Posted by Rod Hamilton on Jul 29, 2009
I make it a point to read books that are known to be good books; books by theologians and thinkers who are known to be good theologians and good thinkers. I don’t take too many risks on books, mostly because I don’t have much time to invest in experimental concepts, but also because I’m fairly boring. If I’m going to go out and spend a lot of money on food, I’ll typically go to a restaurant that is known to be worth the bucks. I feed myself the same spiritually, I guess you could say.
So what I just finished “eating” this morning is a book by A.W. Tozer called The Knowledge of the Holy. It’s a great book that deals primarily in the areas of the character of God and our typically low view of God. I highly recommend this book.
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Jul 09, 2009
Could it really be that the biggest problem plaguing our churches today - the very root of the cause of our declining numbers and ever increasing ineffectiveness - is due to a lack recognition of the holiness of God? I thought so before reading this book and much more so after reading it. As is the case with anything most anything RC Sproul writes or preaches, this book will challenge you to a higher view of God, and to be frank, I realize more everyday how low my view of God, His sovereignty and His grace, at times can be.
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Jul 08, 2009
Today it occurred to me that though fully trusting God is never easy, trusting God when it’s just God and me is easier than trusting God through somebody else. The greatest part of that revelation? I ask somebody everyday to trust God through me. That’s a lot to ask, I think.
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Jul 02, 2009
Paul said that had it not been for the Law (The 10 Commandments) he could not have known sin. (Romans 7:7) I would also contend that aside from a knowledge of the Law we cannot understand God’s grace at all. A simple litmus test for both of these thoughts would be to ask many non-Christian if they are “saved.” A very common response from that person would be to ask “saved from what?” While I might at first take that response as sarcasm, further investigation would lead me to a better understanding of the question “saved from what?”
In 1 Corinthians 2:14, Paul tells the church at Corinth that “the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” So, if a person who does not know Jesus does not see the need to be “saved” we ought to fully understand that they can’t see the need to be saved. Apart from the Law they will not EVER repent because they cannot EVER understand the point in repenting. Though a person may struggle with addictions, marital issues, anger management issues, financial issues or gender identity issues, none of this is a reason to get saved. The bible is clear that Jesus died as the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 2:2) He satisfied the debt that we owed God for our sins. Though He can and does cure our diseases and our habits, hurts and hang-ups, He paid the debt on the cross for our sins so that we would have life everlasting through reconciliation to God so that we would not perish (aka go to hell).
Until a person has a real meeting with the Lord of All he is dead in his sin. Have you ever tried to talk to a dead person? Trust me, the conversation is all one way up to the point that someone catches you trying, then it can get a little weird! Seriously, dead people can’t hear, they can’t talk, they can’t react and they cannot respond. They can only be dead. The great news comes to us in Ephesians 2:4-5 when Paul writes “but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” “Even” when we were dead. I can’t talk to dead people and be heard and neither can you. But Jesus, Who is able to do all things, has the ability to bring the dead back to life. Consider the story of Lazarus and of the little dead girl whose mother brought her to Jesus. Both of these were literally brought back to life. Only Jesus can do that, and only Jesus can speak life into those of us who are dead in our transgressions.
Whoa! This post could go on forever, but I can’t let it. All of this is to say two things: 1) we must rely on God’s Law to reveal sin in our life and to point us toward the need for salvation and 2) we must rely on Christ alone to do the saving work by breathing life into the repentant sinner.
What you and I who are saved must do is speak the gospel into the lives of the dead and allow Jesus to bring those whom He will to salvation. Wow, that sounds so easy, huh?