Sacrifice and the Christian Life

Here is a new episode of the www.apologetics.com radio featuring Donald McConnell, Jeff Saltzmann, and myself. This show can also be downloaded as a podcast in itunes. Simply search apologetics.com in the itunes store and click the link for the podcast.

Sacrifice and the Christian Life

Over the memorial weekend we take time honor those who sacrifice to defend our freedoms. These men and women choose to protect and defend others even over their own safety. This idea of sacrifice runs all through Christianity. From the Old Testament sacrifices, to the sacrifices made by Christ in taking on flesh and being obedient even unto death. It is in Christ's example that the Christian is to model his or her life. For scripture tells us in 1 Peter 4:1 "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking."

In this show join host Donald McConnell, Dean of Trinity Law school; Jeff Saltzmann, Pastor of Bethel Grace Baptist Church in Bellflower; and Doug Eaton of Trinity Law School as they discuss "Sacrifice and the Christian Life." Join them as they look at questions such as, "Why did God demand the sacrifice of animals in the Old Testament? Did those sacrifices actually atone for sin? What did Paul mean when he said he was filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, "What apologetic role does suffering play?" The panel will also be spending some time looking at three chapters from Calvin's Institutes that deal with this aspect of the Christian life; On Self-Denial, On Bearing Our Cross, and On Meditating on the future life.

God Bless,

Doug

Deliverance and Affliction

Often when we cry out to the Lord to deliver us from some trial or suffering, He speaks to us through His word and tells us that He is actually using the affliction to deliver us from something greater than the trial itself.

God Bless,

Doug

Sanctified Affliction Seldom Seems Sanctified

The Trouble with Sanctified Affliction.

One of the troubling things about sanctified affliction is how unsanctified it can appear while you are going through it, but this should be expected since the Lord is often drawing the dross to the surface in order to remove it.

Doug

Importunate Prayer

It is interesting how God seems to be moved by our importunate prayers, but that should not suprise us, because the only time we seem to offer importunate prayers is when He is moving us.

Doug

What Troubles You?

"Were any of us asked seriously, what it is that troubles us, we must refer it to one of these heads:— either we want strength or power, vigour and life, in our obedience, in our walking with God; or we want peace, comfort, and consolation therein. Whatever it is that may befall a believer that doth not belong to one of these two heads, doth not deserve to be mentioned in the days of our complaints." -John Owen

Christmas Hope (For the Hurting)

Discomfort and Daily Dependence Upon God

When we become believers we still have a strong natural tendency to consider our earthy pleasures and our feelings as the measure of what is really important in life. So much so, that we may often desire the old flesh-pots of Egypt, instead of what we really need. To break us from this the Lord will take us through times of discomfort as He teaches us daily dependence upon Him instead of the frames and feelings of this life. Through it all He is moving us further along in our sanctification where we begin all the more to understand that Christ is the greatest treasure we could ever have.

God Bless,

Doug

The God of All Comfort

God is the God of all comfort as 2 Corinthians tells us, but what does that mean and what are we to do with that comfort once we have received it?

God Bless,

Doug

When Loss Is Gain

I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. Phil. 3:8

Our hearts are easily lured away by the fleeting shadows of this world, and these shadows have a way of slowly enticing our hearts in ways that are so subtle that we are often unaware of how tightly they have begun to grip us. Unaware that is, until we find ourselves reeling emotionally from being pulled in two opposite directions. If we follow the ways of Christ, our hearts break in longing for that which we will have to deny, and if we give ourselves to whatever it is that has our hearts inordinately bound, we know that we will find ourselves disappointed in the long run, even though it seems like it is the very thing we need to give us the peace that seems to be eluding us.

We know in these moments that it truly is impossible to serve two masters, for we will end up despising one of them. If we were left to ourselves, we would run headlong into sin, but praise God, our savior has ways of showing us our folly. The things that have held us captive and entranced are often exposed, by some providential means, to be things to which we must bid farewell.

How does the Lord do this? Often it is through trials, for when we are tried, we are reminded that this world is not our home, and no matter what it was that we were pursuing, we begin to realize that next to the excellency of knowing Christ, all other things will let us down. For if we are pursuing youth and beauty, he can remind us of our own frailty through illness and make us to be cognizant of our own end. If we are pursuing wealth and affluence, even if he allows us to attain it, he can cause us to experience great emptiness in the midst of it all through a time of spiritual depression. If you have made an idol out of some relationship, he has ways to show you how easily it is to be let down by those we trust or how easy it is to let someone down ourselves.

