TweetNotes for @Challies Sexual Detox: A Guide For Guys Who Are Sick of Porn

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to review Tim Challies helpful little booklet Sexual Detox.  It truly is one of the most helpful little resources to give to guys that are struggling with porn/lust and want to find help. 

Here are the TweetNotes for the book. 

1: We live in a porn-saturated world w/real God-denying & soul-crushing consequences.  #makewar

2: Marriage doesn’t solve your porn problem any more than clothing a monkey makes it a human.  #heartchangerequired

3: Contra @Dobson & @Perkins masturbation is sinful as it pollutes the mind and leads to isolation #guilt&shameasignofgrace

4: Sex is good b/c it motivates joyful obedience, strengthens the husband’s leadership, & enhances true freedom #sexisgoodnotGod

5: Knowing what sex is & is not provides a biblical basis for answering the “Can we _____?” questions

6: Seeing yourself & your porn problem w/God’s eyes motivates you to pursue freedom by turning from sin to Christ

You can purchase the book here.  Or the E-book here.

Quick Review of Two Quality Books To Help In Our Battle Against Pornography

The LORD will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.  (Zephaniah 2:11)

In the Lord’s war to dethrone idols and capture the heart of his bride there are few idols that are more alluring in our culture than sinful sex and pornography.  In fact pornography/adultery/lust is so ensnaring and so deadly that whole chapters of Proverbs are dedicated to it.  The typical advice isn’t “gird up yourself and fight this thing” it is usually “run away” (run towards Jesus). 

To help us wage war in this battle the Lord has seen fit to provide the church with two recent books.  These books are both excellent and will assist believers to do battle against porn. 

Wired for Intimacy By William Struthers

Of the two books this one is more technical and more detailed.  It is also more scientific than it is biblical (not to say that it is non-biblical).  Struthers’ main thesis in this book is that pornography literally hi-jacks the brain.  When men view pornography it creates a connection in their brain.  This connection robs them of their own identity and it also objectifies women that are created in the image of God. 

This book helps men to see that they are not only dealing with the present temptation to view pornography but they are dealing with an entrenched pattern in their brain.  At a certain point you probably cannot simply say “no”.  Your brain needs to be rewired.  You need to start thinking of women differently. 

As I read through, Wired for Intimacy, it helped me to understand things about my own journey and battle in this area.  This is an area in my life that the Lord delivered me from years ago.  But this book helps me to see that there is more to the battle than simply “don’t look at porn”.  There is a rewiring of the brain that has to take place and a relearning of how to view members of the opposite sex.  This book not only aims at convincing people that pornography is dangerous it also helps to identify the battle. 

One area where I found this book somewhat weak is in the area of healing.  There is a chapter dedicated to rewiring and sanctification.  That chapter is helpful but in my opinion it is not complete.  You almost need an entire book on rewiring.  Or to put it another way you need a book on sexual detox…

Sexual Detox by Tim Challies

Tim Challies has written this book not to convince you that pornography is wrong but to “move you to believe biblical truth about sexuality and have these beliefs determine your decisions”.  It is written to guys that are doing battle with pornography, hate it, and want to stop.  It’s written for guys that want sexual detox and the healing that Struthers points to in his book.

Challies’ book is short and succinct, and that is one of it’s greatest perks.  Guys need a resource that they can easily digest.  They need something that they will remember and something that will be a part of them as they wage war.  This book will help you do battle in those saner moments when you are not being bombarded with the temptation to lust.  In fact this book will probably be used by the Lord to rewire your heart and brain in such a way that those bombardments are perhaps less violent. 

The book has six short chapters that each have questions at the end.  Thus making this book perfect for a small group of guys to go through or even one on one settings.  It is an invaluable resource to the church.  Challies does a tremendous job of being honest about the struggle and at the same time truthful in applying the Scriptures.  He not only dethrones the idol of pornography but he also exalts the God-given gift of marital sex. 

Summary:

If you only have the change to buy one of these books get Challies.  It is such a tremendous resource.  Pastors should order about ten copies of the book and keep them for counseling sessions.  It is immensely helpful. 

Buy Wired for Intimacy

Buy Sexual Detox

UPDATE: There is a new book out by Heath Lambert, Finally Free, which looks really good. I have not yet read it in full--so I cannot review. But I would suggest buying that book as well. 

Buy Finally Free 

The Pain of Being Blackballed by @Challies and @TGC: The TRUTH Comes Out

Yesterday, I lamented my having been blackballed by Tim Challies and the Reformed Illuminati known as The Gospel Coalition.  Through years of faithful blogging I have been disregarded and mostly unnoticed. 

Hopefully you caught the humor in what I was doing and nobody actually took me serious.  I love Tim Challies, The Gospel Coaltion, and all those involved.  I’d be part of the Reformed Illuminati if they’d let me in.  I wrote what I did yesterday because I hoped to make a point today.  (Hopefully my point is not lost on anything that I wrote yesterday). 

Proverbs 18:17 says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him”. 

Everything that I said yesterday could, theoretically, be true.  It really could be possible that there is a conspiracy within the ranks of Challies and TGC.  They really could have read my stuff and somehow decided that I am a dangerous blogger that they should not give an audience to.  It really is possible.  And if you only read my side of the story from my very limited perspective (and if I hadn’t written it in such a ridiculous fashion) then you very well could have bought into this little conspiracy theory. 

Reality

There are two possibilities, though, that I absolutely refuse to accept that would refute my conspiracy theory.  The first possibility is that Challies and TGC have actually read a few of my posts and they are simply not up to the quality that they would like to feature on their blog.  Maybe my writin’ ain’t good enuf. 

