[sound doctrine pt. 5]

Something I think I’ve been learning lately is that Christian discipleship is largely growth in being satisfied in Jesus. We were created in God’s image to glorify and enjoy Him as the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism so directly reminds us:

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The tragedy is that, as sinners, we are bent and deviant from this end. We take God’s good created things–other people, our abilities and talents, prestige, sex, food, whatever–and try to make enjoying one or many of those created things our chief end. We are idolators. And we self-destruct in pursuit of these things that, divorced from the enjoyment of God, can never satisfy. Whenever delight in God is first, all of these lesser delights fall into their proper place and can be truly enjoyed with gratefulness toward their Creator.

The Gospel is the good news that God has given us Himself in the life, death, and resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ. He has paid the price of our idolatry, and wants to put away our sin so that He, the only One Who can satisfy, can be the treasure of our hearts again. As John Piper has put it, God Himself is the Gospel.

Once God has rescued our idolatrous hearts, we begin the painful and joyful process of cultivating joy in Him above all. We are all trying to get to the place where we can say with Asaph in Psalm 73,

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

There is nothing that I desire besides You; that is, literally, there is nothing I want as much as You. We have other good desires, but all of them ought to pale in comparison to our desire for God Himself and be tempered by gratitude towards Him.

So this song is a musical meditation on that Psalm, and hopefully it will be of some use to us in cultivating satisfaction in Christ. You can get the audio by clicking on the title.

All I Want (Psalm 73)
music and lyrics by Jonathan McGregor
I’ve looked around, and I’ve seen
All the violence and the riches of the proud.
I’ve looked around, and I’ve seen
That righteousness is vanity.
I’ve felt the rod of wrath,
And I have walked a hard and narrow path,
And I have found no rest,
Just a bitter bleeding in my chest.

[tag]

I look to You, and I see
Your glory in the sanctuary.
I look to You, and I see
You governing with equity.
You hold my hand, and I know
To be near You is good for me.
And You will spare no cost to bring
Me with You into glory.

[tag]

Oh, all I want is You.
Oh, all I want is You.

(It cost the cross to bring me near to You.
It costs my life for me to come to You.
My heart, my flesh will fail, but You will not.
You are the Rock Who bears up my heart.
You are my refuge; I will hide in You.
There is no one for me in heaven but You,
And none on earth I want beside You.
You are Your gift, and I receive You.)

[smooth stones, pt. 2]

Ah Lord! this mercy I humbly beg, that whatever thou givest me up to, thou wilt not give me up to the ways of my own heart; if thou wilt give me up to be afflicted, or tempted, or reproached, I will patiently sit down and say, It is the Lord; let him do with me what seems good in his own eyes. Do anything with me, lay what burden thou wilt upon me, so thou dost not give me up to the ways of my own heart.

Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, pp. 50-51

[a perpetual forge: anti-idolatry resources]

“The human mind is a perpetual forge of idols.” -John Calvin

The theme of idolatry has figured greatly in my meditations of late. Here are some resources I have found helpful in seeing how the Gospel smashes the false gods of our hearts so that we may worship the true God.

Tim Keller:

Gospel Realization

Gospel Communication

Gospel Incarnation

These three sermons on Jonah come from The Evangelists’ Conference 2007: Smashing False Idols.

The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry

This sermon comes from The Gospel Coalition Conference 2009.

C.J. Mahaney:

Discern Your Heart

This sermon comes from the New Attitude (now known as Next) Conference 2007.

David Clarkson:

Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven

Clarkson was a Puritan pastor who lived from 1621-1686.

Martin Luther:

The First Commandment

This study comes from the Reformer’s Large Catechism.

[iconoclast!]

Iconoclast! I would bear
asdfthat name–
Smashing my heart’s high
asdfplaces and
Hacking her Asherah
asdfto bits.
Let no pagan-passion King
asdfAgag
Live in my consecrated
asdfseat of
Thought and affect.
asdfI stand
Destructive with that man
asdfof God,
Dread Samuel, bearing a
asdffell blade.

