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#d.a. carson
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We are lost when human opinion means more to us than God's.
D.A. Carson
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icannotbejondenden47 · 2 months
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The miracles Jesus performs…do not compel faith; but those with faith will perceive their significance.
D.A. Carson
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christ-our-glory · 2 years
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Thomas was doubting Christ’s resurrection (John 20:25), while Peter sank while walking on top of a body of water (Matthew 14:28-31) and he also denied Christ three times (John 18:15-18; John 18:25-27). We will all struggle with our faith at times. As we are told in Scripture, Christ told a man, “All things are possible to him who believes,” and the man replied, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:23-24). That man knew he had faith, but it wasn’t what it should’ve been.
No one has perfect faith, there’s always room for growth; not even Christ’s apostles had perfect faith. Thankfully, it’s not about us but it’s all about Him. As D.A. Carson said, it’s not about “the intensity, or the clarity, of the faith exercised. But [we are saved] on the ground of the blood of the Lamb.”
I like how John Owen put it, “A little faith is no less faith than a great faith; yea, a little faith will carry a man as safely to heaven, though not so comfortably, nor so fruitfully, as a great faith.”
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gospelborn · 11 days
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The Best Arguments for Cessationism (Pt. 2)
This is part two of The Best Cessationist Arguments (See The Best Arguments for Continuationism) (More) Biblical Arguments First, when considering whether or not we should expect miracles, healings, and exorcisms to be performed today in the same way it was performed in the time of Jesus and the apostles, we should realize (1) how rare these kinds of miracles are in Scripture and (2) what…
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yieldfruit · 5 months
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[Repentance] is not a merely intellectual change of mind or mere grief, still less doing penance, but a radical transformation of the entire person, a fundamental turnaround involving mind and action and including overtones of grief, which result in (spiritual) fruit.
D.A. Carson
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wisdomfish · 7 months
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Seems many preachers fall into one of two categories:
Those who only want to talk about God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, love, and all the things God wants to do for them. Many of these individuals could be considered “health and wealth” or “prosperity preachers.” They only want to teach on the blessings.
Others who only want to talk about God’s justice, holiness, wrath, anger, judgment, and punishment. We call these “fire and brimstone” preachers. They only want to teach on the woes.
But Jesus taught on both. He discussed the Narrow Gate that leads to life, and the Wide Gate that leads to destruction (Matt 7:13-14). In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus He explained the comfort of Abraham’s Bosom and the torment of hell. He was a balanced teacher!
Or at least it seems that way at first… 
[Jesus spoke] twice as often of hell as of heaven. ~ D.A. Carson
[Jesus] spoke more often about hell than he did about heaven. We cannot get around this fact. ~ Leon Morris
Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven in order to warn men of its reality. ~ John MacArthur
But while I can’t say Jesus was a balanced teacher, I can say He was a loving teacher.
~ Scott LaPierre
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creativewaygrace · 8 months
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D.A. Carson-The price of diluting God's wrath is diminishing God's Holiness.
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cordeiroleao · 2 years
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"As pessoas vivem vidas fragmentadas, não pensando mais em si mesmas em termos de alguns papéis básicos (por exemplo, cristão, pai, advogado). Em vez disso, sua identidade constantemente muda de forma na medida em que passam por uma série de episódios da vida que não estão firmemente conectados. Estão sempre prontos a mudar de direção, abandonar sem escrúpulos os compromissos e as lealdades e buscar — com base em custos e benefícios — a melhor oportunidade que se lhes apresenta."
- O Evangelho no centro, D.A Carson e Timothy Keller, Pág 15 Kindle.
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thedalatribune · 7 months
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© Paolo Dala
The Theology Of Sleeping
Somewhere near the beginning of my Christian life, I started associating sleeplessness with godliness. And for understandable reasons.
The sluggard of Proverbs has long lived as a vivid character in my imagination - that buffoon who flops on his bed “as a door turns on its hinges” (Proverbs 26:14), who answers his mother’s fourth knock with a mumble: “A little sleep, a little slumber . . .” (Proverbs 6:10). Then, positively, I read of psalmists who prayed at midnight and woke before dawn (Psalm 119:62, 147) — and of a Savior who rose “very early” (Mark 1:35) and sometimes passed the night without a wink (Luke 6:12).
Stories from church history also cast a shadow over my bed. I read with wonder how Hudson Taylor sometimes rose at 2:00am to read and pray until 4:00am (Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, 243). George Whitefield, too, was known to begin his day well before dawn, sometimes finishing both his devotions and his first sermon by 6:00am (George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant, 196). And didn’t the Puritans get just a few hours of sleep a night? The post-Puritan William Law seemed to capture the spirit of the godliest saints when he spoke of “renouncing sleep” to redeem the time (When I Don’t Desire God, 160).
