Salvation

He saves us from us.

There is no other name,

That I would rather know,

Than the name of Him who washed me, 

Whiter than the snow.

A Prayer

"save me from myself.

save me from myself.

help me.

save me from myself.

save me from myself."

-dismantle.repair.

"the heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. who can understand it?"

-jeremiah 17:9

only when we begin to recognize our need for a Saviour, can we even begin to understand the depth and beauty of a loving God, who is mighty to save, and who has broken into time and space, into human history for the sake of restoring what had willingly gone astray.

Barth & The Incarnation

This is how Karl Barth, describes the Incarnate Immanuel (God with us) in his Church Dogmatics:

"God was with us, with us His enemies, with us who were visited and smitten by His wrath. God was with us in all the reality and fulness with which He does what He does. He was with us as one of us. His Word became flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood. His glory was seen here in the depths of our situation, and the full depths of our situation were disclosed for the first time when illumined then and there by the Lord's glory, when in His Word He came down to the lowest parts of the earth, in order that there and in that way He might rob death of its power and bring life and immortality to light."

Amen.

God's Work

"God hath a work to do; and not to help Him is to oppose Him."

-John Owen

We are part of a divine plan of redemption. It will be carried through. It has already been accomplished in Christ. But as the Church, we have the important duty of reverberating His Call to the lost and the perishing. How can we neglect such a great work? Indeed, we cannot. For we have not been called to disobedience, but to obedience. We have not been called to hatred and indifference, but to love. We have not been called to ourselves, but to Christ. Heed His Word, and answer His Call!

Luke 15:8-10

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Luke 15:8-10

God leaves us not to our own self-destructive ways, but instead pursues His children in steadfast love and mercy. And what is the result? Repentance on earth, and joy in heaven.

There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;

And there have I, as vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away.

And there have I, as vile as he, washed all my sins away.

E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream your flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;

Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save;

I'll sing thy power to save, I'll sing thy power to save,

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save.

Dear dying Lamb, your precious blood shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;

Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

___

I don't know who wrote that hymn, but whoever it was, I can't wait to sing that song with them.

What is man, that You are mindful of him?

I am quite overwhelmed by several things.

1. The depth and spread and reach of God's love and mercy and grace and care and tenderness and faithfulness and intervention and Providence. There is nothing they cannot reach, there is nothing that can hide itself from them. And I rejoice in this.

2. The depth and spread and reach of God's love and mercy and grace and care and tenderness and faithfulness and intervention and Providence, in spite of my wayward heart and the slow pace I seem to be holding in sanctification. His patience blows my mind. His faithfulness, even more so.

3. How people can mistake the creature for the Creator. How even fellow Christians mistake the work of the Creator for the work of the creature. There is only One who can work goodness and love in us. There is only One who can fix the mess that we are born into and live in. There is only One who can say to me, You are justified in Christ, now walk in Him. There is only One who can put His exquisite and unique and satisfying love into a heart that has never known anything like it. 

4. How all of Creation shouts and proclaims the beauty of the Creator. And how magnificent common grace is - Who could have even thought of blessing all, both righteous and unrighteous, but a God whose character is that of love and grace and kindness? Who would have ever thought that Someone would care so much for what He has made - to the extent that He would sacrifice Himself! to salvage the good work of His hand, that had intentionally ship-wrecked itself for the selfish pleasure of it? But God who is rich in mercy...

...how can this not be overwhelming?

BB Warfield & Revelation

"The one [general revelation] is adapted to man as man; the other [special revelation] to man as sinner; and since man, on becoming sinner, has not ceased to be man, but has only acquired new needs requiring additional provisions to bring him to the end of his existence, so the revelation directed to man as sinner does not supersede that given to man as man, but supplements it with these new provisions for this attainment, in his new condition of blindness, helplessness and guilt induced by sin, of the end of his being."

- B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, 74.

This quote really helped clarify in my mind the purposes of both "stages" of divine revelation.

