The first thing to point your attention to this morning is Mark Dever's post on The 5 Points of Criticism. His 5 points are as follows:

1. Directly, not indirectly
2. Seriously, not humorously
3. As if its important, not casually
4. Privately, not publicly
5. Out of love for them, not to express your feelings or frustration

In my experience we usually fail to "restore our brothers" in two ways. Either we do not attempt it at all, or when we attempt to do so we do it incorrectly. Hopefully, Dever's tips will help to curb our faults on the latter. HT: Between Two Worlds

You are also encouraged to join us in Reading the Classics Together over at Challies. Today we are looking at Chapter Four of John Owen's Classic work Overcoming Sin and Temptation. As noted earlier you can easily read this work online. It's not too late to join us. Here are the links to each chapter: one, two, three, four.

In the Preface to Joseph Alleine's book "Alarm to the Unconverted", he spills out his soul for the state of the beloved unbelievers he is writing to. He feels, as every minister should, the helplessness that he has to convert sinners yet the blood-earnest need for their conversion.

But from where shall I fetch my argument? With what shall I win them? O that I could tell! I would write to them in tears, I would weep out every argument, I would empty my veins for ink, I would petition them on my knees. O how thankful should I be if they would be prevailed with to repent and turn.

Do I have that type of passion for lost souls? It appears that Alleine is echoing the heart of Paul in Romans 9:1-3. Would I be willing to write in tears? To empty my veins for ink? Do I petition them on my knees? Do I even petition them at all?

Alleine knew that his only hope was in the power of God as he said, "But, O Lord, You can pierce the heart of the sinner. I can only draw the bow at a venture—but may You direct the arrow between the joints of the harness. Slay the sin, and save the soul of the sinner who casts his eyes on these pages." I long to not only pray but to live like Joseph Alleine. I am reminded of the heart-wrenching plea of Charles Spurgeon:

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

We will close out chapter one today (p10-12). Burroughs goal in this section will be to show us that true Christian contentment aims to take charge in every condition. We see this in three regards.

1. Submitting to God in whatever kind of affliction befalls us. Everyone says that they should be content in every circumstance. But "there is a great deal of deceit in general statements". We like to say that we are content always but there are certain things that we have a more difficult time bearing. Some who are stricken in their marriage would wish that God had taken their finances. Others who are stricken in their finances wish that God would have taken their health. Those who are of ill health might wish God had struck them in another place. "But we must not be our own carvers." True Christian contentment should, "be not only to any condition in general, but for the kind of the affliction, including that which most crosses you."
2. Submitting to God regardless of the time and continuance of the affliction. "We must not be our own disposers for the time of deliverance any more than for the kind and way of deliverance". Even if this be a soul-affliction. Even if it appears that God has withdrawn his face from us and we must travail for years, we must seek him all the more. Burroughs then gives the example of Noah and Ezekiel who had to wait upon God before coming out of their difficult mission. "We should not be willing to come out till he comes and fetches us out".
3. Submitting to God regardless of the changes in our condition. It is very rarely that one affliction comes alone; commonly afflictions are not single things, but they come upon the neck of another". In other words when it rains it pours. It is more difficult when one affliction follows another, nevertheless, we must persevere in our contentment.

Burroughs has been showing us today that we must be content regardless of the circumstance. I am reminded of prisoner Paul in the book of Philippians who appears to be quite content and even joyful. His reason? It appears to be his passionate love for Jesus that sustains him. "Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead". In other words Jesus is such a precious treasure that I consider everything as nothing compared to him. If Christ is not our treasure then we will not learn Christian contentment.

