A New Year's Plea to the Unsaved!

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
- Jer_8:20

Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone-your summer and your harvest have past-and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let me ask you-will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you-the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection-what more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death for ever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!

Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. A brother’s voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year’s midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, NOW, NOW believe, and live.

"ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE;
LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE,
NEITHER STAY THOU IN ALL THE PLAIN;
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN,
LEST THOU BE CONSUMED."

-Charles Spurgeon-

Are You Judging My Judging?

Do not Judge. Matt 7:1

It is difficult to think of verse that is more misused than this one. How many times it has been used to censor Godly reproofs would be impossible to number. If you are in the habit of reading the Word of God and upholding Godly standards on moral conduct, then you have most likely had this verse thrown your way while commenting on some behavior or trend of which God does not approve. This verse, to many people, means that no one is ever allowed reprove or correct someone’s behavior. If you are to speak, even in love, against homosexual activity or drunkenness, then according to these people, you have become a judgmental Pharisee. Now, of course, this is a judgment which they are making upon another person, which means, if their interpretation of this verse is correct, then what they are doing is wrong. After all, they are saying that telling people they are wrong is wrong, so they should stop telling judgmental people it is wrong to judge.

With only a small amount of studying the context of these passages we will see that Christ is not saying that it is never appropriate to reprove someone with the word of God. In fact, this is something we are commanded to do, and is something for which the Word of God is intended. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” So what then is Christ telling us? He is telling us of a difference between those who think they are somehow above the standard of morality and those who see themselves under the same standard of morality as the one they are correcting. What this passage is illuminating is that we must never correct someone as if we are somehow above the standard of conduct with which we correct someone else. This is seen in the following verses when Christ tells us to make sure that we check the plank in our own eye before looking at someone else’s speck.

There are a few different ways we can approach someone who is in sin. First we could act like we don’t know if anything is wrong, and not correct anyone except those who correct people. Second, we can act as if the moral law does not apply to us but condemn anyone who violates it. Or finally, we could look at our own short comings under the moral law and approach the one who is erring by saying, there is a standard by which God wants us to follow because of His love for us, and neither of us are above that standard. Along with both of us being under this standard together, we both fall short so let’s work on our shortcomings together. After all His standards are an expression of His love.

This is also why when we think of a judgmental person we think of their attitude as much as we think of their actions. The first person, the one who thinks that it is always wrong to reprove, usually ends up with a judgmental attitude, because as they reprove they are acting as if they are allowed to reprove when the person they are reproving is not. The second person also tends to succumb to a judgmental attitude because they too think they have no guilt of their own in these matters, and both will have tendencies toward harshness. Only the third person, the one who believes in God’s moral standards, that they can be known, that they to are not above the struggles with sin themselves, and believes that we should correct each other in love, will be able to avoid the judging that Christ is speaking of in this passage.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 2 Tim. 2:24 - 26

Doug Eaton

Children and Christmas - Charles Dickens

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child himself.

-Charles Dickens-

Merry Tossmas

The Star and The Wise Men

If wise men of old came to Jesus and worshipped, should not we come also? My intense desire this morning is that we all may pay homage to him of whom we sing, "Unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given." Let those of us who have long worshipped, worship anew with yet lowlier reverence and intenser love. And God grant-oh, that he would grant it!—that some who are far off from him spiritually, as the Magi were far off locally, may come to-day and ask, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have come to worship him." May feet that have been accustomed to broad roads, but unaccustomed to the narrow path, this day pursue that way till they see Jesus, and how before him with all their hearts, finding salvation in him. These wise men came naturally, traversing the desert; let us come spiritually, leaving our sins. These were guided by the sight of a star; let us be guided by faith in the divine Spirit, by the teaching of his word and all those blessed lights which the Lord uses to conduct men to himself. Only let us come to Jesus. It was well to come unto the babe Jesus, led by the feeble beams of a star; you shall find it still more blessed to come to him now that he is exalted in the highest heavens, and by his own light reveals his own perfect glory. Delay not, for this day he cries, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

C.H. Spurgeon - The Star and The Wise Men

Peace on Earth

"And on earth peace": by which is meant, not external peace, though, at this time there was peace on earth all the world over; nor internal peace, as distinguished from that eternal peace which the saints enjoy in heaven; nor even peace made by Christ; for this, as yet, was not done on earth, but was to be made by the blood of his cross: rather Christ himself is here intended, who is called "the man, the peace" Mic_5:5 and "our peace", Eph_2:14 and was now on earth, being just born, in order to make peace with God, and reconciliation for the sins of the people. "

-John Gill-

What is the Christmas Spirit?

