Abide in Prayer. John Owen.

 If we do not abide in Prayer, we will abide in Temptation.  --- John Owen.

We are tempted without ceasing, so we must pray without ceasing.  (??? Spurgeon???)

Christ is a Fountain

Christ is a fountain to wash us every day from those daily pollutions that befall us.

--  Thomas Goodwin  

**Petals&Pillars**

WGT Shedd

Online Question: Are you saying that God allowing man to sin is the same thing as decreeing their sin?  

Response Posted by Ron Henzel:
Reformed theologian W.G.T. Shedd (1820-1894):

‘The [Westminster] Confession (vi. 1; L[arger] C[atechism] 19) declares that God “permits” sin, but that it is not a “bare permission.” Con. v. 4. The permission that is adopted by the Assembly is one that occurs by a voluntary decision of God which he need not have made, had he so pleased. He might have decided not to permit sin; in which case it would not have entered his universe. The “bare permission” which is rejected by the Assembly means that God makes no voluntary decision at all in the case; that he could not have prevented the fall of angels and men, but stands “like an idle spectator,” having no control over the event which he witnesses.

Augustine makes the following statement in his Enchiridion, Ch. 100: “In a way unspeakably strange and wonderful, even what is done in opposition to God’s will [of desire] does not defeat his will [of decree]. For it would not be done did he not permit it, and of course his permission is not unwilling, -p95- but willing; nor would a Good Being permit evil to be done except that in his omnipotence he can turn evil into good.” Calvin, adopting Augustine’s phraseology, concisely marks the difference between the two permissions in the remark, that “God’s permission of sin is not involuntary, but voluntary.” Inst. I. xviii. 3.

Both Augustine and Calvin had particular reference, in this connection, to the first origin of sin in angels and men. But their statement holds true of the continuance of sin in angels and men. When God passes by all the fallen and sinful angels, and does not regenerate and save any of them, it is by a positive voluntary decision that might have been different had he so pleased. He could have saved them. And when God passes by some fallen and sinful men and does not regenerate and save them, this also is a positive voluntary decision that might have been different had he so pleased. He could have saved them. To deny this option of God in either instance is to deny, 1st, the divine sovereignty in the exercise of mercy; and, 2d, the divine omnipotence in the control of creatures.’

‘¹ The permissive decree as related to the origin of sin presents a difficulty that does not exist in reference to the continuance of sin. The certainty of the continuance of sin in fallen man is easily explained, by merely leaving the fallen will to its self-determination. But merely leaving the unfallen will to its self determination would not make its apostasy certain; because it was endowed by creation with a power to remain holy as created, and there was no punitive withdrawal of any grace given in creation until after apostasy. How, under these circumstances, a permissive decree which does not operate by direct efficiency can make the fall of a holy being certain, is an inscrutable mystery.

Respecting it, Turretin (VI. vii. 1) makes the following remark: “Two extremes are to be avoided. First, that of defect, when an otiose permission of sin is ascribed to God. Second, that of excess, when the causality of sin is ascribed to him. Between these extremes, the orthodox hold the mean, who contend that the providence of God extends to sin in such way that he does not involuntarily permit it, as the Pelagians say, nor actively cause it, as the Libertines assert, but voluntarily ordains and controls it.”’

— William G. T. Shedd, Calvinism: Pure and Mixed: A Defence of the Westminster Standards, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1893), 94–95. The italics style is in the original.

Earlier in the same book, Shedd dealt with the topic of the phrase “bare permission” in response to those who misinterpreted its significance in the WCF:

‘It is sometimes argued that the Confession excludes the tenet of the permissive decree, by its declaration that the “providence of God extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission” (Conf. v. 4). The “bare permission” which the Assembly rejects here is that of the Tridentine theologians, who asserted that sin arises from the “mere permission” of God. The Reformed theologians understood this to mean, that in respect to the fall of angels and men God is an idle and helpless spectator (deo otioso spectante), and that sin came into the universe without any positive decision and purpose on his part. This kind of “permission” implies that God could not have prevented sin had he so decided, and is really no permission at all; because no one can properly be said to permit what he cannot prevent.

In order to exclude this view of “permission,” the Assembly assert “such [a permission] as hath joined with it a most holy, wise, and powerful bounding and otherwise ordering and governing of [the sins of angels and men], in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, not from God, who neither is nor can be the author of sin.” This last clause declares that God’s relation to the sin which he decrees, is not that of efficiency, but permission. For if God worked directly and efficiently in angel or man “to will,” when he wills wickedly, the “sinfulness of sin” would “proceed from God,” and God would be “the author of sin.”