Blogworld seems to be asleep today. One of mention is a post by Tim Challies, concerning Christians and "dialogue" with other faiths. From what I have gathered his central thesis is that as Christian we are not called to dialogue. This is a great article for the age of the postmodern idea (be a pansy and do not stand firm on anything except not standing firm on anything). As Challies comments:

Nowhere in the Bible do I find Jesus telling us to find common ground with other faiths—with people who chase false gods and who are wholly committed to the downfall of the Christian faith. Nowhere do I see the Apostles, as Christ’s representatives, engaging in dialogue or seeking common ground in which to pursue God together. Rather, I see the promise of division and hatred. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, “says Jesus.” “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

My friend Garrett also posted a very helpful article for us passionate Calvinists. It is an article by a man named Darryl Erkel entitled Practical Wisdom for Calvinists. Here are some highlights from the article, but you are encouraged to read the entire thing:

• A quote by Spurgeon wherein he said, "The doctrine of election, like the great act of election itself, is intended to divide, not between Israel and Israel, but between Israel and the Egyptians – not between saint and saint, but between saints and the children of the world."
• Point #2--Don't make the mistake of accepting everything Reformed or Calvinistic
• When encouraging us not to idolize the past the author says that when we do so, "We fail to see the progression of church history and end up chained to the past – not recognizing that each period of history has its own unique contribution and blessing (including ours in the twenty-first century)."
• Calvinists should be given the model of humility and love (Ouch!)
• Do not major in the minors. Because if we do, "...end up majoring on things not truly essential, you will either ignore those that are important and worthy of your efforts – or – people will tend to not take you seriously on vital matters because of your propensity to make a big deal over insignificant issues."
• Seek to be a man/woman of the Text of Scripture
• Don't settle for low levels of grace in your life
• Develop a theology of listening
• Recognize that your greatest power is in prayer

The title of this post sickens me. I love 9Marks. I love Mark Dever. I am in awe of everything the Lord is doing through 9Marks and those like it to restore the church to a more biblical position. I love their love for the Bride of Christ. I love their love for the Bridegroom. 9Marks is a GREAT gift to the church. Fads stink. Fads are counter-productive. Fads are often marked by unbiblical practice. Fads carry with them a trail of those with false hope. Fads break hearts. Fads cause the church to dwindle. Fads I despise. Therefore, to ask "Is 9Marks the next fad" is appalling to me.

Before we begin to ask this question it would be wise to summarize what I mean by 9Marks. I am not specifically talking about 9Marks Ministries. What I am talking about is the mindset that 9Marks is promoting throughout the body of Christ: the notion that we need to return to biblically based ministries and methods. It aims to restore for us expositional preaching; biblical theology; a biblical view of the gospel, conversion, and evangelism; it aims to put back into practice biblical church discipline, a concern for discipleship and growth, and biblical church leadership. The ones in particular that are being embraced (especially throughout the SBC) are expositional preaching and church discipline. Many are hoping to see all 9 Marks flourish in the SBC and all throughout Christianity; I am one of them. I whole-heartedly believe that we need to see these 9 Marks throughout our churches; simply because these 9 Marks are what the Bible calls the church to bear.

Well then, can we put the nail in the coffin and say that 9 Marks is not a fad? Unfortunately, no. My position is that 9 Marks in and of itself is not a fad. The leaders of 9 Marks are not passionate about promoting another concept, another idea for successful growth, etc. This is not a church growth strategy. It is different than all of the other church growth books. In fact on the back of the 9 Marks book it clearly states, "this is not an instruction manual for church growth". Contrast this with the Purpose Driven Church. While Rick Warren says, "The issue is church health, not church growth" only a few paragraphs down we are encouraged to "learn the secret behind the fastest-growing Baptist Church in American history." We see the "5-part strategy that will enable our church to grow." 9 Marks is not about church growth! It's about being biblical.

How then could we possibly say that 9Marks is a fad? It becomes a fad when it gets in the hands of those who come from the consumerist fad-mentality that evangelicalism of the last 100 years has fostered. When we forget that 9 Marks is NOT ABOUT CHURCH GROWTH and hope to apply the principles so as to get our churches to grow then it becomes a fad. If we think that shuffling through our rolls will bring down God's blessing, then we miss it. If we think that redefining church membership will help our churches grow, then we miss it. When we think that expositional preaching will bring about a massive revival, we miss it. Will clearing the rolls please God? Probably. Will redefining church membership bring about growth in the future? Probably. Is it possible that expositional preaching will lead to revival? Quite possibly. Are any of these the goal?

