God’s grace in the hurts others do to us

25 June 200926 June 2009 TBLeave a comment

This talk, by Mark Talbot at the 2005 Desiring God National Conference, really ministers to me. Because I am surrounded by fallen, sinful people (like myself), there are numerous times where I have been injured, insulted, violated, offended, shocked, disappointed, slighted, overlooked, disparaged and generally hurt. It’s hard to “get along” sometimes.

The conference theme was Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. Regarding suffering: Why does God allow these kind of things happen? Is is OK to complain to God? Does God make mistakes? How do we think biblically about suffering? These are questions Talbot addresses in his talk.

Mark Talbot will be speaking again this year at the Desiring God national conference, which is themed With Calvin in the Theater of God.

A reason to smile as a Christian

21 April 2009 TBLeave a comment

There’s a lot of “self” in our culture, even as Christians. But the truth is, if we were just left to ourselves, we would be in dire straits. Thankfully, God breaks through our lives to show us something truly wonderful that we can look at with great joy. Thanks much to Erik Raymond at Irish Calvinist for this great post. Here is just a portion of it:

Apart from Christ we are alienated; we have no way to God. But on top of this, we are neither able nor willing to come. We are content in the giving God the stiff arm with one hand and with the other, holding up the mirror as we admire our own perceived glory.

But God does not leave us there.

He powerfully, lovingly, mercifully, and graciously overtakes the sinner with an irresistible view of the glory of Jesus Christ. This is called sovereign grace.

In 2 Corinthians 4 we learn that in addition to being totally depraved we are under the influence of Satan’s eye blinding techniques (2 Cor. 4..4). But notice what we can’t see? The text says “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

It is the glory of Christ that we are blinded from seeing.

Ah, but what does the ever gracious and sovereign God do?

The God “who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4.6).

God has made us to see the glory of Christ! We did not stumble upon this truth. We were not taught it by men. We didn’t inherit it in this country like some sort of unalienable right. NO! The sovereign God of the universe has crashed through your sinfully barricaded heart with his powerful sovereign grace so that you would be able to see the beauty, worth, goodness, power, and attractiveness of Christ! He has done this for you!

Are we ready for tough times ahead?

2 March 2009 TBLeave a comment

The coddled Western world will sooner or later give way to great affliction. And when it does, whose vision of God will hold? Where are Christians being prepared for great global sorrows? Where is the Christian mind and soul being prepared for the horrors to come? Christians in the West are weakened by wimpy worldviews. And wimpy worldviews make wimpy Christians. God is weightless in our lives. He is not terrifyingly magnificent. His sovereignty is secondary (at best) to his sensitivity.

— John Piper, Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of God (13)

We don’t have to imagine as hard these days to envision tough times in our country. But tough economic times aren’t the same as tough times to be a follower of Christ. It is good to turn to Christ for comfort, but some times we need more than just comforting words. We need words of warning. There is evil in this world and it touches every one of our lives. The fact that we live in comfort in our Western world is a providence of God, but we should not look at it as the only way.

In John Piper’s Spectacular Sins, cited above, he examines how evil in our world not only fail to nullify God’s purpose to glorify Christ they — by his providence — succeed in making his purpose come to pass. And through understanding this, we can be strengthened in our own lives in the difficult times that will surely come.

The book is one of many that you download for free as a PDF onto your computer. If you still prefer to hold a book in your hand, you can purchase it here.