The permissive decree is taught also in Larger Catechism, 19. -p34- “God by his providence permitted some of the angels, wilfully and irrecoverably, to fall into sin and damnation, limiting and ordering that, and all their sins, to his own glory.”

‘The permissive decree is supported by Scripture, in the statement that God “in times past suffered (εἴασε) all nations to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16); that “the times of this ignorance God overlooked” (ὑπεριδών) (Acts 17:30); that God “gave rebellious Israel their own desire (Psalm 78:29); that “he gave them their request” (Psalm 106:15). This phraseology is never employed when holiness is spoken of. The Bible never says that God permits man to be holy, or to act righteously. He efficiently influences and actuates him to this.

Accordingly the other Reformed creeds, like the Westminster, mark the difference between God’s relation to holiness and sin. The Second Helvetic, Ch. viii., says: “Quotiescunque Deus aliquid mali in Scriptura facere dicitur atque videtur, non ideo dicitur, quod homo malum non faciat, sed quod Deus fieri sinat et non prohibeat, justo suo judicio, qui prohibere potuisset, si voluisset [as often as God in the Scripture is said and seems to do some evil, it is not thereby meant that man does not commit evil, but that God does suffer it to be done, and does not hinder it; and that by his just judgment, who could hinder it if he would].”

The Belgic Confession, Art. 13, asserts that God’s “power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible, that he orders and executes his work in the most excellent and just manner even when the devil and wicked men act unjustly. We are persuaded that he so restrains the devil and all our enemies that without his will and permission they cannot hurt us.”

The Dort Canons, i. 15, teach that “God, out of his sovereign, most just, and unchangeable good pleasure hath decreed to leave some men in the common misery into which they have wilfully plunged themselves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and the grace of conversion, but permitting them in his just judgment to follow their own way, at last, for the declaration -p35- of his justice, to condemn and punish them forever, not only on account of their unbelief, but also for all their other sins.”’

— Shedd, ibid., 33–35.

Freedom in Our Souls

 "There will be no freedom in our souls until we are persuaded of God's mercy, that, despite our unworthiness, He will receive us lovingly and graciously ... Though there is much that He could criticise, and many weaknesses, though we come limping to Him ... nevertheless, He accepts all of this. Why? Because He bears with us like a father with a son. This is the liberty in which we are to stand fast (Gal. 5: 1) ... When I approach Him, therefore, I can come with my head held high, having been acquitted and absolved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ ... I cannot bring Him the perfection that He requires, nor even the hundredth part of it! Well, God bears with me, and still accepts that which is imperfect and weak, and even that which is mixed with sin."

≈ John Calvin's Sermons on Galatians.

Pink Pool of Quotes

 "None will experimentally appreciate the righteousness of Christ until they have been experimentally stripped by the Spirit.

Not until the Lord puts us in the fire and burns off our filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and makes us stand naked before Him, trembling from head to foot as we view the sword of His justice suspended over our heads, will any truly value "the best robe."

Not until the condemning sentence of the law has been applied by the Spirit to the conscience does the guilty soul cry, "Lost, lost!" (Rom. 7:9, 10).

Not until there is a personal apprehension of the requirements of God’s Law, a feeling sense of our total inability to perform its righteous demands, and an honest realization that God would be just in banishing us from His presence forever, is the necessity for a precious Christ perceived by the soul."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Doctrine of Justification"

"Those powerful natural affections which God placed in man when He made him have been misplaced by the fall, so that he now loves what he ought to hate (John 3:19), and hates what he should love (Romans 8:7). Hence the divine work of grace is to renovate and restore the disordered affections to their right center and fix them upon their proper objects. The one or the other will inevitably regulate and dominate the life."

~ Arthur Pink, “Exposition of John's First Epistle

"The unregenerate do not really believe in the holiness of God. Their concept of His character is altogether one-sided. They fondly hope that His mercy will override everything else. "You thought that I was just like you" (Psalm 50:21), is God’s charge against them. They think only of a god patterned after their own evil hearts, hence their continuance in a course of mad folly."

~ Arthur Pink, "Gleanings in the Godhead - The Holiness of God"

HEART MUST YIELD

7 TRUTHS ABOUT WHY FACTS ALONE RARELY CHANGE MINDS EVIDENCE MATTERS. THE HEART MUST YIELD.

01  Evidence can establish the truth;  it cannot make a resistant heart  welcome it.  *John 5:39–40; John 12:37*

02  People often reject the truth not  because the evidence is weak,  but because the truth threatens what they love.  *John 3:19–20; 2 Thessalonians 2:10–12*

03  The mind frequently becomes the  heart’s defense attorney, inventing  reasons to protect what the heart desires.  *Romans 1:18, 21–25*

04  When a false belief becomes part of  someone’s identity, correction feels  less like enlightenment and more like  personal annihilation.  *Ephesians 4:22–24; Matthew 16:24–25*

05  Overwhelming evidence may harden  resistance when accepting it would  cost too much.  *John 11:47–53; Acts 19:23–28*

06  Changing a mind requires more than receiving new information; it requires  repentance—a willingness to become  a different person.  *Acts 2:37–38; 2 Timothy 2:25–26*

07  Ultimately, only God can open the  heart to receive the truth the mind has heard. *Luke 24:45; Acts 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6*

Source :  MONERGISM.