Under such influences, I tried many times to carve off minutes and sometimes hours from my nightly routine, attempting to find the smallest amount of sleep I could get without losing essential functions. I greeted many midnights and dark mornings. I experimented with elaborate alarm clocks. I traded my pillow for cups of coffee.
And all the while, I did not always take seriously all that God says about sleep. I did not realize that “sometimes,” as D.A. Carson puts it, “the godliest thing you can do in the universe is get a good night’s sleep”
For all the biblical passages that hallow sleeplessness, perhaps just as many sanctify sleep. In Proverbs, the same father who warns his son about the dangers of “a little sleep” also assures him that wisdom gives good rest (Proverbs 3:24). Alongside the psalmists who praise God at midnight are others who praise him in the morning after a sound night of slumber (Psalm 3:5).
And in the Gospels, one of the more remarkable images of our Savior is of him in a storm-tossed, wave-battered boat, “asleep on the cushion” (Mark 4:37–38). He could stay up all night when needed, but he was not above taking a nap the next day.
Perhaps the most striking endorsement of sleep, however, comes from the simple fact that God made us this way. Scripture gives no indication that our need for nightly rest began in Genesis 3. And in fact, before the fruit was taken from the tree, before the weariness of sin weighed down the world, Adam slept (Genesis 2:21). Sleep, it seems, is no fallen necessity, nor merely a fleshly temptation, but a divine gift. Both then and now, God “gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2).
And therefore, though occasions come when we must renounce sleep for the sake of something greater, Scripture gives us a more positive default posture: in Christ, God teaches us to redeem sleep. He brings our beds back to Eden, where we learn to receive sleep as healer, teacher, giver, and servant...
Perhaps a friend in need asks for a late-night phone call, or a small-group member needs an early-morning ride to the airport. Perhaps a child cries from down the hall, or a spouse just needs to talk. Perhaps hospitality ran late, or some crucial decision requires a midnight consultation with our Lord. Either way, in the face of such needs, we kindly thank sleep for its services and then dismiss it as the servant God made it to be.
When we leave our beds to walk in love, we do not leave our God. His help is stronger than sleep’s healing, his wisdom deeper than sleep’s teaching, his generosity greater than sleep’s giving. He can sustain us in our sleeplessness and, in his good time, give again to his beloved sleep.
Scott Hubbard The Godliness of a Good Night's Sleep
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the-great-exchange · 2 years
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An astonishing proof of human perversity is to be found in our remarkable ability to transform high moral tone into legalistic self-righteousness and moral smugness.
- D.A. Carson, God with Us
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"If the love of Christ for the church is the standard of the husbands love for his wife, the least that this standard means is that the love must be self-sacrificial and for her good, for that is the way Christ loved the church. Always, therefore, the Christian husband must be thinking of expressing his love for his wife not only in terms of the characteristics found in 1 Corinthians 13, but with these two immensely practical tests: In what ways am I diligently seeking her good? And how is this pursuit of her good costing me something, prompting me to sacrifice something, as an expression of my love for her – in exactly the same way that the Savior sought the church’s good at the cost of His life?" - D.A. Carson
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icannotbejondenden47 · 7 months
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All of us would be wiser if we would resolve never to put people down, except on our prayer lists. D.A. Carson
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tylertheevangelist · 11 months
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What Makes Us Righteous? An Explanation of Imputed And Personal Righteousness
What Makes Us Righteous? An Explanation of Imputed And Personal Righteousness
The Bible seems to give different answers for what exactly is required of us to be righteous. Is it simply trusting in Jesus apart from and without any works? (Romans 3:28, Romans 4:5, Romans 5:1, Galatians 2:16, Phillipians 3:9, Ephesians 2:8-9) Or, is it "obeying the law" (Romans 2:13) and doing what is righteous? (1 John 3:7.) It can be confusing for the casual reader or the new Christian to parse these apparent discrepancies and understand their actual meaning. The key is to understand that there are two different categories of righteousness: imputed (or positional) righteousness and practical (or personal) righteousness. 
Imputed Righteousness 
The first category of righteousness is through faith, apart from any work or effort. As soon as you trust in Christ, as soon as you believe the gospel, you are imputed with the righteousness of Jesus. The Bible has many different analogies for this: the garment of salvation (Isaiah 61:10), the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), a wedding garment (Matthew 22:1-14), becoming the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is also represented by the story of Joseph's robe (Genesis 37:3), the animal hides with which God covers Adam and Eve – after killing an animal to represent Jesus’ sacrifice (Genesis 3:21) – and even being "in Christ" (Ephesians 1:12).
