Jeremiah Griffin

I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.  –—C. H. Spurgeon

Hosea 4: 6-7
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

It was interesting this week to see the attempts of the older generation reaching out to the few 30 something crowd at the convention.  The 20 something was almost non-existent at the event.  The younger generations are slowly taking the place of the older generation in the SBC and the numbers and leadership ability is dismal. Continue reading

“the covenant of works was broken by sin and was unable to confer life”
 – Baptist Confession of Faith 1689

What a different way of looking at the covenant. Often we think of the covenants as something the God must keep, we focus on the fact that His promises never fail… to think that a promise made by God was broken, not by God but by man’s failure to KEEP the covenant. 

Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith (emphasis mine)

We are left with a massive shortfall of righteousness on our side of the covenant.  We have broken the Laws of God with no hope of making it right.   More evidence of grace that has been planned from the beginning.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Before time began, God knew we would fail our side of the promise.  God knew we would never achieve the Glory of  Himself.  It is in the gospel that we are made righteous.

We must proclaim this Good News.  That God would choose us to make His call known is still beyond the reaches of my imagination.

Ex33:19 “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

It is a really good thing that God is gracious to this world that constantly rejects him. It is our duty as Disciples of Christ to preach the Gospel with the compassion that was shown to us. That we would be privilaged to be even a small part of God’s display of compassion. This is grace.