Free-Will Top1.

 The 8 on Noah's Ark represents less than 0.00000544% of the population. To think that you, me, or any of us would have believed God's message to Noah and been on the Ark despite 99.99999456% not believing him is foolish. Adam walked with God in the cool of the day and did not have a sin nature and was in a utopia, yet failed to believe God; To think people today without a lick of Hebrew or Greek or 1000 days of witnessing Jesus like Judas are going to make a better choice than Judas or those with the Pharisees who had more than Ph.D's in God's OT Word is also foolish.

To think Lucifier rebelled before he had any subsequent sin in himself and in the presence of God and of angels, but we are going to make a better decision before regeneration is also unfounded. Do you think the Incas, Mayans, Aztecs who died without a single syllable of Scripture are going to make a better choice than Judas.

If so, that makes evangelism entirely pointless because if God has done "all that He can" to give everyone equal opportunity then there is literally nothing we can do as evangelists to "increase" the power of one's free-will. At that rate the Damascus Road effort by God may have failed and Saul said "no", and thus God should offer Pilate, Herod, Putin, Hitler the exact same "Damascus Road" encounter.

If Moses could turn down the burning bush, then why not offer a Literal burning bush to every U.S. Senator, Governor, Mayor, citizen; Jesus could have just told Pilate on trial, "I'll raise up 12 men from the dead until you are convinced. I'm trying my hardest to provide all the evidence I can to get you to believe, I'll even show you the Transfiguration"

If Mary used her free-will to abort Jesus, then God will have to just think of Plan B until His intention aligns with the free-will decisions of everyone involved. Faith always lead to obedience and without obedience Mary would have not spared Jesus' life. At that point salvation all hinges upon the obedience of sinners to the offer of God; and each author of Scripture could have used their free-will to write errant words in the Bible, or decline to even write the Bible; no book of John ever written unless John grants God compliance to pen John. In all of that the Holy Spirit is just a powerless salesman, "This free car is great, want one? No? Ah, shucks, maybe Peter can persuade you better than I can."

I'm not attacking you the advocate of free-will, it's the theology of free-will that I am attacking.  Free-will is fraught with many problems. So, God loved Goliath and gave Goliath the SAME grace that He gave Peter, but then God's love and grace did not make the eternal difference, Peter's response made him to differ from Goliath, thus all the credit has to go to Peter, for Goliath got the exact same treatment of God's love and grace as Peter but still died in unbelief, despite Goliath not spending over 1000 days face to face with Jesus.

Not a Single Drop

 "There is no doubt that everything praiseworthy in our works is the grace of God, and that there is not a single drop of goodness which we can properly attribute to ourselves."— John Calvin

Pilot Providence

 “Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness.”

-John Calvin

1000 Times

"A sinner may hear the gospel  a thousand times, but until the Spirit touches his heart, he will remain unmoved.  He cannot lift a finger toward his own salvation, for his heart is stone, his will is chained, and his affections are set on the world.  The gospel is a call, but the call is powerless until God makes it effectual.  Regeneration must come before faith, for faith is the act of a living soul, and the sinner is dead.  Grace does not help the sinner to believe; grace causes him to believe.  

-- Charles Spurgeon.

He Loved Me!

Canst thou with faith, present Christ to thyself, as he was taken down from the cross, drenched in his own blood, and say, These were the wounds that he received for me; this is he that loved me, and gave himself for me: out of these wounds comes that balm that heals my soul; out of these stripes my peace: When he hanged upon the cross, he bore my name upon his breast, like the high priest.

John Flavel.

In The Fountain of Life Opened Up

One Eye on God's Grace

"The humble Christian looks with one eye upon God's grace, to keep his heart cheerful; and

with the other eye upon his sin, to keep it humble."

Thomas Watson.

True Salvation

 True salvation is not to be found through the mere reception of any creed, however true or scriptural. Mere “head notion” is not the road to heaven. “You must be born again,” means a great deal more than that you must believe certain dogmas. The study of the Bible cannot save you! You must press beyond this; you must come to the living, personal Christ, or else your acceptance of the soundest creed cannot avail for the salvation of your soul. Salvation lies in Jesus only!

