Wise words on good and bad tweeting

Ray Ortlund on the "intended effect of a successful tweet":

• A failed tweet displays Self.
• A successful tweet displays Christ.
• Who cares about the details of my daily life? I hardly care myself.
• But I think we can all agree on this: we must decrease, but he must increase.
• What I aim at in using the media is another person being able to click in and click out quickly, with maximum benefit to their souls.
• Everyone is so busy. But everyone matters.
• I want to ask little of them, and add much to them.
• I am there to serve, not to demand or impress, by giving them more of Jesus.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Realities for every believer

"The believer has died, is buried, is raised, is seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and so on. These are not plateaus for victorious Christians who have surrendered all and willed their way to victory, but realities for every believer, regardless of how small one’s faith or how weak one’srepentance." (Michael Horton, "Christ the Lord," pages 113-114) 

(HT: Of First Importance)

G.O.S.P.E.L.

The perfect Church

"If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all; and the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us." 

(C.H. Spurgeon, from sermon No. 2234 titled "The Best Donation," in Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37.)

Rolling-stone Christians

“I know there are some who say “Well, I hope I have given myself to the Lord, but I do not intend to give myself to any church, because “Now, why not?” Because I can be a Christian without it.” Now, are you quite clear about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord’s commands as by being obedient? Well, suppose everybody else did the same, suppose all Christians in the world said, “I shall not join the Church.” Why there would be no visible Church, there would be no ordinances. That would be a very bad thing, and yet, one doing it — what is right for one is right for all — why should not all of us do it? Then you believe that if you were to do an act which has a tendency to destroy the visible Church of God, you would be as good a Christian as if you did your best to build up that Church? I do not believe it, sir! nor do you either. You have not any such a belief; it is only a trumpery excuse for something else. There is a brick — a very good one. What is the brick made for? To help to build a house with. It is of no use for that brick to tell you that it is just as good a brick while it is kicking about on the ground as it would be in the house. It is a good-for-nothing brick; until it is built into the wall, it is no good. So you rolling-stone Christians, I do not believe that you are answering your purpose; you are living contrary to the life which Christ would have you live, and you are much to blame for the injury you do.”

(C.H. Spurgeon, from sermon No. 3411 titled "Joining the Church," in Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 60.)

What is unbelief?

St. Hilary of Poitiers (c. AD 315-67):

“All unbelief is foolishness, for it takes such wisdom as its own finite perception can attain, and measuring infinity by that petty scale, concludes that what it cannot understand must be impossible. Unbelief is the result of incapacity engaged in argument.”

—De Trinitate, III.24, cited in Douglas Kelly, Systematic Theology, vol. 1, p. 19.

HT: Justin Taylor

The grace of God extends to and overcomes the worst forms of human depravity

James Edwards on Mark 2:17: … it is as senseless for Jesus to shun tax collectors and sinners as for a doctor to shun the sick. The grace of God extends to and overcomes the worst forms of human depravity. Ironically, in one sense great sinners stand closer to God than those who think themselves righteous, for sinners are more aware of their need of the transforming grace of God. “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Rom 5:20).

— Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark. The Pillar New Testament commentary (86). Grand Rapids, Mich; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

Scandalous grace

James Edwards: The scandal of this story [Mark 2:13-17] is that Jesus does not make moral repentance a precondition of his love and acceptance. Rather, Jesus loves and accepts tax collectors and sinners as they are. If they forsake their evil and amend their lives, they do so, as did Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10), not in order to gain Jesus’ favor but because Jesus has loved them as sinners. Jesus’ association with such people is not coincidental. He does not happen to be with them or wait for invitations. He initiates the fellowship, “‘I must stay at your house today’” (Luke 19:5). We are not told how many sinners and tax collectors repented and reformed. We are only told that Jesus sowed love as profligately and uncalculatedly as the sower who threw seed in unpromising places (Mark 4:3–9). It is this that scandalized the religious leaders of his day, as it scandalizes those who define the gospel in terms of pure moral reformation and character formation of our day. Jesus communicates in word and deed that accepting and following him are more important than following Torah. When the unreformed and unregenerate do that, they will enter the kingdom of God before the scribes and Pharisees. In table fellowship with “sinners and tax collectors,” Jesus scandalously asserts his exousia, his own person over Torah, and the profligate love of God over merit. That is the scandal of grace. 

— Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark. The Pillar New Testament commentary (85–86). Grand Rapids, Mich; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

Gift-righteousness versus self-righteousness

"The righteousness of God escapes those who seek to establish their own righteousness; whereas those who are too far off to hope for the righteousness of God are graciously granted it." (Rom 9:30-31)  

— Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark. The Pillar New Testament commentary (85). Grand Rapids, Mich; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

An echo of eternity in our souls

From Edward Donnelly's book about "the solemn reality of hell and the matchless glory of heaven":

The prospect of living forever in a renewed universe answers the frustration we feel over the brevity of earthly existence. For human begins have always felt that, at its longest, life is too short. There is so much in this world to discover, such a variety of experiences to enjoy, yet so little time available. How many places there are which we will never visit, books we will never read, great paintings at which we will never look, how much music we will never hear! It is tantalizing to see such wealth slipping away from us with every tick of the clock.

How little we know about even our close friends! What untapped reservoirs they are of character and insight! But it would take so long to learn all that we could about them. And what of millions we have never met — their personalities and their stories? We would be enriched beyond measure by their acquaintance. But we will never be — not on this earth.

In ourselves we are conscious of undeveloped gifts and resources, talents and qualities of which we are only dimly aware. A friend of our family was once asked if he could play the violin. “I don’t know,” he answered, “I have never tried.” He was being facetious, but in a sense he was right. There is more in each of us than has yet appeared. No one has ever seen the real you. We do not even know ourselves properly. But we will not be here long enough for our potential to be discovered.

After a lifetime of studying the Bible, it is simple realism, not mock humility, to acknowledge that we are still paddling in the shallows of revealed truth. With regard to prayer and communion with God we are the merest beginners. As yet we are novices in Christian living. We want to be better people, kinder and more unselfish, but we wrestle with damaged personalities and are disfigured by the scars of the past. Circumstances have stunted our development. Opportunities afforded to others have never come our way. There is so little time for it all!

Do you feel these frustrations? Do you not hunger ravenously for more and more of life? Does not your heart ache at the too swift passage of the years? Is there not a nagging sense of unfulfilment, no matter how happy you may be? Such beings as we are — in such a world — with so little possible!

Praise God for heaven! For every good longing within us is an intimation of immortality, an echo of eternity in our souls, a pointer to everlasting life. We were not created for seventy short years, ‘not born for death,’ in the poet’s words. Our Creator did not design beings of such complexity and capacity for a mere handful of decades. ‘He has put eternity in their hearts’ (Eccles. 3:11) and we have not been redeemed to be frustrated. ‘Life here is too short, too circumscribed, to be the end for man’s marvelous divinely given endowments and aspirations. He scarcely more than gets his preparations made for full and intelligent living until his time comes to leave.’

(HT: Tim Challies)

The Gospel: A savor of life to some but a savor of death to others

J.C. Ryle: We need reminding that the same Gospel which is the savor of life to some, is the savor of death to others, and that the same fire which softens the wax will also harden the clay. Nothing, in fact, seems to harden man's heart so much, as to hear the Gospel regularly, and yet deliberately prefer the service of sin and the world. Never was there a people so highly favored as the people of Capernaum, and never was there a people who appear to have become so hard. Let us beware of walking in their steps. We ought often to use the prayer of the Litany, "From hardness of heart, good Lord, deliver us."

– Hendryx, John (2010-11-01). Expository Thoughts on the Gospels by J. C. Ryle (Kindle Locations 5528-5532). Monergism Books. Kindle Edition.

'Wants are my best riches ...'

"Wants are my best riches, for I have these supplied by Christ." -- Rutherford, Samuel, and Ellen S. Lister. The Loveliness of Christ: Extracts from the Letters of Samuel Rutherford. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2007. 2.