"Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions."
—Psalm 51:1

Billy Shakespeare is the man! Who is like unto Shakespeare with his trenchant pen and creative knack for story-telling?

This Realm, This England!!!

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
—William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "King Richard II", Act 2 scene 1.

Poll Results


Post your favorite quotes on the blog comments.

"Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever."

"Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."
—Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 1.

Joy is at the heart of glorifying God. This is man's chief end: to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. This is what the Congregational Christian preacher Jonathan Edwards taught his people.

The Puritan divine Jonathan Edwards, reminds us:

Because [God] infinitely values his own glory, consisting in the knowledge of himself, love to himself... joy in himself; he therefore valued the image, communication or participation of these, in the creature. And it is because he values himself, that he delights in the knowledge, and love, and joy of the creature; as being himself the object of this knowledge, love and complacence... [Thus] God’s respect to the creature’s good, and his respect to himself, is not a divided respect; but both are united in one, as the happiness of the creature aimed at, is happiness in union with himself.
—Edwards, Jonathan, “Essay on the Trinity,” in Treatise on Grace and Other Posthumously Published Writings, ed. Paul Helm (Cambridge: James Clarke and Co., 1971.) p. 118.

Least we forget the promises of God, those of faith should take comfort in the reality that God glorifies himself in our happiness in union with him. We've conquered death and the sting of sin through Christ Jesus. God delights in the joy of His flock! He is the good shepherd!

As John Piper writes,

[F]or God to be the holy and righteous God that he is, he must delight infinitely in what is infinitely delightful. He must enjoy with unbounded joy what is most boundlessly enjoyable; he must take infinite pleasure in what is infinitely pleasant; he must love with infinite intensity what is infinitely lovely; he must be infinitely satisfied with what is infinitely satisfying.
—Piper, John. A God-Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004.) pp. 74-75.

God loves His flock! He delights in our eternal joy. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11). And this life is preparation for the greater joy to come in the Heavenlies for all eternity. To know God intimately is to savor in the joy of our salvation. "But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation" (Psalm 13:5). Jonathan Edwards knew and preached the beauties of heaven, and of the sweetness of Christ. Edwards unashamedly proclaimed the duty of man to delight in God, and savor the joy of his salvation through Christ. Here is the way Jonathan Edwards expressed in a sermon to his congregation in 1731:

The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them.
—Edwards, Jonathan. The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.) pp. 74-75.

For the redeemed of God, to enjoy God and truly fathom God in all-satisfying experience of His profound glory, he is reconciled to God in eternity, and his joy in God can only reach fruition in eternity. Yet it is never complete, because it ever increases with intimacy and intensity forever and ever. That's the love of God. That's the joy of God!

Consider Edwards' words:

I suppose it will not be denied by any, that God, in glorifying the saints in heaven with eternal felicity, aims to satisfy his infinite grace or benevolence, by the bestowment of a good [which is] infinitely valuable, because eternal: and yet there never will come the moment, when it can be said, that now this infinitely valuable good has been actually bestowed.
—Edwards, Jonathan. "The End for Which God Created the World," God's Passion for His Glory. (Wheaton: Crossway, 1998.) p. 288.

Therefore, our eternal joy in Christ will be, in the words of Edwards,

...rising higher and higher through that infinite duration, and... not with constantly diminishing (but perhaps an increasing) [velocity]... [to an] infinite height; though there never will be any particular time when it can be said already to have come to such a height.
—Edwards, Jonathan. "The End for Which God Created the World," God's Passion for His Glory. (Wheaton: Crossway, 1998.) p. 279.

So, let us of faith, delight in and savor the joy of our salvation! The wonders and joys of Heavenlies are unimaginable to us sojourners and pilgrims. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13). Our consolation in Christ, is that God will finish the good work He has started in us, as we continue to, "[Look] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

As the Apostle Paul declares, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). And oh how I long to more fully know God. And how How much joy can one fathom in eternity? It's inconceivable to my finite human mind! And yet God in His wondrous majesty will make manifest His power and the riches of His glory in all eternity to His flock!