A second possibility is that even though I follow Challies, TGC, and others on Twitter and Facebook and even though they may have me as a “friend” on their facebook account, or have seen my name appear on comments, they actually have no idea who I am.  They have honestly never read my blog.  Maybe an article here or there, but not enough to actually catch their attention.  They aren’t snubbing me—they just don’t know I exist.

What about Challies not saying hi to me at Band of Bloggers?  First of all, I doubt very seriously he would even know me, much less have a reason to say hi.  Secondly, I’m not sure many people on the internets even know what my face looks like.  You’d have to do some digging.  My Facebook profile is usually something ranging from Don Knotts to Gary Coleman.  And my twitter profile picture has been Ron Swanson and/or Prison Mike for the last few months.  Even if they knew my name they’d have no idea what I look like. 

My Point

Be really slow to jump on stories of conspiracy on the internet.  I have been involved in church discipline cases were it would have been wrong to have aired every aspect of a grievance.  Often times because people only hear one side of the story the assumption is that there must be some sort of mass cover up going on.  While that is certainly possible, and churches and Christian gatherings like TGC are not immune to power-gluttons, it is also quite possible that these are humble men and women that are simply using wisdom.

What appears to be “going on” is not always what is actually reality.  This does not mean that only “insiders” ought to be blogging or asking questions.  But it does mean that those who do not have a good majority of the information and are not privy to both sides in an issue should be very cautious and careful about making assumptions. 

What this also teaches us is that even in our everyday relationships we can wrongly assume that somebody is mad at us, blackballing us, ignoring us, giving us the silent treatment, etc. but in reality they have no idea what is even going on.  I have witnessed relationships be destroyed just because of a perceived offense or snub.  If you really do feel like you have offended a brother or if a brother has offended you the gospel calls us to make every effort at peace and reconciliation. 

If I really were offended or really were blackballed by Challies and TGC the method for reconciliation would not be to blog about it and expose them for all the world to hear my side of the story.  Reconciliation should happen by me emailing them and asking if my crazy theory is correct. 

Of course if I’m loony enough to believe such a conspiracy theory I am probably going to think that their gentle “no, there is no conspiracy” is really part of the conspiracy.  But at the end of the day I am still to make very effort to be at peace with them.  And if they are blackballing me (which they are not), and I have made an effort to reconcile, and then they do not reconcile, that is on them.  I don’t serve the Lord by exposing them.  I serve the Lord by praying for them and entrusting them to the work of the Holy Spirit. 

The Pain of Being Blackballed by @Challies and @TGC

I have been blogging now since 2007.  Early on I was just getting my feet wet in blogging and nobody knew who I was.  Things have changed.  I now get to blog for SBC Voices which is a massive power blog of the SBC.  Seriously, we get things done at SBC Voices.  Thanks to the leadership of the green-suited Dave Miller we are THE voice for the SBC. 

Yet as I have been faithfully plodding away writing about all things gospel there are two places my blog has yet to appear: Tim Challies and The Gospel Coalition.  NOTE: Yes, one time a quote from Andrew Fuller that I posted was linked to by Jared Wilson.  But he is not, as far as I know, part of the conspiracy.

Since 2007 I have hosted numerous giveaways and other things that are very similar to what Tim Challies usually puts on his A La Carte.  Every morning I check Tim’s blog thinking that perhaps the curse has been lifted and they will let me in to their inner-circle via a link to their blog.  And every day I get the same response—NOTHING.  I have even emailed Sir Challies and asked him to post a link to a book giveaway.  He responded with some sort of quick response—“I’ll take a look at it”.  Yeah, sure you will Tim.  You’ll look at it, laugh, and then pass it on to your cronies to laugh at as well.  (To think that I even defended Tim Challies way back in 2008.  It’s worth noting he didn’t link to this article either).

The same thing has happened on Justin Taylor’s blog and a few of the others at The Gospel Coalition.  I have commented numerous times on his blog.  And not stupid comments either.  Really high quality comments and ones that encourage him to check out my blog and bask in my awesomeness.  Yet from the ninth wonder of the internet world, known simply as JT, I received the same response as Tim Challies—NOTHING. 

One especially painful experience has been the snubbing by Trevin Wax.  A couple years ago Trevin was kind enough to offer me some linkage love on his blog Kingdom People.  Now it is hosted by The Gospel Coalition.  Has Trevin linked to me since then?  Nope.  Once he began being hosted by TGC he apparently forgot that I existed and deleted me off his list of blogs to check out. 

It has become painfully obvious to me that I must have done something to tick off the Reformed Illuminati.  They have the power in the blogosophere and these turkey’s will not share it with anyone.  I assume that those that do get linked to by Challies and Taylor and the other big guns must be in on the conspiracy somehow.  Perhaps they have towed the line and they aren’t as dangerous of a blogger as yours truly. 

I had been praying about whether or not to expose this conspiracy.  Part of me wants to just let it die and build traffic the hard way.  I went to Band of Bloggers this year in Louisville, KY.  It was represented by folks from TGC (like Justin Taylor and Colin Hansen) and Tim Challies.  I figured that I would show up and enjoy watching them get nervous in my presence.  I wondered what they would do.  Would they address it?  Would they say hi?  Would they nervously glance away? 

The Snubbing Continues at Band of Bloggers

My friend Jason and I were waiting patiently outside the portal to enter Band of Bloggers.  We showed up a little early and ended up being some of the first ones to enter.  After a couple of minutes I noticed a guy that looked eerily familiar walking up the steps.  It was none other than THE Tim Challies.  He stopped and very arrogantly stood no more than 3 feet from me.  I could not believe that he was so brazen as to do this.  After all the snubs.  He didn’t even look at me, he didn’t acknowledge my presence, he didn’t even say “Hi, Mike”.  Once again from Challies I received—NOTHING! 

