Martin Luther on Romans 12:1
This past weekend I read a chapter entitled “Compelled By Love” in Jerry Bridges’ book Transforming Grace. In the chapter Bridges quotes Martin Luther on Romans 12:1 and I thought it was too good not to post here.
“A lawdriver insists with threats and penalties; a preacher of grace lures and incites with divine goodness and compassion shown to us; for he wants no unwilling works or reluctant services, he wants joyful and delightful services of God.”
While I’m writing about Jerry Bridges I should mention that he appears in several promotional videos for the upcoming Desiring God national conference. You can find the videos here.
Tags: quotes, grace, Martin Luther, Jerry Bridges
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What’s Playing On My iPod This Week?
This week was not a big music week for me. However I’ve been listening to the weekly White Horse Inn podcast for a few months now and I highly recommend it. The White Horse Inn website describes the program in this way:
[The White Horse Inn] is a nationally syndicated radio broadcast featuring regular round-table discussions on faith, culture and apologetics. Hosted by Michael Horton, Ken Jones, Kim Riddlebarger, and Rod Rosenbladt, the White Horse Inn aims each week to equip Christians to “know what they believe and why they believe it.”
Though the hosts have different denominational and ethnic backgrounds, the White Horse Inn unites itself on the principle slogans of the Protestant Reformation, such as the sufficiency of Scripture, salvation by grace alone through faith alone by Christ alone, and the importance of a God-centered, rather than human-centered outlook. By renewed attention to these classic and central themes on a weekly basis, it is the aim of the White Horse Inn to bring health and vigor to a church that appears to have in some ways lost its sense of missions.
This year’s theme on the White Horse Inn is “A Time for Truth” which means the hosts discuss aspects of the “Solas” of the Reformation in each episode. If you want to get a feel for the show I suggest checking out the episode from August 19th entitled “Sin & Grace in the Christian Life”. The show’s producer interviewed attendees at a Christian conference and asked them what would happen to a Christian who died with unconfessed sin.
Links: The White Horse Inn Official Site, The White Horse Inn @ Oneplace.com
Tags: podcasts, theology, Christianity
The Gospel is for Christians Too
A seminary friend recently recounted a story one of his professors told to his class. A young woman who had been raised in a hyper-calvinist church began attending the church which the professor was pastoring. Eventually the woman became a member of the church and after some time approached the professor and said “Sometimes I wish I was an unbeliever”. The professor asked why she would say something like this and her reply was, “Because it seems from your preaching that unbelievers can have Christ for free”. The implication of the woman’s statement was that professor’s preaching gave the hearers the impression that they, as believers, still had work or “pay” to gain Christ.
How true that woman’s statement, and its implication, is for so much of the preaching that goes on in our churches! We forget that the gospel is for both unbelievers and believers. Remember what Paul wrote to the church at Rome?
“So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Rom. 1:15).
Paul was eager to preach the gospel to Christans! And we need to hear it because all too often we try to go back to relating to God based on our own performance and not the performance of Christ.
Free Audio from Sovereign Grace Ministries
Sovereign Grace Ministries has made all of the audio (300+ messages) in their online store available to download for free. There are messages by people like C.J. Mahaney (obviously), Al Mohler, R.C. Sproul, and John Piper and from the New Attitude and Together for the Gospel conferences.
Free Download: The Ringing Bell - Derek Webb
I was reading through the liner notes of Derek Webb’s (myspace, iTunes) newest album, The Ringing Bell, and noticed something very interesting. After a blurb about the type of guitars Derek uses there’s the following statement:
“I wholly support and encourage the free distribution and consumption of music. Please share this record.”
I love when artists and record companies aren’t afraid to do something like this.
Download: The Ringing Bell by Derek Webb (zip file, 30 MB).
Tags: free music, Derek Webb