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).

And oh how thankful we of faith should be for His abundant grace, love, and mercy! Let us be thankful that there is just and holy God who showers us with joy for all eternity.

Fellow believers, let us remember our flesh nature is in enmity against God. It is the new man that savors and delights in the joy of our salvation! Lay hold of the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, fight the good fight of faith, and savor the joy of your salvation. The Apostle Paul reminds us, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

Related Reading:
A God-Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards by John Piper.
JonathanEdwards.com
The Works of Jonathan Edwards

Tagged, and books read

I'm tagged. (This blogger culture is really juvenile when you think about it.)

Anyway, my esteemed compatriot Jacob Aitken from Louisiana tagged me. Here goes the books:

Q. One book that changed your life:

A. Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges

Q. One book that you've read more than once:

A. Salvation of Souls by Jonathan Edwards

Q. One book you'd want on a desert island:

A. The Holy Bible.

Q. One book that made you laugh:

A. Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness by Nathan Wilson

Q. One book that made you cry:

A. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Q. One book that you wish had been written

A. Stonewall Jackson's Autobiography

Q. One book you wish had never been written.

A. Mein Kampf by Hitler.

Q. One book you're currently reading:

A. Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

Q. One book you've been meaning to read:

A. Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper

This post is rooted in plain ole boredom, and subject to removal without notice.

My favorite day is Friday.

My favorite color is blue.

My favorite subjects to study are history, jurisprudence, and theology.

My favorite sport is football.

My favorite boardgame is Risk.

My favorite beverage is Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino Coffee Drink.

My favorite pasttime is women. :)

My height is 6'0".

My shoe size is 12.

My favorite Gospel is John.

My favorite Pauline epistle is Romans.

My favorite Old Testament book is the Psalms.

My hope is in Jesus Christ.

Let Us Exult in the Hope of the Glory of God, Part 1 (audio)
Let Us Exult in the Hope of the Glory of God, Part 2 (audio)

Below: My family's vacation home overlooking the intracoastal waterway and Bradley Creek, located in Wilmington, North Carolina. This is the view from the parking lot.

Above: Departing Bradley Creek Marina, Wilmington, NC.Above: Departing Bradley Creek Marina, Wilmington, NC within 1/4 mile of the intracoastal waterway.Above (Two Pictures): Boats gathered in Dolphin Bay behind Masonboro Island, within 1/2 mile of Wrightsboro Beach, NC and Masonboro Inlet.Above: NNW of the Masonboro Island in the Atlantic Ocean, and about 3 to 4 miles offshore of Wrightsville Beach. I caught a sea bass while fishing around this location. The GPS is set proximate to a sunken Liberty ship, which gives rise to coral reef formation, and it is a hot spot for fish.

A lot of the people pictures I had were afflicted with red-eye, blinking eyes, and otherwise bad lighting condition, so it was a very unphotogenic batch of photos overall. So, I just discarded a lot of them. The ones on the water turned out pretty good however. I will just have to take more pictures under better lighting conditions when I vacation again in September.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations..."
—Matthew 24:14

The older I get, the more appealing the idea of being a missionary to the South Seas becomes. Being an associate pastor would be nice, but what better place to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom than an idyllic island in the South Pacific? Luke 10:2 proclaims, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Everything else is vanity. The things of this world grow dim. Being a BMW driving yuppie lawyer just doesn't have much appeal anymore. The drudgery of that profession outstrips any lasting fulfillment I might find in it. The intangibles—that is to say, faith, family and good friends are what define and give meaning to life. To be a yeoman in the harvest fields and play but a small role in the growth of God's Kingdom is its own reward.

When I get near the end of life's journey, and look back, what can I say I accomplished to glorify God? As the Westminster Catechism says, "Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."