After the Lord has broken our hearts by showing us the futility of making anything of this world our ultimate treasure, he then reveals to us in even greater ways the unfailing treasure of knowing Him. For anything we may pursue in this life apart from Christ, only leads us to greater condemnation. Our sin separated us from a Holy God, and no amount of youth and beauty, wealth and affluence, or any earthy relationships could have removed the penalty that we deserved. But Christ, the Lord of Glory, stepped out of heaven into human flesh to save those who will have faith in him. He was a man who had no form or comeliness (Isaiah 53:2), and any youth and beauty he did possess was marred beyond recognition as they crucified Him. Being born in a stable he was not a man of affluence. He had no place to call his home (Luke 9:58), and even the robe he did own was stripped from his back and gambled away by the roman soldiers. Finally, he was denied by those closest to him; he was betrayed by Judas, disowned by Peter, and the rest of the disciples scattered as he was being tried and sacrificed for our salvation.

If Christ denied himself all these things when it was necessary, how much more should we who follow him. What good would it be if we had all these things, but did not have Christ? For there was one aspect of suffering Christ bore in order that we would not have to. While Jesus was suffering on the Cross, he was bearing something much more terrible than the loss of beauty, wealth, and friends. He was bearing the very wrath of God the Father. When Jesus told the people, “do not fear those who can destroy the body, but fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” he knew that he would be bearing that destruction in our place, and the blow would be given by his Father in Heaven. As he cried, “my God, my God why have you forsaken me,” he was doing more than simply drawing a comparison to the suffering servant of psalm 22. He was fulfilling its prophecy, and it pleased the Lord to bruise him (Isaiah 53:10).

Now why would Christ, who could have refused the suffering, choose to bear it, and why did the Father, who loved the son, choose to pour his wrath on his only son? It was so that we could be reconciled to God, through the forgiveness of sins. The punishment for our sins has been met in Christ, for He loves us with an everlasting love. In Christ, though we may lose some of what this world calls pleasure, relationships, and maybe even our lives, we will gain all the blessings of God, including eternal life and a friend who sticks closer than a brother. As we experience these losses, we must remember that those losses will be gain as we find our Savior. There is no treasure that can compare to the greatness of knowing Christ.

Doug Eaton

Every Which Way But Loose

Just a few thoughts about when life hits us with unexpected troubles.

Doug

P.S. Thanks dad for following the Lord and preaching the sermons He gave you. The "Every Which Way But Loose" one has never ceased to comfort me. Happy Fathers Day!

Suffering and Ministry: A Quote by Charles Spurgeon

This is a short quote by Charles Spurgeon to remind us that sometimes suffering is part of our ministry.

"One Sabbath morning, I preached from the text, `My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?' and though I did not say so, yet I preached my own experience. I heard my own chains clank while I tried to preach to my fellow-prisoners in the dark; but I could not tell why I was brought into such an awful horror of darkness, for which I condemned myself. On the following Monday evening, a man came to see me who bore all the marks of despair upon his countenance. His hair seemed to stand up right, and his eyes were ready to start from their sockets. He said to me, after a little parleying, "I never before, in my life, heard any man speak who seemed to know my heart. Mine is a terrible case; but on Sunday morning you painted me to the life, and preached as if you had been inside my soul." By God's grace I saved that man from suicide, and led him into gospel light and liberty; but I know I could not have done it if I had not myself been confined in the dungeon in which he lay. I tell you the story, brethren, because you sometimes may not understand your own experience, and the perfect people may condemn you for having it; but what know they of God's servants? You and I have to suffer much for the sake of the people of our charge....You may be in Egyptian darkness, and you may wonder why such a horror chills your marrow; but you may be altogether in the pursuit of your calling, and be led of the Spirit to a position of sympathy with desponding minds."

-C.H. Spurgeon-

God's Plan To Prosper You Includes Your Death

For the Christian, God's plan to prosper and not to harm you includes your death. Often when we talk about trials and God doing his work in us, we think about Job, but what about the Christian who dies in the prime of life and didn't escape their trial? Did God fail to prosper them, or do we have to assume that they deserved it? The answer to both of these questions is, no. God's is doing a work that is bigger than us, and His ways are higher than ours.

God Bless,

Doug

You Must Suffer - John Piper

When Deep Calls to Deep: Thoughts for Struggling Christians

This is a short video devotion which looks at the times of deep sorrow in the Christian life. It focuses primarily on Psalm 42 and 43.

Frustrations at Work and Rest in Christ.

What was God's purpose in adding frustration to our labors after the fall.

The Benefits of Adversity

This is a short look at the gifts God gives us through adversity.

Affliction and the Restraint of Arrogance - John Calvin

Our Lord had no need to undertake the bearing of the cross except to attest and prove his obedience to the Father. But as for us, there are many reasons why we must pass our lives under a continual cross… We readily esteem our virtue above its due measure. And we do not doubt, whatever happens, that against all difficulties it will remain unbroken and unconquered. Hence we are lifted up to stupid and empty confidence in the flesh; and relying on it, we are then insolently proud against God himself, as if our own powers were sufficient without his grace.