Why do we do expositional preaching? Because it is biblical. Why do we clear our church rolls? Because it is biblical. Why are we careful to preserve the unashamedly God-centeredness of the gospel? Because it is biblical. Why do we exercise church discipline? Because it is biblical. My "fear" is that we will make 9 Marks into another fad and whenever it doesn't "work" for growing massive churches and getting all kinds of people saved we will then move on to the next great thing. My "fear" is that if revival does not come through "us doing our part" we will move on to something else and forget the reason we do everything--to glorify God!

So, if you want your church to get on board with 9 Marks then I urge you do not do it for the sake of church growth. Do not do it because you think expositional preaching might bring that revival you so long for. Do not start exercising church discipline because you think God will smile on you and that because you have purged your church of sin He will bring His revival. Do not lead your church through church membership classes in the hope that it will grow your church and that they will become more faithful members. Do all of these things because it is biblical. Remember, dear friends, our goal is not revival for the sake of revival. Our goal is Jesus for the sake of Jesus!

Have you gotten the e-mail yet? The e-mail to which I am referring is the DON'T WATCH THE GOLDEN COMPASS e-mail. Today Dr. Mohler has addressed the formidable challenge this movie will give to Christians. I love Dr. Mohler's advice that we should not run away from this challenge nor does he feel that boycotting is the answer. I agree with the sending of the e-mail and letting people know what this book is about. The books author is not subtle. He really is attempting to "kill God". My response to that is a tongue in cheek, "good luck". People have tried for centuries to take God off the throne and it's not going to be happening now nor ever. And I am very grateful for that--I tend to love my "oppressive" King. This movie is giving us another opportunity to display the greatness of God compared to the paltry pleasures anything else has to offer. I encourage you to read Mohler's article. He gives great advice and encouragement.

Also today the folks at Pyromaniacs have made an interesting distinction for evangelicals to use. The distinction to be made is between fire-in-the-belly evangelicals and fire-sale evangelicals. A fire-in-the-belly evangelical is defined as, "those gripped with the Biblical vision of God's holiness and man's sinfulness, humbled by their own depravity to the point where inerrancy is not an inconvenient doctrine but God's indispensable lifeline, awed by the atonement of Christ to the extent that its doctrines are neither periphera nor adiaphora, but life itself." The fire-sale evangelicals on the other hand are those that are "'everything-must-go' evangelicals, who will sell out on the cheap. Nothing is too precious to retain, everything is on the auction block, for a pittance."

After reading this article I am forced to admit that in my orthodoxy I am a fire-in-the-belly evangelical. But I am sadly forced to admit that hypocritically in my orthopraxy I inch closer and closer to being a fire-sale evangelical. Jeremiah 23:29 is true whether I believe it or not. God's word is like a fire and like a hammer. I lament that Jeremiah 20:9 is not more true. "If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot". As I sit here I can shake my head on everything but that last point. I feel the word burning inside me like a fire, and I feel the guilt and weariness of holding it in. My prayer today is that Jesus might so take hold of me and stoke the fire until it burns so hot that I cannot hold it in. May I become like Peter and John who could not help but speak of that which they had seen and heard? Therefore, I am always hoping that my orthodoxy might match my orthopraxy and that both might match the beauty of the gospel!

Perhaps you have noticed the new title to this blog. If you were expecting to end up at FBC New London do not freak out--it's still us! However, because our hope is to extend far beyond our local community we have decided to make a change to the blog title. Borrowed Light will be our new blog title. Where does this come from?

If you have ever read the biography of Jonathan Edwards (or other great men of God like Whitefield, Spurgeon, McCheyne, etc.) then hopefully you have experienced the humbling and silencing benefit of comparing your own walk with these "giants". In fact one man that I consider a "giant" in the faith is Robert Murray McCheyne. Apparently, he felt the same humbling experience when reading Edwards. On March 20, 1832 after reading part of the Life of Jonathan Edwards, McCheyne then comments, "How feeble my spark of Christianity appear beside such a sun! But even his was a borrowed light, and the same source is still open to enlighten me."

Therefore, I have chosen this title because of my tendency to revere such great men and women in history. It is a constant reminder to us all that their light is only borrowed and that the true source of light is Jesus Christ. It is also an encouragement; whenever I read of the vibrant relationship such men had with our God I can remember that the same Jesus is readily available to me! It is my prayer that the purpose of this blog (moreover my life) might always be to draw near unto God and enjoy this Great Light!