More on this book
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
January 28 - February 19, 2019
The lost world is not so much gospel hardened as it is gospel ignorant
gospel reductionism
Through the proclamation of a lesser gospel, the carnal and unconverted come into the fellowship of the church, and through the almost total neglect of biblical church discipline, they are allowed to stay without correction or reproof.
We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces
eight essential characteristics of true biblical repentance: • change of mind • sorrow for sin • personal acknowledgment and confession of sin • turning away from sin • renunciation of self-righteousness or good works • turning to God • practical obedience • continuing and deepening work of repentance
The publican’s self-humiliation led to his justification, and the sorrow of the believers in Corinth led to repentance without regret, resulting in salvation.
Repentance not only involves inward sorrow of the heart but also personal acknowledgment and open confession that God’s opinion of us is true and His verdict is just: we are sinners, we have sinned, and we deserve divine condemnation.
The word confess comes from a Greek word that literally means “to speak the same thing.”
It is an undeniable biblical truth that genuine repentance will manifest itself in a turning away from sin.
professing Christians who demonstrate no real progress in sanctification and who rarely bring forth fruit worthy of repentance should be greatly concerned for their souls. They should test and examine themselves to see if they are in the faith.
Wilson Hines liked this
“repentance from dead works” refers to a renouncing or turning away from any and every hope in some personal work of piety as a means of justification or right standing before God.
classical logic there is a principle called the law of noncontradiction that states that contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same time and in the same context.
However, when the Spirit of God regenerates his heart and illumines his mind, he sees himself as “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).
Christian to continue in sin that grace may abound?34 Is he to be void of fruit and personal righteousness?
However, these good works do not result in salvation; rather, they flow from it.
Morality is not the same thing as Christianity.
A life marked by simple and heartfelt obedience to God’s commands may be the most obvious and certain proof of true repentance.
Christ is not pronouncing a blessing on those who momentarily or sporadically mourn, but on those whose mourning marks their lives.
Often in contemporary Christianity, repentance is referred to as something like a flu shot or a vaccination for polio—something that someone does at the moment of conversion and then is done with once and for all.
They fail to understand that repentance is not only the essential first step toward salvation, but also the very catalyst of true joy.
What, then, was the basis of their faith in the Bible and its gospel? The answer is the regenerating and illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
To believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world is to disbelieve all others who make a similar claim. This is possibly the most scandalous demand of the Christian faith.
The one who refuses to believe has declared God to be a liar and has forfeited any possibility of eternal life.
The sinner must come to an essential crisis point in which he sees that he is utterly destitute of saving merit and that, search as he may, he finds no hope of salvation in himself.
A true knowledge of God and self is essential in the conversion of the sinner, but it is also equally essential in the ongoing sanctification of the saint.
how people in the same congregation react to a message that emphasizes human depravity, the lack of saving merit in their works, and their desperate need of divine grace. Some are downcast, others are offended, and still others are outright angry that such harsh words would be spoken about them and their pious efforts. Yet others in the same congregation who hear the same truths are full of joy and rejoice in the goodness of God.
This passage has rightly become one of the most popular and most employed among modern-day evangelists and those who seek to share their faith with others. However, what does it truly mean, and what is its proper application in evangelism?
We would do well, then, to ask ourselves this question: Did the apostle Paul write this text with the purpose of giving us a model for the sinner’s prayer, or did he have an entirely different purpose in mind?
First, it has no biblical precedent. It was not employed by Christ, the apostles, or the early Christians. Second, it was unknown to most of the church throughout history. It is a recent invention. Third, it has the danger of turning the gospel into a creedal statement.
Fourth, it has almost entirely replaced the biblical invitation of repentance and faith.
Fifth, it has become the primary and, often, only basis of assurance.
However, the evidence of saving faith is a genuine and enduring confession of the lordship of Jesus Christ throughout the believer’s life.
which Scripture teaches will always accompany salvation.
condemnation of sin is that we are currently being saved from the power of sin.
Before we begin any discussion regarding faith, we would do well to remember that the demons also believe and tremble, but not unto salvation.
They are not saved by what they know to be true, but rather they are condemned by it. This same malady is found among humans.
These radical claims of Christ do not leave room for a nonchalant response, nor can we believe them at the center of our intellect, will, and emotions without experiencing a radical, or even devastating effect upon our lives. It is impossible for a rational creature to embrace these truths and not be noticeably changed by them. The very nature of the claims demands a cataclysmic change in the character of one’s person and the direction of his life.
It is not merely a confession of faith in Jesus Christ but a confession of His absolute and universal lordship.
light of the true significance of Romans 10:9–10 and what truly confessing Christ has cost so many followers of Jesus through the ages, its popular use in modern-day evangelism is indefensible.
Could it be that our lack of knowledge of the gospel is leading to the destruction of millions?
In the Scriptures, to believe is not limited to an intellectual understanding of certain facts or even to the acceptance of them. Instead, it is to trust in and rely upon the object of our faith to the degree that we base our actions upon it.
It is equally untenable to think that a person could “receive” Jesus as Savior at one stage in life and then receive Him as Lord and King later.
This is the malady of our time, leading to the deception and destruction of many people.
The gospel does not call us to receive Christ as an addition to our life, but rather as our life. Jesus Christ is not to be treated as an accessory to our lives in the same manner that a belt or pair of shoes might accessorize a certain outfit.
The church-growth expert and the missionary on the cutting edge of contextualization in missions will most likely reject these hard words, arguing that modern people are too fragile and fractured of heart to bear such
It is the task of the gospel preacher to convince people that they are nothing and that they have nothing apart from Christ!
However, to proclaim Christ in this way, we must know Him in this way!
If we would only spend more time with Him, we would know Him better and proclaim Him with more power.
To be truly Christian is to recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from above through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Conversion is simply the beginning of a lifelong, eternal meal that the Holy Spirit grants in ever-increasing measure to the ever-maturing Christian.