Imputed righteousness is required for our salvation because, of the two kinds of righteousness, it is the only way to attain complete righteousness. That is, it's the only righteousness that is perfect righteousness. The book of James teaches that if you keep the whole law, but fail in one point, you are guilty of breaking the whole law. In other words, if you don't obey 100 percent of God's law, it's as if you have not obeyed any of it (James 2:10). Paul echoes this point when he warns us that if we don't continue to do everything God's law says and follow all of its dictates, we are under God's curse (Galatians 3:10, Deuteronomy 27:26). It's all or nothing; complete obedience or none. This is confirmed further by Romans 2:6 which states that it is not the hearers of the law who are justified in God's sight, but the doers of the law. But, per James and Galatians, the only way to be a successful “doer of the law” is to fulfill it perfectly and flawlessly; which, according to the very next chapter of Romans, no one actually does (Romans 3:10-12,19).
So yes, the “doers of the law” are justified in the sight of God – the problem is that there aren't any perfect doers of the law, except Christ. He kept the law perfectly: from the time He was born till the moment He died. When we place our faith in Christ, His righteousness, His perfect record, His perfect life lived, His flawless doing of the law, is given to us like a garment or robe or animal hide, through which we are seen by the Father to be as righteous as Christ. All of this is afforded us apart from and without any works or effort (Romans 3:28, Romans 4:5, Romans 5:1, Galatians 2:16, Phillipians 3:9, Ephesians 2:8-9). We are positionally righteous because Christ’s righteousness was imputed to us by grace alone, through faith alone. Thus we are legally righteous in the court of heaven; we are declared righteous/justified by the Father because we adorn the flawless life of Jesus. But this adornment is external to us, and although the Father sees us as perfectly righteous because of it, it does not render us personally righteous. Beneath Jesus’ robe, there is still work to be done.
Personal / Practical Righteousness 
The second type of righteousness is attained through faith and works together, and with great effort. D.A. Carson says that "people do not drift towards holiness; apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate towards godliness, prayer, obedience to scripture, faith." Whereas imputed righteousness is given without works and is flawless and complete, personal righteousness requires works and is imperfect and incomplete. It's something that increases, grows, and improves. It requires continuous application; it’s something we practice and get better at. Some pastors and theologians call this process of growth and improvement the process of sanctification, although I prefer to call it the process of transformation. Whichever term you prefer, the bottom line is that although we are positionally and legally righteous in the eyes of the Father, although we have on the robe of righteousness and possess the perfect record of Jesus—which is the sole basis of our complete acceptance by the Father—still we are not perfectly righteous personally.
On the ground, we fall short; in other words, we aren't righteous practically. Neither our intentions, nor our thoughts and motives, nor our actions and behavior, are completely and perfectly righteous. Practically speaking, we are partially and imperfectly righteous, albeit slowly growing and increasing and becoming more fully righteous, usually in a “four steps forward and two steps back” fashion. It is tantamount, however, to understand that the reason that God accepts our flawed personal and practical righteousness – and rewards us for it – is because our acceptance is based solely on the righteousness of Jesus. If all we possessed were our personal obedience and righteousness, we would still be guilty of breaking the whole law (James 2:10) and be accursed (Galatians 3:10) – God would reject us! But since we are accepted by perfect imputed righteousness, our motivation to grow in personal/practical righteousness is not for acceptance but from acceptance. God will reward us for our partial righteousness because it counts "above and beyond" the perfect righteousness and obedience gifted to us from Jesus. 
In the parable of the vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-16) everyone is “paid” the same and in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30,) all the servants who were saved/born again (as evidenced by their fruit of doing something with the talents they were given,) were welcomed into the joy of their Lord. In both of these parables all of them getting the same result—either all getting “paid” the same in the former or “welcomed into the joy of their Lord” in the latter—represents them being welcomed into heaven based on imputed righteousness. In Luke’s account of the parable of the talents (Luke 19:11-27,) however, each person is rewarded based on what they did with their talents. They are made rulers over different amounts of cities based on their level of faithfulness with what they had been given, this is a reference to personal/practical righteousness. We are welcomed into God’s presence in heaven solely on imputed righteousness but we are rewarded in heaven based on what we did. (Romans 2:6,Revelation 22:12, 2 Corinthians 5:10.) The former determines that we get in and the latter determines the rewards we receive once we get in. The former is about where we will be, the latter about what we will have. We aren’t rewarded with God’s presence, we are rewarded in God’s presence. 
The New Birth
As I said above, practical/personal righteousness does involve effort and work, but it is a grace-driven effort and work which would not be possible without the new birth i.e. being born again. While the first category of righteousness is tied to and closely related to justification (imputed righteousness being its basis), practical righteousness is tied to and closely related to the new birth. While justification and the new birth do occur simultaneously – when you believe the gospel – the primary source of practical righteousness is the new birth. Through the new birth, not only are you cleansed of all your sin, idols, and filthiness, you are also given a new heart and the Holy Spirit, who compels you to strive for personal obedience and righteousness (Ezekiel 36:25-27), albeit imperfectly. And yet the question remains: are you righteous?