Perhaps Justin Taylor or the others on Band of Bloggers would be nicer and actually mention their snubbing the little guy.  That’s okay I could have handled even a veiled apology.  What did I receive from them?  NOTHING! 

So here I am exposing the conspiracy.  I’m not going to stand for it any longer.  I’m exposing these guys and getting tons of traffic as a result.  I cannot handle their snubs any longer.  These men must be exposed for the power-gluttons that they are. 

Now that you know the backstory of why I am doing this…Tomorrow I will expose these jokers for who they really are and explain what is REALLY behind this conspiracy. 

Saturday’s Seven 4/03

Dr. Moore reminds us that Death Isn’t Natural.

I am really happy that John Piper took on this question:  Was 3 Hours of Suffering Enough?

Actually Piper news kind of dominated my Google Reader this week.  Last weekend he announced his Upcoming Leave, and towards the middle of the week he explained why he invited Rick Warren to the National’s Conference.  It is also worth reading Grace Driscoll’s response to Piper’s leave. 

I think Toby Kurth makes a wonderful point and asks an important question:  Will Gospel-Centrality Go the Way of Fundamentalism?   If the title does not catch your eye, please do yourself a favor and read it.

Read this one buy Kevin DeYoung and be sure to follow the links to Jared’s blog and the comments on JT’s blog. 

Challies (who would know) tells us how to Read More and Read Better.

Watch what Daniel Montgomery of Sojourn says about Fundamentals of the Gospel:

Gospel 101 from Sojourn Community Church on Vimeo.

There are a ton of great Good Friday/Easter posts out there—but you can find those yourself.  enjoy celebrating the Resurrection this Lord’s Day.

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 04/08-04/12

Timmy Brister has a short and succinct post on how to be a missionary at work.

I am pleased to inform you that the Reformed Mafia is back up and running. Not only that, but they have recruited a new writer: The Highland Host. Check out his first post on Monkeying with the Bible.

Last week Challies encouraged us to be accountable. Today he is encourging against being anonymous.

Phil Johnson continues discussing Acts 17 and contextualization.

John MacArthur lists eight ways that parents can provoke their children.

Carolyn and CJ Mahaney give practical advices to pastor's wives on how to deal with criticism of your husband.

On the heels of Together for the Gospel, Josh Harris, writing for New Attitude, delivers a great article on Unity in the Cross.

I have to get this CD:

(HT: Thinklings)

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 03/20-24

Wyman Richardson posts an eight-year old interview with Timothy George. (Note that the interview is 8 years old, not the person giving the interview). It is an excellent resource. I particularly like this quote: I sometimes think, "Am I a five-point Calvinist?" I like to think I'm a "66-point" Calvinist because I think it's in every book of the Bible. But, in one sense, there's only one point, and that is that God is the source of our salvation from first to last. And if you believe that, then the points become ways of understanding or explaining this or that dimension of it but not a rigid grid through which everything has to be filtered. (HT: Founders)
Find out how $20 can supply fresh water to one person in Africa for 20 years. Lord willing, I will be giving 20 bucks to this cause, consider doing the same.

Phil Johnson continues his series on contextualization. Read part two here.

For those in the Puritan Reading Challenge, Timmy Brister provides an update. The April book will be Burroughs' Rare Jewel instead of Brooks' work.

For those that do not like the "Calvinistic tendencies" on this blog, Gordan Runyan has provided you a service: Defeating Calvinistic-blogs. Feel free to cut and paste as necessary.

Sorry I didn't give you this link sooner. Tim Challies discusses becoming a better apologizer.

Great post by Rhett on Altar Calls: The New Sacrament. I have been saying this for quite some time. In fact I have wanted to put together several posts comparing modern evangelicalism (or, heck, even Southern Baptist) with Roman Catholicism.

C.J. Mahaney and Jeff Purswell again treat us to the Leadership Series Interviews. Check out the latest installment on the Early-Morning Spiritual Battles.

Dan Phillips discusses Tim Keller's way of preaching on hell. It is an interesting article. I'm not sure if I agree more with Keller or Phillips. (My style probably matches Phillips, however). Be sure to read it and check out the comments too.

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 03/04-06

Google is really popular. I love Google. I use Google. But I am sure that some/many of the folks at Google need Jesus. My heart was happy to hear of Tim Keller receiving the opportunity to preach the gospel at the Google HQ. Justin Buzzard was there and blogged on Keller's message. What an awesome opportunity, I pray that the Holy Spirit preached the gospel to their hearts. (HT: Challies)

Tim Bayly asks Where Have All the Father's Gone? It's a pretty good article and makes the way for really good discussion. Maybe all of the suggestions are not the best, but it is a great article. (HT: Jared Wilson)

C.J. Mahaney points to an address by Jeff Purswell. In it he gives a humbling and earth-shattering statement to those of us that preach the gospel, "You are a standing in the very stead of God".

Eric Simmons has wonderful suggestions on how to pick a movie. His goal is to offer suggestions to help reduce these moments: "Have you ever had that really uncomfortable and convicting sense after watching a movie? You think, “Uh, that one might’ve been a mistake” or “I’m not so sure I should’ve watched that..."

Joshua Hitchcock of the Reformed Mafia gives us a great article and encouragement to not minimize the gospel. Great reminder of the Puritan culture and their refusal to minimize the gospel.

Tim Challies has a touching story about what it means to love our neighbor (even if they are a nuisance) without grumbling.

Is it possible to have masculinity without manhood? Albert Mohler comments on that question. I particularly like his closing statement: "We lie to ourselves if we believe that we can hold onto a healthy masculinity without honoring true manhood."