Where do you run for
asdfcomfort,
O my soul? At what
asdfaltars
Do you offer up
asdfyour plea?
What ghost-town Gilead
asdfhaunts my
Heart in search of balm?
asdfFrom forth
What broken cisterns gushing
asdfgood do
I expect? O idolatrous,
asdfGentile
Heart, be circumcised:
asdfBelieve.

[smooth stones taken from ancient brooks pt.1]

I’m currently reading a book by the Puritan divine Thomas Brooks entitled Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. The work includes a brief biography of Brooks in its front matter. In the biography, I read that Charles Spurgeon’s first published work was a compendium of quotations by Brooks, collected by Spurgeon and his fiancee Susannah Thompson. Cleverly, he called the book Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks.

I have found Brooks so far to be sweet, convicting, and pithy. So I thought I would follow Spurgeon’s lead and share with you some quotes in a series of posts.

The first, of the enemy’s method of temptation, seizing the opportunities given him by our circumstances and personalities:

Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the devil will help forward…Satan loves to sail with the wind, and to suit men’s temptations to their conditions and inclinations. If they be in prosperity, he will tempt them to deny God (Prov. 30:9); if they be in adversity, he will tempt them to distrust God; if their knowledge be weak, he will tempt them to have low thoughts of God; if their conscience be tender, he will tempt to scrupulosity; if large, to carnal security; if bold-spirited, he will tempt to presumption; if timorous to desperation; if flexible, to inconstancy; if stiff, to impenitency. (16)

[book review: death by love]

Death by Love, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.

Brutal. That’s the best word I can think of to describe this book. Pastor Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church Seattle fame, is unsparing in his treatment of the death of Jesus, the wickedness of sin, and the power of the Gospel in Death by Love. The work is composed of several letters written to people Mark has met, counseled, and pastored, applying the truth of Christ’s multi-faceted work on the cross to life. Each chapter is capped off by an “Answers to Common Questions” section by Driscoll’s mentor and writing partner Gerry Breshears. The book does a good job of defining and giving Old Testament and New Testament background for Biblical and theological terms like “Christus Victor,” “propitiation,” “expiation,” “redemption,” and “Christus Exemplar.” It is refreshing in the way it combines theological depth and rigor with practical application: Theological concepts don’t float around in the air in this book. I was refreshed and challenged by the Pastor Mark’s intent on communicating the life-changing truth of the cross. Don’t expect to agree with everything in here. Driscoll’s positions are nuanced and likely to raise questions all around in matters like spiritual warfare, the extent of the atonement, and the relationship between Charismatic and Calvinist theology. Also, be forewarned that there is some rough content in here. Sin is dealt with in all its ugliness.

I learned a lot as I read the book throughout last semester. But mostly Death by Love dogged and hounded me, constantly whispering, “Look to the cross and live!” as I battled through sin and struggle. For that I am grateful.

Recommended.

[sound doctrine pt. 4]

Happy Christmas, everyone. Here’s my version of one of my favorite carols. Sorry about the sound quality.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll’d along th’ unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow’d my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play.
And through the warp and woof of wrong,
They yet ring out their hopeful song.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play.
And through the warp and woof of wrong,
They still ring out their truthful song.

The Lord will come and make an end
Of all our woe and all our sin.
His heavy blow fell in that fray
When Christ was born on Christmas day.

Hallelu, Hallelu
Hallelu, Hallelu
Hallelu
Hallelujah

Words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Music by John Calkin
Additional words and music by Jonathan McGregor

[vote as though not voting]

Make much of Jesus by voting as if not voting. Piper here.

[the bruised reed battles heaven // a sonnet]

“Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Don’t think that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls.” -Charles Spurgeon

Great God of hosts, Whose
Raging wrath commands,
Compels unnumbered angel-armies,
Why do You make war on me,
Poor, pitiable wretch beset
By sin and weakness-wracked?