Now I must get back to the part of training and embracing discipleship. Proverbs 16:9 proclaims, "A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps."

Steve Saint speaking at Liberty convocation, 03-01-06

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ..."
—2 Timothy 2:24

Introduction: The Necessity of the Gospel Proclamation
Christ died for sinners. John 11:25 proclaims our Lord's words, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live."

Evangelism is derived from the Greek root evangelion (ευαγγελιον), which translates to "the reward of good tidings." We as Christians are tasked with the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel that saves souls. Christ tells us, that "...this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Mt. 24:14). Our Lord also remind us, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Lk. 10:2). Therefore, we as Christians have a charge to keep. We must proclaim the Gospel and be faith to the Word of God in our proclamations. So, what is our standard operating procedure in this endeavor?

The Rights and Wrongs of Evangelism
How can one go wrong by evangelizing? Well we when do so without a spirit of humility and humbleness, patience and love, then we may fail as ambassadors of Christ, and turn people off from the good news by our insensitive witness. Likewise, we fail to present the Gospel of faith and repentance.

2 Timothy 2:24-25 is a favorite memory verse of mine related to evangelism, because of its practicality.

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
—2 Timothy 2:24-26

Take special heed to the admonitions inferred therein: (1) be gentle; (2) able to teach; (3) patience; (4) imbued with humility; and (5) recognize that salvation is all of God and brought about by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

The Golden Rule is Requisite for Evangelism

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition..."

(Note, the above excerpt is the focal point of the verse.) Our Lord Jesus tells us the golden rule, "‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’" (Mt. 22:39). How can we as Christians proclaim that precious Gospel that saves souls, and not do so in spirit of love, humility and compassion? When all is forgiven of us how can we not forgive our brothers? Likewise, how can we not approach evangelism with a forgiving spirit as apologists for Christ, recognizing that ridicule may occasionally come our way, but we do not worry, because we have an eternal perspective.

How can we as believers approach evangelism? First, regarding our modus operandi or mode of witnessing—being gentle and patient are vitally requisite for the evangelist. Prudent evangelism does not embody the use of hit and run tactics. Likewise, trying to beguile someone into a confession like pushy, almost coercive salesmen is a bad tactic too. Being overly persuassive and trying to lead the person on or beguile them by rhetorical sophistry is most definitely disadvantageous. What are we evangelizing for? The head count and our own pride of boasting? Of course not. But rather a geninue heart-felt desire to see souls saved through Jesus Christ and brought into fellowship with the church. We must therefore be faithful in our proclamation of the Gospel.

We can plant a seed in people's hearts, and after we plant that seed, if at all possible, we should water it. If we are evangelizing on the street or in public places amongst strangers, rather than simply sharing our faith and going our separate way, we can leave them with something tangible and substantive like a Bible, or a tract book elaborating on the Gospel, and perhaps an invitation to a church or ministry meeting.

With our friends, family and loved ones, and those we maintain an on-going relationship with, gentleness and patience are vitally requisite virtues in evangelizing. We can actually evangelize by living the Word in our day-to-day life, and showing how the Gospel has impacted our lives. Our effort is not to be pretenders, but we can manifest the joy of faith that impacts our day-to-day lives. Sometimes, I think loved ones are the hardest to reach, perhaps because they have seen us at our worst.

Conveying tacit or outright insults to someone trapped in sin is no way to win their heart. Telling people that God hates them because they are an adulterer, a fornicator, or a homosexual is no way at all to win their hearts. It is very much true that God's wrath abides on those unrepentant sinners that die without Christ, and that they may have committed any number of sins is besides the point. We should be humbled by our shortcomings and firm reliance on God's grace and mercy: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). To be certain, the purpose of the evangelist is never to console people in their sins, but rather to awaken them to the perilous condition of their sin, and the righteous standards of the law by which we are judged. We must impress upon the lost person's heart of the hope that is in Christ Jesus, and the necessity of repentance. The gravity of sin separates humanity from God. And because God's overarching nature is His Holiness, and from His Holiness emanates not only His love but also His justice, so consequently his wrath abides on sin. We must confront the reality of sin, and confront the sinner with that reality.