Michael Patton asks a very important question, Can a Christian Theology Allow for Abortion?

In our guys Bible study we are studying the Book of Job. A great question that comes out of that would be, how could I have joy if I had the afflictions of Job? C.J. Mahaney attempts to answer that question, Finding Joy in Adversity.

Calvinists beware! Many of us across the blogosphere have our ears open for the rumblings of the upcoming John 3:16 Conference. Tom Ascol throws the first challenge, encouraging us to listen and not get our tulips all ruffled. Nathan Finn also joins the conversation, here.

Perry Noble gives 5 things you should never hear from a staff member.

John Piper makes a clarification on a statement he made at The Resurgence. What is his view on Arminians in education? Find out here.

Should I find this funny?

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/23

Tony Kummer encourages nursery workers by highlighting seven reasons why nursery work is vital to your church's ministry.

Timmy Brister is blogspotting the Puritan Reading Challenge. There are several links here to people that have taken the challenge and are blogging through it. I was excited to see that Borrowed Light is on that list. Thanks for the link Timmy!

Yesterday I linked to Michael Spencer's 12 Calvinists 12 Churches question. Today (actually last night) Spencer gave his response.

Frank Turk has an excellent article on....I guess you could say the problem of evil. But it cuts much deeper. It deals with depravity. It deals with our response to "sinners". Here is a wonderful excerpt: "So to ask the question, "Why does God allow?" has to go back to the issue of "What is God allowing?" The glib answer to the question is, "God is allowing evil deeds," but in fact God is allowing us to prove that we are what He has said we are. God tells us we are sinners -- and has provided the perfect Law to prove it to us. And in that, the solution God has on-tap is wrath against sin." Read more...

Challies addresses discouragement with the Church and encourages us to keep our Hand to the Plow.

Finally, John Piper has responded to the article A Common Word Between Us and You. Piper expresses his disappointment with many (some of his friends) that signed the document. I too was shocked to see some of the names that signed this article. Piper, as always, does an excellent job of displaying Christ as the supreme treasure for the nations, and helps us see the deception and lack of help this article provides. The video below is about 9 minutes but it is wonderful:

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/21

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Early on John Piper challenged us to Not Waste the MLK Weekend. Piper also quoted at length from King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. MLK's full I Have A Dream speech is accessible at the bottom of this post. It is such an amazing speech. Only 1600 words but riveting. (HT: JT) Said at Southern has numerous links today on Racism, Christianity, and America.

Last day of Challies blog tour. Today he visits Sharper Iron. They asks, "How does Scripture tell us to view discernment as a step of rational thought guided by the Holy Spirit, rather than a supra-rational sixth sense?" Find the answer here.

Over the weekend Justin Taylor interviewed Tim Keller. If you are not familiar with Keller you should be.

Phil Johnson continues his series on Total Depravity. Today he considers In What Sense is Depravity Total. A great summation is this statement: "Human depravity is "total" in the same sense death is total. You can't be partly dead. You can be really, really sick or critically injured and on life support, but you're either dead or alive. There are no degrees of death." The Weekly Does of Spurgeon is centered upon the point of depravity as well. In this excerpt Spurgeon discusses How Depravity Necessitates Election.

Fred from Of First Importance shares this excellent quote by Alfred Poirier: “In light of God’s judgment and justification of the sinner in the cross of Christ, we can begin to discover how to deal with any and all criticism. By agreeing with God’s criticism of me in Christ’s cross, I can face any criticism man may lay against me. In other words, no one can criticize me more than the cross has. If you thus know yourself as having been crucified with Christ, then you can respond to any criticism, even mistaken or hostile criticism, without bitterness, defensiveness, or blame shifting. Such responses typically exacerbate and intensify conflict, and lead to the rupture of relationships. You can learn to hear criticism as constructive and not condemnatory because God has justified you.”

J.D. Hatfield discusses Moving On sometimes in evangelism.

Here is the "I Have a Dream Speech":

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/18

Apparently TULIP's have thorns. At least that seems to be the conclusion reached by many in the "old-guard" of the SBC. Recently 15 Evangelists (why this is BP News I'm not sure) met to discuss the growing movement of Calvinism in the SBC. Apparently its costing them jobs. Tom Ascol responds here. Also, a Christianity Today article was written on the rise of Calvinism within the SBC. Within that article Frank Page (resisting the urge to add an adjective here) commented: "The totality of history shows the vast majority of Baptists have not been [Calvinists], so why go back to the founders?" Page said. "I think we need to go back to the Bible." Timmy Brister responds here. (HT: JT)

Challies Blog Tour reaches Day 10. Today he is interviewed by Jonathan Leeman from Church Matters (the 9Marks blog). He asked these two questions: Tim, from your perspective as a layperson, what steps would you like to see more pastors taking to grow in discernment? And, Are there specific areas of church life and pastoring in which you find yourself wishing pastors would exercise greater discernment? Answers here.

Challies also writes a very good article on considering non-Christians "the enemy". Why do some churches rarely see baptisms? Challies belief is that, "...the real problem in these churches was in their attitude towards the unbeliever. The person next door was the enemy, a person to be feared for what he might do to the family, and the children in particular, and thus someone to be regarded with distrust and suspicion rather than with love."

The Wall Street Journal has ran a very interesting and quite ridiculous article on church discipline. It is, thankfully, making a "comeback" in many churches. It should not come as a surprise that it will start getting attacked by the world and less biblically minded believers. (HT: Denny Burk)

David Heim has a good article on Children's Sermons. (HT: Transforming Sermons)

Phil Johnson, from Pyromaniacs, continues his series on Total Depravity. Here is a snippet: "We are born into this world as thoroughgoing sinners, not merely tainted a little bit by sin, but completely, hopelessly in bondage to it. Every aspect of our being mind, emotions, desires, and even our physical constitution,is corrupted, controlled, and disfigured by sin and its effects. No one escapes from that verdict. We are totally depraved."