Os Guinness & Oswald Chambers

"If we have never had the experience of taking our commonplace religious shoes off our commonplace religious feet, and getting rid of all the undue familiarity with which we approach God, it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence."

- Oswald Chambers

Wow, what a powerful thought. It is true that God calls to His children as their loving Father, but we must never forget the nature of such a Father - One who is Holy and Utterly Separate from us. Indeed, we must approach Him with fear and trembling, and live a life that pants after holiness, for just as He is holy, so we too must be holy in all we do. We must unshod our feet from the worldly shoes that are quick to sprint off the narrow road, and we must (however slowly) endeavor to tread the Way with bare feet. For, as one great saint put it, "better to stumble along the narrow way, than to run quick and sure out of it."

Another quote that cut me to the quick was from Os Guinness.

"To follow the call of God is therefore to live before the heart of God. It is to live life coram Deo (before the heart of God) and thus to shift our awareness of audiences to the point where only the last and highest - God - counts."

 - Os Guinness, The Call

This is something that I struggle with on a day-to-day basis. How I long to repeat St. Paul's words after him, "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal. 1:10) But I find myself quite prone to living according to the affirmations of others, and worst of all, myself. May I ever seek to find my affirmation in Christ and by Christ - for it is only in Him that I am affirmed as an heir, and it is only because of Him that I am named a son.

A Return To Van Til

"Christ walks indeed a cosmic road. Far as the curse is found, so far His grace is given."1

Amen. Restoration will come.

1 Cornelius Van Til, "Nature and Scripture," The Infallible Word: A Symposium by the Members of the Faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary 2nd Ed. (Philipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Company, 1967), 271.

Murray's "Systematic Theology"

"When any generation is content to rely upon its theological heritage and refuses to explore for itself the riches of divine revelation, then declension is already under way and heterodoxy will be the lot of the succeeding generation." 1

The Reformational concept of "always reforming" to the truth of God's Word is essential to both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. 

Good show, Murray, good show.

On a different note, Wild Sweet Orange tastes good to my ears.

1 Murray, John. Collected Writings, "Systematic Theology," p. 8.

More Bridges.

"We must build up with both hands - with our doctrine and our life. We must be what we preach ... A holy sermon is but for an hour. A holy life is his [the minister's] perpetual sermon - a living, practical commentary of his doctrine - the gospel to the senses."1

Wow. This book is full of gold!

1 Bridges, Charles. The Christian Ministry with an Inquiry into the Causes of its Inefficiency (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, reprinted 2006), 159.

Charles Bridges

"Our Divine Master never intended, that we should confine our religion to the services of the sanctuary. As men of God, we should have it at heart and in hand, spreading a spiritual savour over the common walks of society, and stamping us with the mark of confessors of Christ in the midst of a world, who hold him still in the same contempt, as when eighteen centuries since they nailed him to the cross."1

Wow. Am I stamped with the mark of a confessor of Christ in such a way as to draw the contempt of the world? That is a serious question. Do I preach with my words and deeds the Rock of Offense, which makes men to stumble and fall? Do I live for Christ? Am I living as one stamped by His blood? Do I confine my religion? Am I slow to have it at heart and in hand in every sphere of society?

God help me.

1 Bridges, Charles. The Christian Ministry with an Inquiry into the Cases of its Inefficiency (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, reprinted 2006), 115-116.

More Van Til

Van Til is so good!

"Grace can be recognized as grace only in contrast to God's curse on nature."1

1 Van Til, Cornelius, Christian Apologetics (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2003), 70.

Reading Van Til's "An Introduction to Systematic Theology."

"When God existed alone, there was no time universe, and there were no new facts arising. The only knowledge activity that existed was completed in the circuit of the mutually exhaustive personalities of the triune God. It is only with respect to man that we can speak of a relation of the a priori and the a posteriori elements of knowledge. Such a distinction cannot exist in God ... There is no novelty in God, and there can be no novelty for God."1 (Italics emphasis mine.)