Are You Righteous?
This is a loaded question, but one that becomes simpler when we appreciate the distinctions between imputed and personal righteousness. If asking about the former, the answer is yes: in the eyes of the Father, I have the perfect record of Jesus’ life; I stand before the Father in the garment of salvation and in the robe of righteousness; I am completely, fully, and perfectly righteous legally and positionally; God has declared me righteous; I am justified. If asking about the latter, the answer is partially. I have experienced the new birth; I have been given a new heart, therefore new affections; I have been given the Holy Spirit, who leads me to obedience; I have become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:7). On the other hand, I still have my sin nature (Romans 7:24-25) which my new heart, my new spirit, my new nature, almost constantly fights against (Galatians 5:16-22).
With respect to imputed righteousness, I am righteous; with respect to personal righteousness, I am neither perfectly, nor completely, nor flawlessly righteous in my intentions, thoughts, motives or actions. I am growing and working to become more righteous in those areas; but no, I am not personally fully righteous. Yet by the grace of God and miracle of the new birth, I have a level of personal righteousness that has been increasing since I first met Jesus. 
Objection: 1 John Refutes Imputed Righteousness 
Occasionally when I communicate that I am righteous based on the imputed righteousness of Jesus, I receive pushback based on a few verses in 1 John. Most often the verse quoted is 1 John 3:7, which says that whoever practices righteousness is righteous, implying that doing righteous things is the cause of righteousness. To read the verse this way is to read it backwards. It is not teaching that practicing righteousness causes you to be righteous; rather, it states that one who has been made righteous – both positionally and completely by imputation, and partially and personally by the new birth – will practice righteousness.
Practicing righteousness does not lead to righteousness; being made righteous leads to practicing righteousness. The practice of righteousness is an effect of having been made righteous, in both senses. The subsequent verses clarify that whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God (1 John 3:10), because such a person lacks the righteousness of Jesus and has not been born again – the prerequisites of practical righteousness. However, the person who possesses the righteousness of Jesus and has been born of God does practice righteousness (1 John 2:29) – not in order to become righteous but because they are righteous, both fully and completely by imputation, and partially and incompletely through the new birth and grace-driven effort. 
As perfect as the Father, as righteous as Jesus and more righteous than the Pharisees
Jesus said to be as perfect the Father (Matthew 5:48); Peter said to be as holy as God in all of our conduct (1 Peter 1:16); and Jesus said our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees or we will not enter the kingdom (Matthew 5:20). Although these are perplexing statements, our new understanding of the two categories of righteousness empowers us to gain much deeper insight into them than before. We can be as perfect as the Father only by imputed righteousness; we can strive to be as holy as God in our conduct by the miracle of the new birth and personal/practical righteousness. Indeed our righteousness can surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees because we have something they did not: the perfect righteousness of Jesus. We have been given a new heart and have therefore become personally and practically "obedient from the heart" (Romans 6:17), unlike those who honored the Lord with their lips but whose hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8).
I am as perfect as the Father because I have Jesus' righteousness; I am striving to be as holy  as God in my conduct because I have a new heart and the Holy Spirit leading me to strive toward that goal. In the first category of righteousness, my righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees because I have the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He obeyed the law perfectly; they did not. And in the second category also, my righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees because my obedience comes from the heart; theirs did not.
So am I righteous?
Yes – fully and partially – and I am getting there. 
One Last Thought: Why Does The Bible Say To Be As Holy As God?
The Bible says to be as perfect and as holy as God for two reasons. First, to reveal to us the impossibility of actually accomplishing that and thereby our need to have His righteousness imputed to us. Second, to motivate us to strive towards personal and practical holiness and righteousness.
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eclecticsuitcoffee · 1 year
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Good Friday Quotes
Good Friday is an important holiday observed by Christians around the world. It commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of humanity.
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here are some famous quotes from the Bible:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." - Psalm 23:1
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13
"Love your neighbor as yourself." - Mark 12:31
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
Some Famous Good Friday Quotes in the below;
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"By the cross we, too, are crucified with Christ; but alive in Christ. We are no more rebels, but servants; no more servants, but sons!" - Frederic Farrar
"It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father's will - and it was his love for sinners like me." - D.A. Carson
"The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God's wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers." - A.W. Tozer
"Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection." - Watchman Nee
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wisdomfish · 7 months
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[Jesus spoke] twice as often of hell as of heaven.
D.A. Carson
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creativewaygrace · 1 year
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Genuine spirituality cannot live long without an attitude that is homesick for heaven, that lives with eternity's values in view, that eagerly awaits Jesus return, that anticipates the day when Christ himself will bring everything under his control and will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
D.A. Carson 
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