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/17

Steve Camp is concerned that many Christian men are more concerned about niceness than truth. His main contention is that these men are, "...toy-soldiers [that] carry what I call 'a velvet covered sword.' It's lightweight, easy to wield, isn't designed for battle, takes little strength to lift it, looks inviting, and won't cut too deep for fear of offending too greatly. " Also central to Camp's argument is this statement: "But in our day, postmodern evangelicalism would have us place tone above truth, demeanor above doctrine, feelings before faith, and embrace the comfort of the retreat rather than the campaign of the battlefield."

Challies blog tour reaches Day 9 and finds itself at the home of the IMonk. As Challies sums it up IMonk asks, "questions about what happens to churches and Christians who refuse to practice discernment, about freelance discernment ministries, about a Protestant magisterial and about Tim Horton’s (along with a few other topics)."

Ray Ortlund points us to an excellent quote by James Denney. "No man can give at once the impressions that he himself is clever and that Jesus Christ is mighty to save."

Yesterday at Team Pyro Dan asked a question about a card left at his doorstep. Today he gives the answer, it was indeed Mormons. Dan also shares his experiencing of witnessing to them. It was inspiring and convicting. We've had a couple Mormons walking around our neighborhood and I've never stepped out the door and screamed "Mormons!" so as to engage them.

Jared Wilson shares 5 Important Things the Seeker Sensitive Movement Got Right. Great thoughts. It takes much wisdom to mine even things you do not agree with for truth! Thanks for these thoughts Jared.

Tony Kummer is giving away 3 Children's books at his website. I own The Jesus Storybook Bible but would love to have the other 2 for Isaiah. If God does not grace me with winning this give away I will probably buy them later.

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/16

Challies begins Day 8 on his blog tour, today he finds himself with the Pyromaniacs. Frank Turk leads the interview and ask Challies several questions. Mostly on Challies' sources. It's a great discussion.

Frank Turk is also busy answering whether or not God's love is unconditional. I love his answer: "God's forgiveness is not unconditional: it is conditioned wholly on the price Christ paid to secure a right payment for sin. What Christ did made God both just -- that is, a just judge, able to forgive without being a violator of justice -- and the justifier of men." Check out his argumentation here.

Jared Wilson, a teaching minister for college students at Element, has some great thoughts today about the difficulties of young adult ministry.

As soon as it was announced that Dr. Mohler would be a candidate for President of the SBC some detractors began questioning his theology, character, leadership, etc. Inevitably within the SBC one major discussion will be on Mohler's Calvinism. Can we have a Calvinistic leader in the SBC? (If you know Baptist history then you know how ludicrous that question is). Today Tony Kumner points us to one of Mohler's past answers to the Calvinism criticism.

Thabiti has an excellent article on Lone Ranger Christians. What is his answer to these lone rangers? Mutual belonging.

John MacArthur considers the primary purpose of the church. Is it Inward, Upward, or Outward? I am yet to determine if I agree with him. I prefer Piper's statement of saying that missions exist because worship doesn't. But I can certainly follow Mac's argumentation. I tend to think that God's primary purpose is to receive glory. MacArthur agrees with this but he believes that it is through the redemption of mankind that God is most glorified. Therefore he seems to be putting "outward" as the purpose of the church. Perhaps my problem is that it creates a false dichotomy. Upward without Outward is probably insincere. If we love God we will have a desire to see men come to him. Outward without Upward is no more than the social gospel. The statement of MacArthur that gives me the most trouble is this one: "And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending." I certainly see the logic but is that Scriptural? What do you think?

Art Rogers on his blog 12 Witnesses has a very funny post about the Dangers of Bread. My wife wants me to buy her a bread maker, I'm having second thoughts now. (HT: Micah)

Also, be sure to check out the new Bible.org. (HT: JT)

Borrowed LIght: Today in Blogworld 01/15

Tim Challies continues his blog tour, and today he stops by Justin Taylor's Between Two Worlds. Here is JT's question for Challies: "Having now extensively studied the concept of biblical discernment, I wonder what implications you think this has for “discernment blogging”? In part, I’m thinking of “watchdog” blogs and bloggers that have “discernment” as their primary focus. Speaking generally, what are they doing right, and where do they need correction?" Great question! You can find the answer here.

The Puritan Reading Challenge is fun. Timmy Brister seems to be quite astonished by the "success" of his challenge. It's awesome seeing how many people are on board to read these books of hundreds of years ago. May God be honored through our reading of the Puritans. Today Timmy gives us a few links to others that are blogging on the Puritan Reading Challenge. (I was excited to see Borrowed Light on there). Brister also gives a few cool stats on the Reading Challenge. I can't believe it's only 2559 pages to read everything. Only reading 7 pages a day seems quite an easy task. Understanding all 7 pages might be a little more difficult.

John MacArthur has an excellent post on preaching out of season: From Athens to L.A. His solution? Tell them that God is, who God is, and what God says. Even though that sounds simple that is difficult and loaded. You are encouraged to check out the specifics of this article.

One of my favorite blogs is Pyromaniacs. Often times Dan Phillips will give us a quote or a simple sentence and ask a significant question attached to it. It's great for making us think. Today he asks about an excerpt from a card left on his doorstep. "Faith in Christ can help you resolve personal and family challenges". Dan's question is, "What can you surmise about the church that left this"? Good question, Dan. When you click on the link be certain to check out the comments. It is interesting that many are saying it's Mormon and others are crediting it to various Christian denominations or churches. What does that tell us about "our" gospel presentations if it can barely be distinguished from Mormonism?