If You will war me, then
I’ll mount my prayers and strike
Resounding blows against
Your throne with weighty words
Of promise. Wait!  I have
From Your own hand

These weapons and this steed.
O break not this bruised reed.

[reasonable faith]

Dr. William Lane Craig, a brilliant Christian philosopher and apologist, has some great resources at reasonablefaith.org. I don’t agree with him on all points, particularly the way he conceptualizes divine sovereignty, but these Q&A’s on the witness of the Holy Spirit I find extremely helpful.

The Witness of the Holy Spirit

Counterfeit Claims of the Spirit’s Witness

[the power of words and the wonder of God]

Video from the Desiring God national conference this weekend is up here:

Conference Video :: Desiring God

I watched Sinclair Ferguson’s message on James this afternoon, and it was good stuff.

[sanity, sin, and the gospel]

These articles by Dr. David Powlison at Boundless have been very pastoral for me. What do you think of Biblical counseling? And what do you think of this quote in particular, from part 3:

It’s crucial, by the way, to understand sin accurately. Most people think that to identify something as “sin” means saying that the person consciously chose to do some bad action. The person also has the power to Just Say No.

But the Bible comes at sin from the opposite direction. We do many wrong, unloving things without even knowing what we’re doing or why. Most sin is not a matter of conscious choice. The “high-handed” sins are conscious. But much of what we do, think and feel expresses that we are blind, self-deceived, metaphorically drunk or sleepwalking, calloused, acting like brute beasts, walking in the dark. So we do not have the power to Just Say No.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[total war]

So often I confute the Spirit/flesh conflict that Paul talks about with a Greek idea of spirit versus body. That was the error of the Gnostics in the first century church! (Think about this: If Spirit versus flesh means spirit versus body, then Paul is talking nonsense when he speaks of “spiritual bodies” in 1 Cor. 15.) I make sanctification into a process of my mind’s high reason mastering my body’s low passion… which is a deadly simplification. The reality is that the corruption of sin extends much deeper than just bodily desires. My reason, will, and affections are, apart from Christ, just as corrupt as my bodily senses. There are sanctified, “spiritual” bodily desires, like that of a husband for his wife, and there are fleshly desires, like lust for a woman not your wife. There are spiritual affections, like the “joy inexpressible and full of glory” that Peter talks about (see Jonathan Edwards for more on that), and there are fleshly ones like the anxiety against which Paul warns in Philippians 4. And there is godly reasoning that recognizes the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7), and there are “arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5).

And all of these reside in me. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25)

Jesus paid the penalty for all my sins–sins of reason, emotion, and cupidity. And he broke the power of sin, even though it still abides in me in this life, so that my outer man, the fleshly man, is wasting away, and my inner man, quickened by the Holy Spirit, is being renewed day by day. So I can be confident to go after my sin in total war, on every front fighting in the power of the Spirit.

So with reference to this truth, I’m going to post a couple of things from my Art, Emotion, and Morality class on the blog–because Christian scholarship is spiritual warfare.

[the holy war]

It is true:
A just war is a glorious endeavor.
But that glory, with acidic fear
And reality’s bitter gall mixed,
Makes a heady cocktail offered up
To cracked and bleeding lips on
A soiled sponge.

Our Savior
Grappled invisibly with the evil one
As He hung bearing wrath
Upon the rugged tree and drained
The sour cup to dregs.

But O!
What small but mighty taste
Of joy lay at the bottom of
That cup! Out of His anguish,
By foreknowledge inexorable,
He saw His many offspring
Counted righteous, and the
Spoils for the resurrected Strong
Awaiting.

Now may I,
Made righteous by His blood
And with Him united, blessed,
And seated in the heavenlies,
Possessing all good things in Christ,
Remember, accept discipline,
Cast off every weight and sin besetting,
Look to Christ taste and see
Afore the joys laid up in Heaven,
Lift drooping hands and strengthen knees,
Strive for peace and holiness,
And take up again my God-given
Armor, become like Him in His death
And bear away the Kingdom-life
With holy violence.