He can best restrain this arrogance when he proves to us by experience not only that great incapacity but also the frailty under which we labor. Therefore, he afflicts us either with disgrace or poverty, or bereavement, or disease, or other calamities. Utterly unequal to bearing these, in so far as they touch us, we soon succumb to them. Thus humbled, we learn to call upon His power, which alone makes us stand fast under the weight of afflictions.

-John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion-

The Cross and the Healing of our Hurts

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matt. 5:4

Many people use this verse to speak about life’s tragedies, and when we mourn over these things we will be comforted. But the greatest thing we have to mourn over is our sin, and if Christ can comfort us in this tragedy, then every other tragedy will pale in comparison and be absorbed into that comfort also. The foundation of all our hope and comfort is found in the death and resurrection of our Lord, for on the cross the price for our sin was paid, and in the resurrection the victory is found. There is no tragedy in this life that will bring us to our knees in mourning that is as significant of a problem as our sin, and when our greatest problem is cured, the comfort spreads to the lesser ones like a soothing balm. In vain we search for many medicines to cure our many wounds, when there is only one medicine that is effective and it will comfort them all. It is the balm of Gilead: the Blood of Christ.

-Doug Eaton-

The Haunting Effects of Sin

David thought it was over. His sin had been exposed and he had sought the Lord’s forgiveness and it had been granted. A right spirit had been renewed and a clean heart had been created. Then came the news that his child was seriously ill. As David was thrown to the floor in anguish, thoughts of his sin filled his mind. Months had passed but now his sin had come out from hiding to remind him of his treachery against the God of the universe.

Years later another son of his rebels against him, and once again David is reminded of the sword that has been driven into his family because of what he had done. Another fierce reminder that he, at one point, actually thought he knew better than Lord of all creation. In his sinful nature he desired something that the Lord had forbidden, but David ignored the law because he thought it would be better if things where done his way. Oh’ but how that sin has haunted him. How many times he thought he was done with it, he had repented, he had been forgiven, but regardless of all that, it seemed to pursue him. Though it had no hold on his life, and there was no possibility that his sin could exact its wages from him, due to the redemptive plan and work of God, it was not going to let him forget.

It seemed to sit in silence for long periods of time just to make David comfortable. Then as he would be going about his day, there would be those moments when something, whether it something he saw or something he heard, gave his sin an opportunity to spring up on him and cloak his day with darkness by taunting him of his failures and reminding him of his foolishness.

You see, one or two moments of sin do not simply last for a season. Many times they have a way of coming back in little reminders which sink your spirits every now and again, and the fact that it comes on when you least expect it is what makes it all the more difficult. After it happens a few times it can also cause you to begin to look over your shoulder in preparation for it to happen again, until you feel it trying to stifle you in your work for the Lord. It can even cause a hesitancy to step out into new areas of ministry because of what it might do when you venture out into new territory.

As it did with David, sin has a way of robbing us of peace and joy. It can weaken, embarrass, and grieve us years after the indiscretion. On top of all that, if the enemies of God find out, they begin to rejoice, mocking the God we love because of what we have done.

If you are toying with sin, or considering spurning God’s loving standards to feed your flesh, you might want to think twice. Because what you do could linger for years to come. Now if this warning comes a bit too late and you already know from experience that all of this is true, you must remember that the haunting cannot ultimately hurt you. Remember that our sovereign God, who has taken your sin and bore it’s wages on the cross has promised to never lose His child, and has promised that all things will work together for the good of those that who love Him; even the haunting effects of sin. Though they can be troubling and painful, He is using all things to accomplish His purposes in your life. His plans are to prosper and not to harm you, He will finish the work he has started in you, and with a little wrestling, He can change your name from Jacob, the heel-catcher and deceiver, to Israel; the prince of God.

Ultimately, David never forgot his sin, but that did not stop God from calling him “a man after His own heart.” As king of Israel, the Lord has used his example to show the world his love and forgiveness, and that the Lord can use anyone in a mighty way, even those with serious failures in their past. Sin can haunt the repentant believer all it wants, but ultimately it cannot separate them from God’s love. Even though the enemy naively believes that he is going to stifle them by it, the sovereign God is using it to conform them to the image of His Son. And let us never forget that it was the haunting effects of sin that the Lord used in David life, which caused him to draw up under the wing of his Lord, and through it birthed several of his Psalms which were inspired by the Holy Spirit and considered the very Words of God.

In an interesting way the Lord uses the haunting effects of sin to bring his child to the point were we will no longer be able to be haunted by them. By using them to conform us to His image, not only will we avoid sin in the future, but when the accuser rears his head, we will understand that all His work is in vain and the more he tries to afflict us, the more we will grow (Ex. 1:12), And before long, Satan will be looking over his shoulder, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Doug