This is a short video on the spirit of Christmas, looking at the Magnificat found in Luke Chapter 1.

From my garage studio to yours, :-)

Merry Christmas!!!

From Heaven Above to Earth I Come

From Heaven above to earth I come,

To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing.

To you, this night, is born a Child
Of Mary, chosen mother mild;
This tender Child of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all your earth.

’Tis Christ our God, who far on high
Had heard your sad and bitter cry;
Himself will your Salvation be,
Himself from sin will make you free.

He brings those blessings long ago
Prepared by God for all below;
That in His heavenly kingdom blest
You may with us forever rest.

These are the tokens ye shall mark,
The swaddling clothes and manger dark;
There shall ye find the young Child laid,
By Whom the heavens and earth were made.

Now let us all, with gladsome cheer,
Follow the shepherds, and draw near
To see this wondrous Gift of God,
Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.

Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!
What is it in yon manger lies?
Who is this Child, so young and fair?
The blessèd Christ Child lieth there!

Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through Whom e’en wicked men are blest!
Thou com’st to share our misery,
What can we render, Lord, to Thee!

Ah, Lord, who hast created all,
How hast Thou made Thee weak and small,
To lie upon the coarse dry grass,
The food of humble ox and ass.

Were earth a thousand times as fair,
Beset with gold and jewels rare,
She yet were far too poor to be
A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.

For velvets soft and silken stuff
Thou hast but hay and straw so rough,
Whereon Thou King, so rich and great,
As ’twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.

Thus hath it pleased Thee to make plain
The truth to us, poor fools and vain,
That this world’s honor, wealth and might
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Here in my poor heart’s inmost shrine,
That I may evermore be Thine.

My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song.

Glory to God in highest Heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given,
While angels sing, with pious mirth,
A glad New Year to all the earth.

--Martin Luther

Tiny Tim's Christmas Thought

"Somehow he [Tim] gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant for them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see."

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol-

Sin, Sorrow, and the Joy of Christmas: A Meditation

The lights glow softly, the Christmas music plays, and wondrous thoughts of the birth of our Savior fill our minds. What a blessing it is for the believer who still finds childlike joy in this time of year. Being "grown-up" is a bit over-rated, because being "grown-up," according to the world, usually entails a constant stiff upper lip and a cynical heart. Now, there are times to be stout, to conceal your emotion, and be a bit guarded, but too often these virtues can be turned into vices. Just as there is time to be immovable, there is a time to be moved. There are things that should stir our hearts, and move us to childlike wonder, and the story of the birth of Jesus is one of those things.

Sin is our greatest enemy, and it has been ever since the fall. In our natural condition, with hard hearts, we are the makers of our own demise, we despise what is good, and we love that which will destroy us. So much so that it seems we love our own destruction. The disgracefulness of our sin is of such a nature that it does exactly that; it destroys the natural graces in which mankind was created. Left alone we will do nothing but revel in our own corruption, making ourselves all the more miserable. And what is worse, is that we are constantly heaping upon ourselves the wrath of a Holy and just God who will not let any sin go unpunished, and at the thought of such things should cause us to weep.

If this were where we were left, there would be no hope for any of us. But as we know, in the garden after the fall, God promised that He was going to give us a seed who would be the remedy for sin. What is often missed is the fact that right after this promise, we see a curse that was to come upon mankind for their sinful act of rebellion, and that curse was that God Himself was going to cause children to be brought forth in sorrow. Why would God do such a thing after such a wonderful promise? Of all the female creatures upon this earth, it seems that humans have the greatest sorrow during childbirth, but this sorrow is not without hope. Every time a woman grieves during the pain of childbirth, it is to be a reminder to us of the seriousness of sin. It is a proclamation of our depraved condition, but that is not all it is, it is also a gesture of God’s love for His people because He does not want us to evade the knowledge of our sinful condition and neglect the promised seed.

As Mary gave birth that night in a dusty stable, she undoubtedly lamented in pain. Any of us who have pondered that night and have thought of the cold ground beneath her, with no doctor’s guidance, and no comforts of home, have heard her proclamation of the tyranny of sin. In sorrow she gave birth, but the Child was to be the death of her sorrow, and even the death of death itself. Like Rachel giving birth to Benjamin, she may have had the desire to call Him Benoni, the son of her sorrow, but the Father, God Himself, had already declared Him to be the Son of His Right Hand. His name was to be Jesus, for He was to save His People from their Sins.

