Christ Jesus; if you want to be valiant in the fight of faith—you must be much in converse with God alone, through the medium of his own blessed word.
Is this precious privilege not often neglected by many of you? Does the Bible not lie upon the table or the shelf for days or weeks unopened? What excuse have you to offer for so ungrateful a return for this inspired book? Perhaps, you say, it is a difficult book to understand. Admittedly, there are dark and inexplicable passages to ordinary readers, and yet how much more there is that is clear to the feeblest capacity. And think how much more those dark passages would brighten and unfold their meaning with a more spiritual, more devoted, and habitual attention!
Diligence, prayer, and a holy state of mind will unlock to the inquiring believer most of the hidden treasures of inspiration. Those who complain of the darkness of the Scriptures are generally those who have devoted the least time and attention to the study of them. Many uninspired books are difficult to those who only dip into them occasionally, but which, to the very same people, become easy when studied with care. There is such a thing as becoming, by long examination, familiar with an author’s style and manner, just as our protracted acquaintance with an individual enables us to understand the drift of his remarks better than we did at our first introduction to him. If necessary, the aid of a commentary may be of service to those who have leisure to peruse it.
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Written by Andy H. |
Monday, September 13, 2021
When we talk about the doctrine of salvation planned in eternity past, this involves foreknowledge, predestination, and election. In its accomplishment in redemptive history, it concerns Jesus’ righteous life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. But, our focus is on salvation applied in the personal experience of the believer.

In the first part, we had focussed on the life of the preacher, but in this part, we look more specifically at Paul’s second exhortation here in 1 Timothy 4:16, “pay close attention to yourself and to your doctrine or to your teaching.” He’s not just talking about the manner of his presentation. He’s talking about the content of his message and it’s the responsibility of the preacher to “Earnestly contend,” Jude said, “for the faith once for all delivered.” And the Apostle Paul said that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine for reprove, correction, training in righteousness that the man of God would be equipped thoroughly furnished for every good work.” The first use of scripture is for doctrine, for biblical truth. So then as Paul said in 1 Titus 1:9, “the elder must be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute and rebuke those that contradict.” So, it is absolutely crucial, and oftentimes failures in ministry or fruitlessness in ministry is a direct result of the preacher’s inconsistent life or the preacher’s poor understanding of doctrine. There’s much false teaching, and weak erroneous doctrine in America, in China, and in India, and all over the world. And the Apostle Paul told the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20 that “be on guard for yourselves and for all the Church of God, over whom the Holy Spirit made you overseers to shepherd the church of God that he purchased with his own blood.” Why? “Because after I depart savage wolves will come in, not sparing the flock and number two from among you false teachers will arise leading people astray.”
That’s what we are focusing on: the doctrine of salvation. This will be a review for some of you and new for some of you, but I do not apologize, as Peter said, “to stir you up by way of reminder even though you know these things and have been grounded in them so that after my departure you may be able to call them to mind.” So we’re talking about the doctrine of salvation.It is absolutely crucial that in addition to deepening holiness in your life, you are growing in and understanding the truth of God. There’s some truth that is absolutely crucial and essential. There’s some doctrines that are important but are non-essential. For example, it is not necessarily a salvation issue of a person whether his eschatology is amillennial, post-millennial and pre-millennial. It is not absolutely crucial in regards to pneumatology or his doctrine of the Holy Spirit that he is a cessationist or non-cessationist regarding the spiritual gifts. Also in regards to the question of baptism, however, this is a bit more crucial because it can have eternal consequences. If people are hoping in their baptism, that is whether one is a baptist or whether one is a pedobaptist, that is more crucial. But pay attention: we are absolutely required to be certain in our understanding of the foundational doctrine regarding salvation issues.
By way of background, when we talk about the doctrine of salvation, it is usually discussed or presented in three stages. What do we mean Well? First of all, there is salvation planned in the eternity past. Second of all, there is salvation accomplished in redemptive history. Third of all, there is salvation applied in our own personal experience.
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Though Gen Z-ers have all but replaced Millennials as the dazzling object of scrutiny and cultural analysis, it’s not because Millennials are no longer struggling. Rates of addiction, depression, burnout, and loneliness are all disproportionately high among the demographic born between 1981 and 1996. Since 2013, in fact, Millennials have seen a 47 percent increase in major depression diagnoses.
For their part, evangelical Millennials are in a season of deconstruction and deconversion, or reeling from the many influential and high profile leaders that have recently either left the faith or fallen from grace. Disillusionment is now a dominant feature of this group that was once convinced it could change the world.
In his influential book The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt uses a rider and an elephant to illustrate moral psychology. The rider represents intellectual reasoning. The elephant represents immediate perceptions, intuitions and instincts. Most modern people, Haidt argues, think that their own moral frameworks are derived from objective, rational reasoning. In other words, it’s the rider who tells the elephant where to go and what to eat. In reality, however, moral decisions primarily come from our gut instincts, and we use intellectual reasoning to justify those decisions. Or, back to our metaphor, the elephant wants bananas, and the rider explains why bananas are good after the decision to get bananas has already been made.
If Haidt is right, we can better understand the beauty and power of Christianity. To borrow his metaphor, Christ speaks to both the rider and the elephant. “Like newborn babies,” the Apostle Peter tells us, “crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Christianity is not only ultimately true, it is also ultimately satisfying. It is satisfying, in fact, because it is true.
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Paul seems to assume his readers are already aware of their role in the final judgment. He twice asks the rhetorical question, “Do you not know?” And yet, if it weren’t for this very passage, how many Christians today would know? What exactly does it mean that we will judge the world and the angels? 

The apostle Paul delivers several stinging rebukes to the believers at Corinth over the course of his first epistle. But perhaps the most interesting comes in 1 Corinthians 6:2–3. There we learn that due to their divisiveness and worldliness, the Corinthians have compromised their Christian identity by pursuing selfish gain through litigation against one another in secular courts. Such conduct betrays values that are no different from their pagan neighbors, so Paul reminds them of their ultimate destiny in Christ in order to expose the absurdity of their conduct.
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! (1 Cor. 6:2–3)
It’s an argument from the greater to the lesser. If they will one day judge the world and the angels, shouldn’t they be capable of handling relatively minor disputes among themselves?
What makes the passage so surprising is Paul seems to assume his readers are already aware of their role in the final judgment. He twice asks the rhetorical question, “Do you not know?” And yet, if it weren’t for this very passage, how many Christians today would know? What exactly does it mean that we will judge the world and the angels? What else does the Bible have to say about this? And what does this mean for us practically today?
Commentators through the centuries have offered several interpretations of this judgment of the saints. These can be broken down into three major options, followed by a fourth that expands on the third.
1. Judgment by Example
This view goes back to early church fathers like John Chrysostom, as well as a number of early Reformed commentators like Wolfgang Musculus. The idea here is that believers will not actively exercise judgment, since this is believed to be a prerogative of Christ (see John 5:22). Rather, it is the example of their faith that will condemn unbelievers. Jesus makes a similar point when he declares that the Ninevites and the queen of Sheba, who responded with repentance and wisdom in their day, will rise up at the judgment to condemn the wickedness of his contemporary generation (Matt. 12:41–42).
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