Foremost, why we do preach and why proclaim the Gospel? We do so because we are imbued with the necessity of the Gospel's proclamation. And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15). We preach the Gospel out of a spirit of love, and out of spirit of gratefulness for what God done for us. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10:1) An evangelist should be impressed with the majesty of grace and what he has been saved from. An evangelist should have the love of God in His heart, and however, dimunitive that love might be, it sparks a fire that drives a passion for saving souls.

Repentance is all of God

"...if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth..."

Repentance is wholly the efficacious and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, which regenerates the depraved hearts of sinners and illuminates the believers mind to the truth of the Gospel so that they receive the implanted Word, and repent of their sins. Repentance is all of God. Our Lord tells us, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Luke 5:32). The Apostle Paul tells us, "how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:20-21).

For the evangelist, recognizing that God is sovereign and that it is ultimately His supernatural work that effectuates sinners being born of the Spirit, should give Him comfort and hope.

God sets the Captives Free

"...that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will..."

The supernatural work of the Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to the believer, effectively freeing him from the bondage of sin. No more does the blemish of sin soil us and separate us from God, but rather our eternal destiny is set. Upon being born again, and born of the Spirit, the believer is freed from the bondage of sin, and his eternal destiny is set.

Conclusion
We need more Christians to reflect upon the power of the Gospel. All evangelists need to be imbued with the requisite spirit of humility to faithfully proclaim the Gospel. Let us Christians all heed the wisdom of 2 Timothy 2:24-25.

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us..."
—Galatians 3:13

You hear this admonition, "Proclaim the Law!!" And you might say, "The law kills. The law condemns The law doesn't save." Exactly. But the law still serves a very important purpose in the proclamation of the Gospel. It brings the sinner to knowledge of sin. "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24 KJV). John Newton says, "Ignorance of the nature and design of the Law is at the bottom of most religious mistakes."

John Wycliffe, the Bible translator who was martyred for the faith, said, "The highest service to which a man may obtain on earth is to preach the law of God."

Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformed declared,

Satan, the god of all dissension stirs up daily new sects. And last of all which of all others I should never have foreseen or once suspected, he has raised up a sect such as teach that men should not be terrified by the law, but gently exhorted by the preaching of the grace of Christ.

Notice, Luther's startling accuation. He is speaking of those who proclaim the goodness and joy of God, and do nothing to proclaim the wrath and justice of a Holy God that abides unrepentant sinners.

The founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley said to a friend, "Preach ninety-percent law and ten-percent grace." Wesley's saying here is colloquial, and not a literal formula, but his point is right on the mark. We must proclaim the Gospel of faith and repentance, and part of the equation is a forthright manifestion of God's Law.

When confronted with God's righteous standards, the sinner can begin to fathom the proposition that they are a transgressor of God's law. Pastor Charles Spurgeon said, "They will never accept grace until the tremble before a Just and Holy God."

The Apostle Paul contextualizes the matter for us, in his epistle to the Romans,

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
—Romans 3:19-20

When we as sinners confront the reality that we are transgressors of the law, we find our only consolation and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
—Galatians 3:13

Christ effectively freed His People from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for them. for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. The Apostle Paul declares, "[F]or the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation" (Romans 4:15). Paul further declares, "For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Romans 5:13).

Recognizing the law's purpose and proclaiming it with the Gospel of grace and mercy is not really a distinctively Calvinist or Wesleyan position; it should be a position universal to all Christians! It is neglected, and people want to proclaim the God of grace and mercy, but never the God of justice. God's overarching nature is His Holiness, and from that Holiness emanates not only His Love and Grace but also His Justice and Wrath on Sin.