May I hate
With perfect hatred every spiritual
Enemy, and my own sin indwelling,
Waging war not according to the flesh,
Armed to the teeth, weapons of
Righteousness in my right hand and left,
With full confidence not in
My own skill or strategy, but in
The gracious Sovereign under
Whose banner I rage.

These three
Are the secrets of war: Joy,
Mourning, and Liberty. Let me fix,
As did Christ, on sure knowledge
Of future joy vouchsafed to me
In Holy Scripture: I am destined
For glory; this war’s outcome
Is sure. At present let me
Mourn for sins abiding and be
Comforted by the Gospel, putting
To death the body’s deeds.
A free man fights most valiantly,
And when freedom is at stake
He fights with the strength
Of a score of slaves. Stand firm,
Then, (O Lord, grant it that I would!)
And submit not again yourself
To slavery. Grace sweeps over
All my sins from past to
Future, a crimson tide, as the
Red Sea swallowed up Pharaoh
And his armies.

O Lord God,
Let me live in the faithful tension
Between “The battle belongs
To the Lord” and “Everywhere
You put your feet, you will conquer.”
Grant that I, your soldier-servant-son,
Free in bondage to the Truth, would
Fight unending and courageously,
With faith not in those efforts
But in Your mighty hand. For Your
Name’s sake, O God, give me
Victory against my foes.

Amen.

[uk update 2.5]

Hey guys! This update is 2.5, because it’s gonna be brief. I wanted to say thank you for all the encouraging comments and for all of your prayers! I’ll post a fuller update sometime this week, but I wanted to get this out there for you guys to be praying for:

Tomorrow night at 7:30 my buddy Drew and I will be hosting our first weekly Bible study. We’ve been advertising over the program list-serv and telling our friends, and we don’t really know who to expect. I’ll be teaching on Isaiah 6:1-8, and we’ll be praying for each other.

I appreciate you lifting us up!

Grace and peace,

Jonathan

[what good is theology?]

Immanuel Kant once famously declared that, “Absolutely nothing worthwhile for the practical life can be made out of the doctrine of the Trinity taken literally.”

I think a lot of times we have a similar attitude toward any of those scary, distant concepts that fall under the heading of “theology”. We’re glad our pastors have to study it in seminary, but we’d prefer that they keep it out of the pulpit and “just preach the Gospel” or something like that. We definitely don’t want to study theology for ourselves…what possible benefit could it be? If anything, maybe we should learn about the practices of ministry or evangelism or discipleship or spiritual disciplines. But learning about God Himself is something reserved for pastors and uber-Christians.

Or maybe we acknowledge that it would be good to pick up some theological knowledge…knowing about God couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? But it feels impious of us to expect personal benefit from the study of God. We feel we ought to know more about God; theological study is a duty we know we should perform, though we expect nothing out of it personally.

Well, consider this: For the Christian, the study of God is not a purely theoretical, abstract practice. That’s because God, by His free grace, has brought us into relationship with Himself. We enjoy a ‘mystical union’ with Jesus Christ! So everything we learn about God has direct and blessed bearing on our own lives. There is indeed both practical value and personal benefit in doctrine, and God is glorified when we learn of Him, rejoice in Who He is, and thank Him for His activity in our lives. Let me give you a personal example.

This morning I was reading in chapter two of Wayne Grudem’s Christian Beliefs, “What is God Like?”, when I came across this:

Jesus affirmed that God is in no way limited to a spatial location when he said, “God is spirit” (John 4:24)…He is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses. To think of his being in terms of anything else in the created universe would be a misrepresentation, for he is more excellent than any other kind of existence.