Brian Thornton asks, What is the Gospel Good For?

Randy Alcorn has an excellent post on Longings of the Heart.

Borrowed LIght: Today in Blogworld 01/14

Challies gives us the third and final post in his series on inerrancy. Today he considers Problems with Denying Inerrancy. It is also Day 6 on Challies Blog Tour. Today's question is, How might the discipline of discernment be used to protect the peace of the church?

Trevin Wax gives us some Church Bulletin Humor. My favorite is, "Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King."

Phil Johnson, from Team Pyro, begins a series on Total Depravity, entitled I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up. His main point in his brief introduction is this: "Again and again we see that those who have embraced these truths of original sin and human depravity have been used by God in tremendous ways, while those who have resisted or rejected these truths have made shipwreck of the faith."

Milton Stanley asks a stimulating question today; Does and Open Door=God's Will?

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/07

Tim Challies begins his blog tour promoting his new book. Today's stop is the Evangelical Outpost. Challies will be attempting an answer on discernment in each of his blog stops. Today's question by Joe Carter is, "What does discernment mean from a biblical perspective"? See Challies answer here.

Timmy Brister again encourages us with the 2008 Puritan Reading Challenge. My Puritan Reading will be a little different in 2008 but I am still on board with this idea. It looks like Reformation Heritage Books is helping out as well, they will be selling the Puritan Paperbacks at an additionally discounted rate. Timmy will also be providing some historical and background information for each of these books. He will also be doing monthly giveaways. And lastly he has added a blog button for us to put on our websites. (You can see mine on the sidebar).

Jesse Johnson from Pulpit magazine gives us practical steps for personal evangelism.

Phil Johnson at Pyromaniacs has given us a mystery quotation. I know that I have heard it, especially the last line. Go there and take a shot at it. I was thinking Finney, but one of the commenters has said it's not so. It's definitely a well-meaning "liberal" of the past.

Tony Kummer gives us 16 reasons Al Mohler should be the SBC's next president.

Strong Bad E-mail returns today with sbemail #186.

What qualifies someone to speak for God and His Word?

Recently there has been a debate in the blogosphere concerning Tim Challies new book. The debate is not about the book itself, but rather the qualifications of its author. I have no intent to enter the debate itself. My only intent is to attempt an answer to the core question that has been raised; "what qualifies someone to speak for God and His Word?" If you want more information on this discussion then you can see where it originated at JT's blog, or see Challies response on his blog.

Before we can go any further I believe we must change one word in the question to reach the central question. "What" should be changed to "Who". It is not a "what" that qualifies men to speak for God but a "Who". If we spend our time on the periphery "what", then I believe we will miss the biblical answer. First, we must discover "Who" qualifies men to speak for God and His Word, then we can begin asking questions about the "what".

As I set out to answer this question what I found was one prominent thing; God alone qualifies men to speak for Him and His Word. Who qualified Moses to speak for God? (Exodus 3-4) Who qualified Samuel to speak God's Word? (1 Samuel 3) How does Nathan have the authority to rebuke King David? Who qualifies Him to speak? (2 Samuel 12:1) Who qualifies such prophets as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel? (Jeremiah 1, Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 2) Who qualifies every other prophet to speak? The answer to all of the above questions is God Himself.

This is not only found in the Old Testament but also the New. We see this clearly in 2 Corinthians 3. Paul is asking the Corinthians, "do we need letters of recommendation?" Then it is as if he says, "you know our ministry, you have experienced what God has done, it speaks for itself, you know that we are qualified." But just to make it clear he lets them know where their authority comes from. He answers our question: Paul, "who has qualified you to speak for God and His Word?" His answer: "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Much of the dialogue in John 5-10 is in response to this very question. What makes Jesus think that he has the right to speak for God and His Word? What qualifies you to say and do such things, Jesus? Jesus continues to point to the Father as His source of authority: "I have come in my Father's name...My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me...I have not come of my own accord..." Now certainly Jesus is God so his situation and authority is different than ours. We do not have inherent authority, Jesus did. But, it is significant that He still points to the Father as the one that "qualifies Him" to speak for God and His Word.

This does not fully answer the question asked though. Very few people would say that our authority does not come from God. The question before us then is this: "How do we know whether or not God has qualified someone to speak for Him and His Word"?

Do we look at the qualifications for an elder and say, "only men with these qualities can speak for God"? Do we consult the local church, and say, "those set apart by the local church, they alone can speak for God"? Do we test the fruits of that which is said, and by the fruit discern whether it is from God? Or is it possible that it is a combination of these?

I can understand the concerned motivation behind this question. American Christianity is a breeding grounds for "thus-saith-the Lord" heresy. Just a few days ago I linked to Pat Robertson's New Year's predictions. Is Pat Robertson qualified to make such a statement? He is an ordained minister. At some point a local church has set him apart as a messenger of God. He has degrees. He has qualifications. But do we see fruit? Do his predictions come true?

Can we say that Joel Osteen preaches the word of God? How do we know John MacArthur preaches God's Word? What about John Piper? What about myself on a Wednesday night? How do we know whether or not God has sovereignly chosen to speak through someone or not? That is a profound question. It may just take a 208 page book to even begin discovering how to be more discerning in these matters. In brief I want to offer two suggestions on how we can discern whether the message is from God or not.

The first comes from 1 John. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error"

It would take an entire sermon (and much more) to fully exposit this text. For now I want to show three things that help us to see whether it is from God or not. How do you know if God has sovereignly decided to speak through someone?