In my sermon entitled, "Looking Unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of Our Faith!" I explained the nature of justification and imputation, and I personalized it:

When I stand before God the Father on judgment day, I will have an advocate in Christ Jesus. Christ is my advocate, or as it is called in Greek, parakletos. Satan is known in Greek as the diabolos, which means the accuser, adversary, slanderer, calumniator, backbiter, enemy, and the one who separates. Satan plays the role of the prosecutor. When my accuser Satan rises to toss out accusations of my unworthiness, and when he prosecutes me with the accusation of being unworthy and unfit for the kingdom of God, my advocate Christ Jesus will rise up in my defense.

But bear in mind, at the judgment seat of God the Father, no one pleads the Fifth and there are no acquittals and exonerations. I will be counted righteous in the eyes of my Heavenly Father, not because of any intrinsic righteousness in me, but because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imputed to my account just as my sins were imputed to Him on the Cross. And through Christ’s perfect righteousness, I am declared justified in the eyes of God. With the righteousness of Christ reckoned to my account, I will be counted holy and blameless before God the Father on my day of judgment! Thus, I will be reconciled to my Heavenly Father with open arms and in love. Yet the justice that Gods demand is fully satisfied. Why? For the reason, I have been declared ‘just’ through the imputed righteousness of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The penalty of my transgressions against God’s law is laid upon a substitute, a perfect sacrifice—Jesus Christ— Jehovah—Yeshua. God the Father always unequivocally accepts the work of Christ on behalf of His people, and on that basis, we are justified and declared righteous. The whole penalty of sin has been removed by Christ for all believers who are in Union with Him. And it all comes back to the Cross,

But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn't open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so he didn't open his mouth. He was taken away by oppression and judgment; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
—Isaiah 53:5-8

John Piper, author of The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why Christ Suffered and Died, wrote:

"If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice. God’s law demanded, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is—dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God.

"Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial—it is treason. It defames God and destroys human happiness.

"Since God is just, he does not sweep these crimes under the rug of the universe. He feels a holy wrath against them. They deserve to be punished, and he has made this clear: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign at the core of reality. Therefore, God says, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26). But the love of God does not rest with the curse that hangs over all sinful humanity. He is not content to show wrath, no matter how holy it is. Therefore God sends his own Son to absorb his wrath and bear the curse for all who trust him. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).
—Piper, John. The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why Christ Suffered and Died. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004. pp. 20-21.)

Related Links:
Evangelism Explosion
The Way of the Master

Piper, John. The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why Christ Suffered and Died. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004.)



Official Publisher's Description:
The most important questions anyone can ask are: Why was Jesus Christ crucified? Why did he suffer so much? What has this to do with me? Finally, who sent him to his death? The answer to the last question is that God did. Jesus was God's Son. The suffering was unsurpassed, but the whole message of the Bible leads to this answer.

Why did Christ suffer and die? The central issue of Jesus' death is not the cause, but the meaning-God's meaning. That is what this book is about. John Piper has gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes-in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?

• Chapters 1-6 (7.15mb PDF)


• Chapters 7-22 (4.76mb PDF)


• Chapters 23-38 (4.76mb PDF)


• Chapters 39-50 (3.39mb PDF)


• Leader's
  Guide (414kb PDF)

This book is available direct from Desiring God, and is available as an online resource in Adobe Acrobat format.

Brad Cochran posted some comment on one of my blogs about being a 7-Point Calvinist! What the heck is a 7-Point Calvinist!?!? Those really crazy Calvinists keep adding more points to the T-U-L-I-P!!!

Profiles in Craziness Courage - Bradley Cochran
Don't let the mugshot full you. He is really a good guy once you get to know him. Actually, Brad was one of my 5-2 dorm buddies from from 2001-03.