~Spurgeon

To Love God

 To love God is to rest in His sovereign will, trusting that even the most perplexing circumstances are shaped for our ultimate good. In every situation, whether in joy or sorrow, we are called to trust that God is orchestrating the events of our lives for His glory.     

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Revealed by Grace

 The privilege of being a doulos of Christ is not a truth that can be reasoned into the heart. It is a truth that must be revealed by the Holy Spirit. It is not a fact to be learned; it is a glory to be seen. And only the Spirit can open blind eyes to see glory.

Matthew Henry, Christ Bears

 "Christ bears with his people, whose hearts are upright with him, and admits them into communion with himself, notwithstanding their manifold infirmities." — 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 on Zech. 3:3 [pictured: Jean Geoffroy, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 (1893)]

The Lord's Supper Service

"Do not allow the weakness of your faith or your failures in the Christian life to keep you from this Table. For it is given to us because of our weakness and because of our failures, in order to increase our faith by feeding us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ." — URCNA Forms and Prayers

Celebration of the Lord’s Supper – Short Form 1

Preparation

To all of you who have with godly sorrow confessed your sins and who have affirmed true faith in Christ, the promise of Jesus is sure: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:54–55). For “the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’?” (1 Cor. 11:23–25).

While remaining bread and wine, these sacred elements nevertheless become so united to the reality they signify that we do not doubt, but joyfully believe, that we receive in this meal by the Spirit through faith nothing less than the crucified body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For all who live in rebellion against God and in unbelief, this holy food and drink will bring you only further condemnation. If you do not yet confess Jesus Christ and seek to live under his gracious reign, we admonish you to abstain. But all who repent and believe are invited to this sacred meal, not because you are worthy in yourself, but because you are clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness. Do not allow the weakness of your faith or your failures in the Christian life to keep you from this Table. For it is given to us because of our weakness and because of our failures, in order to increase our faith by feeding us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ. As the Word has promised us God’s favor, so also our heavenly Father has added this confirmation of His unchangeable promise. So come, believing sinners, for the Table is ready. “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps. 34:8).

The Consecration

Let us pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, who by the blood of Your only begotten Son has secured for us a new and living way into the Holy of Holies, cleanse our minds and hearts by Your Word and Spirit that we, Your redeemed people, drawing close to You through this holy sacrament, may enjoy fellowship with the Holy Trinity through the body and blood of Christ our Savior. We know that our ascended Savior does not live in temples made by hands, but is in heaven, where He continues to intercede on our behalf. Through this sacrament, by Your own Word and Spirit, may these common elements now be set apart from ordinary use and consecrated by You, so that, just as truly as we eat and drink these elements by which our bodily life is sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ. We receive these gifts by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed (optional)

As we draw near to the Table of our Lord, let us confess our Christian faith:

Congregation:

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

The minister then says:

Let us now go to our heavenly Table and receive the gift of God for our souls. By the promise of God, this bread and wine are for us the body and blood of Christ.

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Communion

The elements are distributed, and the minister may use the formula:

The bread which we break is a communion of the body of Christ. Take, eat, remember, and believe that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was broken for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.

The cup of blessing which we bless is a communion of the blood of Christ. Take, drink, remember, and believe that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.

Thanksgiving Prayer

Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for the blessing of this holy feast. Although we are unworthy to share this meal with You, it is by Your invitation and dressed in Christ’s righteousness that we have come boldly into the Holy of Holies. Instead of wrath, we have received Your pardon; in the place of fear, we have been given hope. Our High Priest and Mediator of the new covenant has reconciled us to You and even now intercedes for us at Your right hand. Please strengthen us by these gifts, so that, relying only on Your promise to save sinners who call on Jesus’ name, we may, by Your Spirit, honor You with our souls and bodies, to the honor and glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Blind

 “We are naturally blind; and the Word cannot penetrate our mind unless the Spirit, that eternal Teacher, by His enlightening

power, makes an entrance for it.” -John Calvin

Perfect Jesus

 “We are living in a world of sin, and the fearful havoc it has wrought is evident on every side. How refreshing, then, to fix our gaze upon One who is immaculately holy, and who passed through this scene unspoiled by its evil. Such was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate. For thirty-three years, He was in immediate contact with sin — yet He was never, to the slightest degree, contaminated.”

~ Arthur Pink, “The Impeccability of Christ”

Glory in Ourselves

"I will not say, that every one that denies election is a bad man, yet I will say, it is a very bad sign. For if we deny election, we must, partly at least, glory in ourselves."