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Not All Weakness Is Sin
John Newton, July 1764 letter:
--Letters of John Newton (ed. Josiah Bull; Banner of Truth, 2007), 71It is common to overcharge ourselves. Indeed, we cannot think ourselves worse than we really are; yet some things which abate the comfort and alacrity of our Christian profession are rather impediments than properly sinful, and will not be imputed to us by him who knows our frame, and remembers that we are but dust.
Thus, to have an inform memory, to be subject to disordered, irregular, or low spirits, are faults of the constitution, in which the will has no share, though they are all burdensome and oppressive, and sometimes needlessly so by our charging ourselves with guilt on their account. The same may be observed of the unspeakable and fierce suggestions of Satan, with which some persons are pestered, but which shall be laid to him from whom they proceed, and not to them that are troubled and terrified, because they are forced to feel them.
Lastly, it is by the experience of these weaknesses within ourselves, and by feeling our utter insufficiency, either to perform duty, or to withstand our enemies, that the Lord takes occasion to show us the sufficiency, the freeness, the unchangeableness of his power and grace.
The Gospel Transformation Bible
Today the Gospel Transformation Bible releases from my favorite publisher.
What is it?
It's a Bible with running notes that help us read Scripture with a pair of glasses the lenses of which are tinted with Luke 24:27. So that the deadening and burdening ways of reading the Bible we tend to grow up with might be shed. To help believers read the Bible for what it actually is. The tagline is 'Christ in all of Scripture, grace for all of life.' That pretty much sums it up.
Bryan Chapell is General Editor. And a bunch of outstanding church leaders wrote the notes.
(When, you might ask, is Crossway going to release an obedience-focused Bible to complement this grace-focused one? The answer is that the GTB is the obedience-focused one. We obey from the heart no further than we taste free grace.)
I hope the GTB helps you as you read it. It has helped me.
Here is its website.
If you'd like to download a free PDF sampler of the content, you can do so here. Our brother Tony Reinke lists his favorite 20 quotes from the GTB here.
Brief promo from a few of the contributors:
Interview with one of the dearest men I know:
What is it?
It's a Bible with running notes that help us read Scripture with a pair of glasses the lenses of which are tinted with Luke 24:27. So that the deadening and burdening ways of reading the Bible we tend to grow up with might be shed. To help believers read the Bible for what it actually is. The tagline is 'Christ in all of Scripture, grace for all of life.' That pretty much sums it up.
Bryan Chapell is General Editor. And a bunch of outstanding church leaders wrote the notes.
(When, you might ask, is Crossway going to release an obedience-focused Bible to complement this grace-focused one? The answer is that the GTB is the obedience-focused one. We obey from the heart no further than we taste free grace.)
I hope the GTB helps you as you read it. It has helped me.
Here is its website.
If you'd like to download a free PDF sampler of the content, you can do so here. Our brother Tony Reinke lists his favorite 20 quotes from the GTB here.
Brief promo from a few of the contributors:
Interview with one of the dearest men I know:
Consider the Outcome
Reflecting today on this photo that my dad recently shared (click to enlarge). He is receiving his seminary degree at Dallas Seminary in 1975, just a bit younger than I am now. John Walvoord, president of the seminary from 1952 to 1986, is handing the diploma to Pop. In the background you see Haddon Robinson's distinct face. On the far left, displaying his typical joyous seriousness, is my dad's dad.
In the face of both my dad and granddad you see a glimpse of Psalm 34:5--'those who look to him are radiant.' I can't read that mysterious and wonder-full text without thinking of these guys.
Granddad had just preached the sermon, from Romans 15:13, his life verse.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.Gramps lived that verse. So does my dad. Dad preached this very text at Granddad's funeral in California in 2007.
Looking at this photo reminds me how short life is. And how much sense joy makes, as a Christian. And what an adventure walking with Christ is. And how silly it is for me to mope through my day feeling sorry for myself. And how significant theological training is, and doctrinal integrity, and the biblical languages. And how grateful I am that God has not let me derail my life through any number of things of which I am fully capable. And how much I like Lord of the Rings. And burgers--good burgers, and shakes, in Newport Beach, California, with my family, throughout the 90s. And how nice it will be to expire some day, but also how I look forward to joy-filled, pain-filled, grace-filled life first. And how much I love my three boys.