God doesn't learn.

He is.

He knows.

He is True knowledge.

Hallelujah.

1 Van Til, Cornelius. An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1974), 10.

Seminary

It has been a while since my last post.

The summer flew by - Colin, my brother, is currently at the USNA for his undergraduate work. He's excelling and growing in wisdom and stature and favor with his community there. Indeed, the Lord will honors those who honor Him. God's goodness is seen in my brother's life and the way he pursues the Lord in an environment where such personal devotion is hard to maintain.

At the end of July I began my coursework here at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, PA. I'm currently pursuing a Masters in Divinity (on a three-year course - it's been quite the ride so far), with hopes of further academic study upon graduating. However, I am still open to whatever the Lord impresses upon my heart. Seeking His will is a priority in my life, and I am ready and willing to go where He commands me.

As I said, coursework has begun. I took Greek I over the course of four weeks from late July towards the end of August. It was rigorous, but very rewarding. I really respected my professor in that class and his concern for our spiritual well-being throughout the gauntlet of "Kamikaze Greek." I finished the course strong, and was super-pumped for the semester. The best part of Summer Greek, though, was the people I labored with. I made such solid friends in that class, and each one brought to the classroom their own unique personalities. I studied a lot with my friend Sam from NYC. He was a true encouragement to me throughout my Greek studies, and continues to be this semester. Our whole class really bonded during that time. It was very comforting to enter the academic semester already knowing some brothers and sisters to go to if I ran into trouble - academically or spiritually. The community at Westminster has been such a blessing to me thus far.

The Lord has been showing me some amazing things recently, and His Providence is one of the greatest blessings in life. This semester I have sat at the feet of those whose hearts have been filled with a fire for Truth. My professors here at Westminster Theological Seminary are truly godly examples who are heaven bent on not just teaching men and women theology but have deep-seated desires to prepare them for practical ministry in life as Christians. To be orthodox and engaging, I have found, is a much needed dynamic in our world, where there is a desperate need for the gospel, and a desperate need for an honest, yet propositional, Love. 

While God has continued to pour out His blessings on me, I have begun to cherish one particular blessing in particular. And it is odd. The academic workload here at WTS (especially for a first year student on a 3 year track taking 6 courses) is daunting, heavy, and near impossible to successfully keep up with. It took a Herculean effort to even begin to try and manage my time and work to get stuff done. I probably average a good 500 pages of reading a week. This is not including hours of time spent over my Hebrew and Greek grammar, vocab, and paradigms. Recently, essays have snuck into my workload. Needless to say, I have felt somewhat under the gun. But the beautiful thing about hardship is the way the Lord shows you how you can achieve nothing on your own strength. Indeed, as Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthian church, "For when I am weak then I am strong." God's power is seen at its greatest, when we fully acknowledge our own weakness and submit and accept His strength and direction in our lives. To become less is not self-abasement, it is a recognition of our status as finite creations, and a joyful reception of God's greatness. So in my studies, I am constantly reminded that God is truly in control, and that is His power alone that can bring me through my struggles, academic or no. What a wonderful blessing that is! His power is made perfect in weakness. Amen.

Back

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Apologies to those few who read this. (Mainly me.)

I've been quite busy lately. After Mexico, I managed to graduate from Grove City College, which was sweet. It was then I also learned of my acceptance to the Westminster Theological Seminary MDiv program, which I'm planning on doing this fall. It should be full of challenges, but I know that the Lord is my Rock, and my Guide. I cannot wait. 

After Graduation, I visited Europe for 16 days with my brother Colin and sister Jade. It was a trip associated with GCC, so I was with fifty other students, faculty and parents. But it was still special. Colin, Jade, and I always found time to get away and make family memories. One of my most treasured memories was meeting up with my friend Adam Black, who attended GCC last fall semester, but transferred back to the Olde Countrie. I definitely missed him the last semester, so it was fantastic seeing him again. What a wonderful guy. I also, for the first time, witnessed the immense splendor and glory of the Alps. It was so majestic - and to think that the Lord created those...it blows my mind. That was just so cool to see. It made me feel so tiny, and finite. Such a good reminder of God's sovereignty.