1) If they have an accurate Christology as clearly revealed in Scripture then perhaps it is from God.
2) If their teaching sounds like the world, then it is not from God. (This is where the Osteen's and prosperity teachers fall off). If their teaching matches up to what is revealed in Scripture then it should be received.
3) What do trusted believers say concerning the matter? Since the Holy Spirit dwells in believers and he confirms truth, what is the consensus of godly men. Since this one is the most subjective it is the most unreliable, but still should be strongly considered. Ultimately our trust in discerning these matters should be in the Lord.

The second suggestion comes from Jeremiah Burroughs. A recent reprint of some of Burroughs' sermons entitled Gospel Fear might give us an answer. After discussing our need to tremble at God's Word (and Burroughs includes in that the preaching of that Word) he pauses to address an objection. "...we will fear the Word of God; but is everything that a minister speaks the Word of God? If we were sure that it was God's Word, then we would yield unto it. But we know that one man is of one opinion and another is of another opinion." In other words, how do we know whether it is God's Word? Burroughs answer is beautiful and very fitting for our current discussion:

When anything comes in God's name, do not slightly cast it off, but try it and examine it...So do not lightly cast off that which comes in the name of God, but yield so far unto it as to examine it. Search the Scriptures; test whether it is according to the divine rule or not. I know a gentleman who, when he came home once from a sermon, said, 'Well, if it is true what this minister says, we are in an ill case'. Now woe to that man whose chief comfort lies upon this false ground, that he hopes that which he hears out of the Word is not the Word. Oh, that man is in a miserable case who has no other ground for his comfort" Gospel Fear, p23

Burroughs then offers two suggestions for those that are poor and ignorant. First of all be willing to yield to what you know. Secondly, get alone and cry to God, and ask the Lord that he would make His Word known to you.

In sum, what (or rather who) qualifies someone to speak for God and His Word? It is God alone. But, how can we know whether or not God has sovereignly chosen to speak through someone? We should not slightly cast it off if it comes in God's name but we should test it. There is something to be said for the local church standing behind a man. But they can be wrong (either positively or negatively). There is something to be said for elders being the primary teachers. But certainly God can speak through laity (He even chose to speak through a donkey). But ultimately, we must rely upon the Lord and His Spirit to help us discern whether or not it is God's Word. God is sovereign and the Spirit inside us will help us discern His truth.

Perhaps this adds little to the conversation, but may God be glorified.

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 12/31

Looks like bloggers are back to work this morning; as soon as I looked at my Google Reader I noticed 28 new posts. It being New Year's Eve, I thought it wise to point you to a couple articles on the New Year. Matt Harmon points us to Jonathan Edwards Resolutions; which are always good to read this time of year. It is especially important that we remember Edwards' beginning statement: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake." I reminded our youth on Sunday that even if we make our New Year's resolution something to the effect of "determining to know nothing in 2008 but Jesus Christ and Him crucified", we will fail by January 2nd or 3rd. Therefore we must live under and preach the gospel to ourselves daily.

Many people use this time of year to reflect upon the past year, and sometimes their entire lives. John Piper considers it a yearly dress rehearsal for meeting Jesus. Therefore, this time of year can serve to awaken us to a realization of another year passed and another moment closer to meeting the Lord. Pyromaniacs use the last words of Benazir Bhutto to remind us of the frailty of life. How ironic that her last words were "Long live Bhutto". As this year draws to an end we must remember that the only way to accurately proclaim "Long live..." is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Last night Tim Challies summarized the Reality Check Conference. He concluded his blogging on sessions 6 and 7.

Timmy Brister concluded his 2007 Year in Review with post 10-6 and 5-1. One of these posts that particularly caught my interest was On Hitting Homiletical Homeruns. The conversation was also carried over at Said at Southern, here. The discussion is over plagiarism in the pulpit. The discussion began when James Merritt suggested going to his website and preaching his sermon instead of spending so much time putting together their own. This is not an uncommon thing. I frequently get fliers in the mail encouraging me to stop preparing sermons and do what really matters (and apparently what I should really want to do)--spend time with our youth. I wonder if this might be an unbiblical practice on top of another (shout out to Garrett). I wonder if we had a plurality of elders maybe a teaching pastor could spend time on sermon prep and the other elders could do some of those other things. Maybe the pastor was not meant to be the lone ranger and having to rip sermons off the internet because he spent 30 hours this week at the hospital and in counseling.

The 9 Marks newsletter has been posted online. This newsletter focuses on Corporate Prayer and will be worthy of checking out.

John Piper points us to Clyde Kilby's 10 Resolutions for Mental Health.

Lastly, the Irish Calvinist draws our attention to a video posted on James White's site. It compares Joel Osteen, The Secret, and Stuart Smalley. It would be humorous if Osteen did not boast 20,000+ deceived members. The reason I am so strongly opposed to Osteen is because he is a false prophet that deceives many. He preaches a half (maybe quarter) truth that is divorced from the bloody Cross of the Gospel. The problem is not that God doesn't want to bless us. The problem is that the blessing is not in material things it is in God Himself, and it comes through the Cross. Not only the Cross of Christ but also ours (Matthew 10:38). Here is the video:

Overcoming Sin and Temptation Chapter 6

With the holiday's I am a little behind in our John Owen study. Last week we looked at Chapter 6 of Owen's Overcoming Sin and Temptation. As always you are invited to join us. You can read the work online here.

Last time we saw what Mortification is NOT. This time Owen will begin showing us what mortification is. Remember Owen's central question in this section: "What must I do to mortify sin in my life?". Today we will see three things that mortification of sin consists of.