Christ, God incarnate, had entered our sin riddled world. From his first breath He was to be known as the Man of Sorrows, and He would endure it all because of His love for us. All we like sheep have gone astray, but as Christ suffered the sorrows of this fallen world, He never faltered in His righteousness. He then, like a lamb, willingly went to the slaughter never once opening His mouth in protest. Without fail, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and By His stripes we are healed.

If this Christmas season is passing you by, and the thoughts of our Savior have not yet moved your heart to adoration, through the Spirit's work, may the meditation of our great God and His Gospel invigorate our sin embattled hearts and produce once again the childlike wonder of the Christmas season. Through faith, He is the joy of our salvation. Though sorrow may still be a part of living in this fallen world, you can have joy in the knowledge that any sins over which you mourn, and any sorrows you face, have been conquered by the child who was born in the manger: Jesus Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas,

Doug Eaton

A Shepherd's Christmas

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. Luke 2:18

What would it have been like to hear the shepherd’s testimony? Though we don’t exactly know what they were saying, it may have been something similar to this…

There we were out in the middle of a pasture, and all the sheep where sleeping. Then all of the sudden the sheep began to stir. At first we didn’t know what was going on. Then we saw them, the Angels who had come to tell us that born this day in the city of David, was a child who is Christ the Lord…the long awaited Messiah.

For thousands of years the prophets have been prophesying His coming. But what I can’t believe is that the Angels came to tell us: shepherds. Why would God announce it to us? We are not the priests or the holy ones of Israel. Most people despise us, and see us as dirty and not worthy anything. The only thing I can think is that this Messiah is willing to save anyone, even those like myself the dirty and despised. God Himself was born today and the Angels came to tell us!

What is most humbling is what the prophet Isaiah said. He said, the messiah will be wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our sins: and it will be by His stripes that we will be healed. I’m not sure what all this means, but to think that this little child whom I just saw, is the one who is going to redeem His people, and that He has even come to redeem people like myself, only makes me love Him more. Maybe that’s why when I saw Him, all I could do was bow down in adoration. Some people may only see a child, but I see my Savior and my King.

Make sure you tell everyone, HE’S HERE, THE MESSIAH HAS COME!!!

-Doug-

God and Governing Conference

I thought a few of you might be interested in this...

God and Governing Conference:

A Conference on Ethics, Virtue, and Statesmanship

For teachers, professors, students, pastors, church leaders, journalists, attorneys, chaplains, those working at any level of government, or anyone who believes that morality has a place in American politics.

February 1-2, 2008Westin South Coast PlazaCosta Mesa, California

Featured Speakers:
Os Guinness
Distinguished writer and speaker,Cofounder of The Trinity Forum

Dallas Willard
Professor of Philosophy,University of Southern California

David Wells
Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology,Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Paul Marshall
Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom

Stephen Kennedy
Associate Professor, Trinity Graduate School and Trinity Law School

Donald McConnell
Academic Dean, Trinity Law School

Vishal Mangalwadi
International Lecturer, Social Reformer, Political ColumnistAuthor of Thirteen Books

Pat Nolan
President, Justice Fellowship, Prison Fellowship Ministries

Sponsored by: Trinity Law School and Trinity Graduate School.

Apologetics.com Radio: The Thanksgiving Show

Below is a link to the latest radio show on which I was a guest. It deals with the nature of gratitude and thanksgiving in the life of the believer.

The Thanksgiving Show (MP3) (right click to save)

It can also be downloaded in itunes under podcasts. Search for apologetics.

God Bless,

Doug

Hope Shone Forth From an Infant Child - A Christmas Poem

Hope shone forth from an infant child

In the manger that cold dark night

In humility, God himself appeared mild

Yet His plan moved forth in all its might

Salvation to humanity was born

The angels could not help but sing

This Infant Child would bear our scorn

This newborn Sovereign King.

Helpless was mankind in sin

Until the star shone forth its light

Our salvation to begin

Bringing hope to the contrite

The sin we bear has shown us guilty

Under the righteousness of God

Our defense is proven faulty

As He sees through our façade

But this Child would fulfill

The law that we could not

And by our sin, His blood we’d spill

to pay our debt and take our lot

There is no guilt which can’t be cleansed

The darkest stains can be removed

When His Grace has been dispensed

By Jesus Christ, in Him approved

Let us worship the infant child

Born, a life, to set us free

By His grace we are beguiled

Infant born of sovereign decree

-Doug Eaton-