After Europe, I came back to the States and visited Western PA with Jade for our friends', Chad and Mindy, wedding. What a beautiful couple. I was so honored to be there, and witness such godly love and committment. They are such a witness to God's love. I will definitely miss Chad, who will be in Kentucky at Southern for seminary. I'm really looking forward to seeing that couple grow in grace and love. God has beautiful things in store for them. Man. That was just a wonderful experience going to their wedding. God is good!

After the wedding, Jade and I returned to NJ and took off for North Carolina with the family for vacation times. That was AWESOME. It was so good to be with the family, especially with Colin going into the Naval Academy (in ...eesh! Six days?). It was a really good time of rest and relaxation. We laughed so much. What a blessing it is to recount that.

After vacay I started work as an auditor (just for the summer) for my father's business, Skyline New Jersey. It's pretty tedious work, but there's a simplicity to the monotony of it. I have air conditioning, and one of my good friends is working a room over from me, which is sweet.

There's a lot of summer to go, but I'll try to be faithful in posting.

Soli Deo gloria.

Mexico

This past Easter Break, I traveled to San Luis Mexico, a poverty-stricken town in northwest Mexico, mere miles from the Arizona or California state border, yet immersed in the living conditions of a third world country. It was my second trip to this place, and my second stay at an orphanage overseen by Caring Hearts Ministries. The time there, as always, was refreshing. The Lord is good to His children, as evidenced in what I experienced with the church there in San Luis. Their approach to their faith is a lot different than the usual, Western/American/my approach. I believe that there lack in material things greatly influences the way they pursue their faith: whether by valuing the little they do have, or by truly seeing the power and provision of a gracious and benevolent God. There is something earnest and sincere about my brothers' faiths in San Luis - something living, and not constricted, something vibrant, and not choked, something unseen, and not commercial. It gave me hope, and it gave me encouragement. Every time I visit that place, I taste a little of that heavenly gift, I see a little more of God's Church, and I learn a little more about what it truly means to carry one's cross, to live out the gospel, and to truly follow Christ.

I could go on and on about what occurred in Mexico last week. I could tell of the criminals I worshipped with, the believers I prayed with, the children I learned from, the poverty I yearned for, the freedom that abounds with the Spirit's presence. I could tell of the Lord's blessings poured out on His people. But, alas, I am mortal, I am finite, and could never fully tell of God's grace and His provision and His blessings.

God is good, Amen and Amen, let His people find joy in Him. He has given us salvation. Let us rejoice in our rescue, let us love our Redeemer - not only with words, and gatherings, and "sharing," but with living and doing and loving other people. Let us drop our overly-infatuated lust for emotional joyrides and the individual quest for experience, and let us live as Christ's church, of one accord, and one purpose - to love God and to love others. To give glory to Christ for being our only hope and our only Savior, and to live in the grace we have received, and to pass on grace to others who come in our path. Let us sincerely devote ourselves to prayer, let us unashamedly stand for THE Truth, and let us invest ourselves, diet ourselves on God's holy and infallible Word. Let us quit the patterns of THIS world, ITS desires and pollutions, and let us fix our eyes on Christ Jesus. Let us not become distracted by what is seen, let us not focus on the minutia and irrelevance of what is fallible and faulty, what is sinful and seductive, what is worldly and wicked. Let us hold fast to our faith, and see the Lord as our life - that without Him we would truly perish. And let us not view our lives as monuments, we are but dust. Only in the hands of our Creator can we hope to be of use, can we hope to leave a mark, can we hope to change a life, and not for our own gain. For we fade, we fall, we fail. But Christ's Kingdom - yes! that which is everlasting - THIS is the end for which we labor and strive. For our King's glory, our King's Kingdom.

Oh, if only we could do this. If only I could do this. God give us strength. God give me grace!