Get Insulted by Martin Luther!

I spent a long time trying to come up with a witty introduction to this strangely addictive button which randomly generates a genuine insult from the works of Martin Luther.  I didn't.

HT:R21

Man of Sorrows, What a Name!

In His wisdom, God has blessed His church with amazing diversity (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31).  This diversity is evident when one surveys the various men and women who have contributed to the rich hymnody of the people of God throughout the centuries.  One thinks of Martin Luther. Luther was a giant of a man; he had a giant passion, a giant faith, and a giant intellect. By contrast, Phillip Bliss, the writer of the hymn Man of Sorrows, What a Name, was not an educated man. He was an poor American, who grew up in the eighteen hundreds in rural Pennsylvania.


In this post I’d like to offer a brief biographical sketch of Phillip Bliss, as well as a sort of exegesis of his most beloved hymn, Man of Sorrows, What a Name.

Link'n Blogs 2/18/12

I haven't done a regular list of links yet on this blog because I had not yet come up with a good name.  "Link'n Blogs" is not a particularly good name, but it will do for now.  To the links!

Discriminating Preaching.  Tom Ascol calls preachers to the right sort of discrimination.  His conclusion: Discriminating, expositional preaching is a great need in our day. We must be willing to show from the text what God says is right and true and then distinguish that from all of the counterfeits that plague the world and church today. Failure to preach and teach like this leads to a mongrel religion that may fly under the banner of Christianity but has missed Christ altogether. It is a frightening prospect. Where there is no discriminating preaching, it has been and remains a tragic reality.

Christians Are Confused About Forgiveness. Jeff Crippen and Anna Wood have started a blog addressing domestic abuse in the church.  It is a challenging read and deals with difficult subject matter, but shame on us if we turn a blind eye to this great evil in our midst.  This post of forgiveness is worth a careful read and thorough reflection.  Crippen writes: If I come across such a person I have forgiven and their car is broken down – I can stop and call a tow for them.  If they are beaten up lying along the highway – I can be the Good Samaritan (and I should).  I MUST forgive!  It is Christ’s command.  Forgiveness is a characteristic, in fact, of a truly regenerate, converted heart in Christ.  This is why Christ says that if we are not a forgiving person, He will not forgive us.  BUT we are laying an unduly heavy and unbiblical burden on one another when we turn the traditions of men into the Word of God, and I think that is what is happening with this subject of forgiveness.  We are making it out to be more than it is.

Reading the Classics Together.   Confession time: I may be the worst Reformed Baptist ever... I've never actually made it cover to cover through Pilgrim's Progress.  That's Reformed Baptist sacrilege, akin to a Libertarian who has never read Atlas Shrugged or a Catholic who has never seen a picture of the Pope.  Tim Challies is facilitating a structured group reading at his blog.  I'm thinking of jumping in... want to join me?

Dr. Gonzales lectures on the Inspiration and Authority of the Old Testament for Reformed Baptist Seminary and the Midwest Center for Theological Studies.  BTW, happy birthday Dr. Bob!

A Slander on the Oyster

"You are probably all acquainted with ministers who have mistaken their calling, and evidently have no gifts for preaching; make sure that none think the same of you. There are brethren in the ministry whose speech is intolerable; either they dun you to death, or else they send you to sleep. No chloral can ever equal their discourse in sleep-giving properties. No human being, unless gifted with infinite patience, could long endure to listen to them, and nature does well to give the victim deliverance through sleep. I heard one say, the other day, that a certain preacher had no more gifts for the ministry than an oyster, and in my own judgment this was a slander on the oyster, for that worthy bivalve shows great discretion in his openings, and he also knows when to close. If some men were sentenced to hear their own sermons, it would be a righteous judgment upon them; but they would soon cry out with Cain, "My punishment is greater than I can bear." Let us not fall under the same condemnation through any faults in our preaching which we can remedy." Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, 28-9.

Who Was The Doctor?

This blog has a funny name, one that sounds quite bleak.  When one thinks "barren land" one most likely does not immediately think of the illuminating glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Hopefully the quote in the sub-header explains it a bit, but if you're not familiar with Dr. Lloyd-Jones you may still be somewhat suspicious.

Who was Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?  Pastor Christopher Powell of Covenant Baptist Church, Toronto, shares this brief reflection at the Ardent Cries blog.  Here is the ten minute biographical clip he provides in that post:

J.I.P. on M.L.J.

J I Packer on the Doctor (Carl Trueman)