This may seem banal at first glance. But this exposition of God’s spiritual nature revealed what was nothing less than idolatory in me. Maybe you can relate. The “butterflies in the stomach” feeling perceived with my bodily senses that often accompanies the presence of God I frequently confute with the presence of God as such. But if God is really spirit, whether I feel emotion or not has no bearing on the fact of His presence. He has promised to never leave me or forsake me, and because He is unbound by spatial limitations He can deliver on that promise. His Spirit indwells every believer on every continent at the same time. To confuse the (infrequent, because of sin in me) bodily emotional response to the presence of God with His presence as a reality (constant, because of His character, promises, and nature) is idolatory, because it thinks of God in terms of a lower kind of existence. Not only that, but because His nature is spiritual, I have good reason to always hope in Him because He is always with me!

So in the study of God’s attributes, I was shown my sin and given a good reason to thank Him and have confidence in Him. Now that’s good theology!

I encourage you to pick up a copy of Grudem’s Christian Beliefs, or if you’re more ambitious, a copy of his Bible Doctrine or Systematic Theology. Read, worship, and be blessed.

[feminism, patriarchy, and society]

Check out this fascinating post from Dr. Mohler concerning a recent article in Foreign Policy magazine. Here’s an excerpt:

The effects within the society are psychological as well as demographic, political, and financial. As Longman understands, declining birthrates can also affect what he calls “national temperament.” He attributes the fact that the American voting population has become more conservative in recent years to anxiety over falling birthrates. Beyond this, we must now add the fact that millions of voters, who would have been raised by more liberal parents, were simply never born.

(Emphasis mine.)

[every man a soldier, every life an epic]

I don’t normally watch a movie more than once in theaters. But today I saw Prince Caspian for the second time. I think it’s a fantastic flick, and what really gets me is the size of it. It’s a BIG movie: the armies, the battles, the minotaurs, the stakes… everything about it is huge. Musing on the film over the past few days, I found myself wishing I was part of some epic struggle, to be an honorable soldier in a noble cause. Then I realized how foolish this was… because every day, if seen rightly, we go to war:

1. Against indwelling sin that abides in our flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13

John Owen writes,

The saints, whose souls breathe after deliverance from its [i.e., sin's] perplexing rebellion, know there is no safety against it but in a constant warfare.

2. Against philosophies, ideologies, worldviews, and heresies that are contrary to true knowledge of God.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

This is the task of apologetics, and it begins in our own hearts, taking every thought captive.

3. Against spiritual forces of evil.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10-12

Paul identifies two great ends of the struggle which the forces of evil endeavor unceasingly to short-circuit: the believer’s endurance (6:13), and the bold proclamation of the Gospel (6:18-20).

4. Against complacency, to remain faithful to Christ in daily life.

Paul uses warfare language extensively in his two letters of encouragement and exhortation to the young preacher Timothy.

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12

C.S. Lewis has written that the Chronicles of Narnia are not intended as allegory in the same way as, say, Pilgrim’s Progress. But for the Christian reader, or viewer, the resonance of the stories’ characters and themes for the life of faith is undeniable. What I love about the Chronicles is not that they provide escape to a fantastic world so much as they remind us what is important in the actual world.

We live life every second coram Deo, ‘before the face of God’. Our every action, word, thought is endued with eternal consequences. Our lives matter; they are significant! When you read your Bible, or pray, or share the Gospel with a friend; when you write a poem, or critically analyze the worldview presented in a movie; when you relate differently to a parent or friend or boyfriend/girlfriend because of the principles of Scripture- you go to war, noble, broken Christian, with the power of the Holy Spirit, in the greatest cause of all: the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said,

From the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of heaven has been coming violently, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

Who are these, the “violent”? John Gill comments,

[Those] being powerfully wrought upon under the ministry of the Gospel; who were under violent apprehensions of wrath and vengeance, of their lost and undone state and condition by nature; were violently in love with Christ, and eagerly desirous of salvation by him, and communion with him; and had their affections set upon the things of another world: these having the Gospel preached to them, which is a declaration of God’s love to sinners, a proclamation of peace and pardon, and a publication of righteousness and life by Christ, they greedily catched at it, and embraced it.

O that we would be violently in love with Christ, and wage the good warfare because of it!