When I first came in contact with Brad, I think he was interrupting one of my conversations when I was talking with some guy in the hallway about something worldly like politics. At the time, I was thinking, "Who is this character?" Well, it was none other than the illustrious Brad Cochran. Brad is a professed sinner saved by grace. He isn't ashamed of the Gospel. He isn't shy about his Saul to Paul conversion testimony either. He is a graduate of Liberty University where he earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies.

I saw that he exhibits a spirit of charity that we should all strive for. In 2001, he was raising funds for an international student from Africa who couldn't pay his tuition, and going door to door. He took seriously the teachings of our Lord (Matthew 25:42-44). The Word says, so let your light shine before men (Matthew 5:16). I came to appreciate his studiousness, his theological acumen and his knowledge of the Word of God (Ecclesiastes 12:11-13). Eventually, I got to know him better, as I recollect we had one of those deep theological conversations one weekend evening. I found his confrontational nature admirable, because he takes seriously the demands of the Christian walk, and exhorts others to do the same. He would be pro-active in confronting others in sin. Maybe he could have confronted me more, as opposed to not at all. I got six reprimands while at Liberty. :-)

Anyway, I noticed that Brad takes the call to discipleship seriously. He has been active in outreach and missions. He isn't about self-righteousness, but boasts only in the Cross (Isaiah 64:6; Galatians 6:14). I was once involved in an evangelical outreach endeavor off-campus and I ran into him. We were both sharing the Word to the masses while tent preaching. The Brad Cochran I remember would not water down the Gospel of Jesus Christ with fluff preaching about having the abundant life or a life of blissful joy. That's not the Gospel! Brad unashamedly preaches the Gospel of FAITH and REPENTANCE!! Please read his thought-provoking blog article, "The Gospel: Good News for a Hedonist." I believe that he would acquiesce with me when I say that evangelists need to proclaim God's Law first in order to proclaim grace. The law serves the integral purpose as our schoolmaster to bring us to knowledge of sin (Romans 7:12; Galatians 3:11).

Soli Deo Gloria!!
I am not exactly sure how my theology stands vis-à-vis his theology now on all of the particulars, but we both have a high esteem for the doctrines of grace and justification by faith alone. As Luther would say, "Faith Alone — The article upon the church stands or falls." I know we both embrace the doctrinal tenets encompassed in the T-U-L-I-P acrostic, which encompass the doctrines of grace, and forms the basis of historic Reformation theology.

"Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail."
—Martin Luther

Brad also roomed with another buddy of mine Andrew Mayhew. Incidentally, I'm planning a beach trip with Andrew and another guy now for August. Hopefully, it will go as planned.

Brad currently is pursuing his Masters at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I am sure he would appreciate any prayers for his Christian walk, studies, and ministerial preparations. One of my other friends Ricky Hardison, a good ole Georgia boy is going to SBTS. I think I last ran into Ricky at wedding in Maryland a year-and-a-half ago.

A Christian Hedonist
Brad blogs at Confessions of a Christian Hedonist, and is a self-professed Christian Hedonist. What might you ask is a Christian Hedonist? Christian Hedonism at its core sounds contradictory. And for those that don't know already, the teaching of Christian Hedonism was advanced by Baptist minister John Piper in his book Desiring God:

Christian Hedonism is a liberating and devastating doctrine. It teaches that the value of God shines more brightly in the soul that finds deepest satisfaction in him. Therefore it is liberating because it endorses our inborn desire for joy. And it is devastating because it reveals that no one desires God with the passion he demands. Paradoxically, many people experience both of these truths. That certainly is my own experience.
—Piper, John. When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004), p. 13.

Brad has taken Piper's message to heart, and finds fulfillment in our mutual Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is the essence of what it means to love God — to be satisfied in him. In him! Loving God may include obeying all his commands; it may include believing all his Word; it may include thanking him for all his gifts; but the essence of loving God is enjoying all he is.
—Piper, John. A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life. (Phoenix, AZ: Multnomah, 2001), p. 24.