1. Mortification of sin consists of a habitual weakening of sin
2. Mortification of sin consists of a constant fighting and contending against sin
3. Mortification of sin consists of frequent success

Part of the process of mortifying sin is to habitually weaken sin--or to put it in other words--we must be constantly crucifying the flesh. Owen gives us a picture of crucifying the flesh:

As a man nailed to the cross he first struggles and strives and cries out with great strength and might, but, as his blood and spirits waste, his strivings are faint and seldom, his cries low and hoarse, scarce to be heard; when a man first sets on a lust or distemper, to deal with it, it struggles with great violence to break loose; it cries with earnestness and impatience to be satisfied and relieved; but when by mortification the blood and spirits of it are let out, it moves seldom and faintly, cries sparingly, and is scarce heard in the heart; it may have sometimes a dying pang, that makes an appearance of great vigor and strength, but it is quickly over, especially if it be kept from considerable success.

Owen also helps us see two things under this point. 1) Some lusts are stronger in some people than in others. For example, one man might struggle mightily with lust and not be tempted by alcohol. Another man may be just the opposite. 2) Some lusts are more visible in their vileness. Fornication is particularly noteworthy here. This often can lead men to believe they are mortified when they are not. This is why Owen advises: A man may beat down the bitter fruit from an evil tree until he is weary; while the root abides in strength and vigor, the beating down of the present fruit will not hinder it from bringing forth more. This is the folly of some men; they set themselves with all earnestness and diligence against the appearing eruption of lust, but, leaving the principle and root untouched, perhaps unsearched out, they make but little or no progress in this work of mortification.

Owen closes the chapter by giving us a foretaste (hopefully) of what is to come. He mentions briefly two things that must be in order for mortification to take place. 1) The flesh must be replaced by grace. Pride must be replaced by the grace of humility; unbridled passion by patience; love of the world by heavenly mindedness; and so on. Or, if we want to get Piper-esque we would say that to mortify flesh then our sinful passions must be replaced by a superior passion (pleasure) for Christ. 2) The new man combined with the work of the Spirit using the means of mortification are necessary. (At least that is what I think Owen is saying).

Considerations:

As I read Owen and ponder my own battle with sin I find mixed thoughts. On one hand I see how the Lord's grace in my life has created in me more Christ-likeness and a passion for Jesus. On the other hand I see less of a battle with sin. I wonder is it because I find more pleasure in Christ or because I am no longer passionate about rooting all sin out? Am I as passionate about holiness as I once had been? Regardless of the answer my prayer is that Jesus might take me to the root of all my sinful rebellion and there through his sacrifice we might chop down the roots. I pray that my roots may be deep not in sin but in grace!

Overcoming Sin and Temptation Chapter 5

Today we will continue Reading the Classics Together with Challies. As mentioned before you can buy the book here. Following along with us here. And read the book online here.

Chapter 5 is the first chapter in the second section. The central issue that Owen will direct us in this chapter is concerning the nature of mortification. In essence this section will help us answer the question, "How do I go about mortifying sin in my life?" He will do this by first showing us what mortification is and is not. Then he will give crucial instructions on what must take place in mortification. And lastly he will get specific and show us how this is to be done. Chapter 5 will deal with showing 5 things that mortification is NOT.

1. Mortification is not the utter destruction and death of sin
2. Mortification is not the dissumlation (becoming unlike) of sin
3. Mortification is not the improvement of a quiet sedate nature
4. Mortification is not the diversion of sin
5. Mortification is not occasional conquests over sin

Owen's first point is true, yet very discouraging. We must not think that we can ever actually mortify sin. Yet, we are encouraged to continue in this pursuit as if it might actually be attained. The first point is also somewhat encouraging; especially when you feel like the chief of sinners. It is encouraging to know that you are not the only failure in this endeavor to mortify sin.
The fourth point is also especially convicting. I think there are areas in my life that have merely been diverted into other sins. Sin is so sneaky. How many times have I "conquered" a sin only to fall into pride and self-righteousness. Owen's summation of this point hits a deep chord in my heart: "He that changes pride for worldliness, sensuality for Pharisaism, vanity in himself to the contempt of others, let him not think that he has mortified the sin that he seems to have left. He has changed his master, but is a servant still."
A good majority of the chapter is focused on the fifth point. I would venture that Owen spends such time on this point because of its deceptive nature and frequency in occurence. I know in my own life that often after a "sad eruption" I make promises that I cannot keep. I found it especially interesting what Owen said concerning sin "hiding" during this time. "The whole man, spiritual and natural, being now awakened, sin shrinks in its head, appears not, but lies as dead before him: as when one that has drawn nigh5 to an army in the night, and has killed a principal person—instantly the guards awake, men are roused up, and strict inquiry is made after the enemy, who, in the meantime, until the noise and tumult be over, hides himself, or lies like one that is dead, yet with firm resolution to do the like mischief again upon the like opportunity." This makes me wonder how many sins are in "hiding" in my own life. My prayer is that through the power of the gospel they might be brought out and truly mortified. Oh, how desperate for Jesus' rescue I am!
John Newton's hymn "A Sick Soul" is fitting as my prayer of response:

Physician of my sin–sick soul,
To thee I bring my case;
My raging malady control,
And heal me by thy grace.
Pity the anguish I endure,
See how I mourn and pine;
For never can I hope a cure
From any hand but thine.

I would disclose my whole complaint,
But where shall I begin?
No words of mine can fully paint
That worst distemper, sin.

It lies not in a single part,
But through my frame is spread;
A burning fever in my heart,
A palsy in my head.

It makes me deaf, and dumb, and blind,
And impotent and lame;
And overclouds, and fills my mind,
With folly, fear, and shame.

A thousand evil thoughts intrude
Tumultuous in my breast;
Which indispose me for my food,
And rob me of my rest.

Lord I am sick, regard my cry,
And set my spirit free;
Say, canst thou let a sinner die,
Who longs to live to thee?