The Word is Alive, By Casting Crowns: Video

Here's a video of another one of my favorite songs I found on Youtube. It's 'The Word is Alive' by Casting Crowns. I think of the Word first as Jesus Christ, who is the Logos or the Word who was begotten by the Father in eternity past, and is of one substance with the Father and the Spirit. The scriptures are the very words of God that came forth from His mouth and His Spirit and are an extension of Himself given to us for the purpose of revealing Himself to those who will believe and obey Him.

The Bakers in Haiti blog/Chile earthquake

Here's an update from the Bakers in Haiti blog, who work in the Baptist Haiti Mission.

I'm looking for a similar mission group in Chile that does disaster relief along with preaching the gospel. When I find one, or more, I'll post it.

Please pray for the people of Chile and those helping there after the 8.8 earthquake that hit yesterday.

Cardinal Sadolet and John Calvin: a Defense of The Call for Reformation: Christian History for Everyman

Here is an article from Paul Pavao's site, Christian History for Everyman, that quotes Calvin's defense of the call to reformation against Cardinal Sadolet. I agree with Paul Pavao when he says "I have my own problems with John Calvin's doctrines, but surely no one can argue with this defense of his call for reformation."

Please click on the link below:
Cardinal Sadolet and John Calvin

Is the Roman Catholic Church the One True Church? Paul Pavao

Is the Roman Catholic Church the One True Church?

When Protestants Become Catholic: Are the Church Fathers a Danger to Born Again Christians?: Shammah (Paul Pavao)

Here is a blog post on Shammah's (Paul Pavao's) blog (whom I posted about in the last post), The Rest of the Old, Old Story. The post is called 'When Protestants Become Catholic: Are the Church Father's a Danger to Born Again Christians?' It's very compelling; he concludes that only the local church, which is pliable, open to the Spirit's leading, and has believers working together in unity, can be 'the pillar and support of the truth' as scripture describes it. I have said something similar in comments and posts here, but he takes it much further, and has personal experience of this, whereas I mostly only have hope of it, having seen so many examples of failure of it in myself and others.

Christian History for Everyman: Apostolic Succession

Here is a page on Apostolic succession from an interesting web site called Christian History for Everyman, by Paul F. Pavao.

Apostolic Succession in Early Christianity

I Will Rise, by Chris Tomlin: Video

Here is another beautiful song about the Savior and our hope in Him.

Blandina: A Martyred Saint of the Second Century

I read the account of the martyrdom of Blandina recently and realized that I had heard the name since I was a child but never knew who she was. The reason I am familiar with the name is because my mother grew up in a house on Blandina Street in Utica, New York and I had heard the street name mentioned many times when I was a child and also later on whenever my Mom or someone else mentioned it in reminiscing. I guess the street was named after the memory of the martyr, since there were and are many Italian Catholics in Utica who would be familiar with the famous saints.
Stories like these are encouraging, though they are hard to read, because they show us how Christ helps His saints to conquer death as He did Himself, if they 'put on Christ' and wholly trust in Him and not on their own strength. In our mostly pampered society here in the United States, we need to remember this and remember the saints of old times who suffered so much. We need to remember those who suffer similar things even now all over the world, and pray for them as we would hope the saints will pray for us when our time comes.
I read one account and then did a search and found others. Following is an excerpt from the first account and a link for another.

A terrible persecution broke out against Christians in Gaul under the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 138-161). Eusebius Book V, ch. 1 gives a full account of the martyr Blandina from accounts written by Christians at Lyons and Vienna to the saints in Asia and Phrygia. "Blandina, also, in whom Christ made manifest that the things that appear mean and deformed and contemptible among men are esteemed of great glory with God on account of love for him, which is really and powerfully displayed, and glories not in mere appearance. For while we were all trembling, and her earthly mistress, who was herself one of the contending martyrs, was apprehensive lest through the weakness of the flesh she should not be able to profess her faith with sufficient freedom, Blandina was filled with such power that her ingenious tormentors who relieved and succeeded each other from morning till night, confessed that they were overcome and had nothing more that they could inflict upon her. Only amazed that she still continued to breathe after her whole body was torn asunder and pierced, they gave their testimony that one single kind of the torture inflicted was of itself sufficient to destroy life, without resorting to so many and such excruciating sufferings as these. But this blessed saint, as a noble wrestler, in the midst of her confession itself renewed her strength, and to repeat, 'I am a Christian, no wickedness is carried on by us,' was to her rest, refreshment and relief from pain. . ."

When led into the amphitheater to die, "Blandina was bound and suspended on a stake, and thus exposed as food to the assaults of wild beasts, and as she thus appeared to hang after the manner of the cross, by her earnest prayers she infused much alacrity into the contending martyrs. For as they saw her in the contest, with the external eyes, through their sister, they contemplated Him that was crucified for them, to persuade those that believe in him, that every one who suffers for Christ will forever enjoy communion with the living God. But as none of the beasts then touched her, she was taken down from the stake, and remanded back again to prison to be reserved for another contest, so that by gaining the victory in many conflicts, she might render the condemnation of the wily serpent, irrefragable, and though small and weak and contemptible, but yet clothed with the mighty and invincible wrestler Christ Jesus, might also encourage her brethren. Thus she overcame the enemy in many trials, and in the conflict received the crown of immortality."

The Christians were tortured and martyred for several more days, "After all these, on the last day of the shows of gladiators, Blandina was again brought forth together with Ponticus, a youth about fifteen years old. These were brought in every day to see the tortures of the rest. Force was also used to make them swear by their idols and when they continued firm and denied their pretended divinity, the multitude became outrageous at them, so that they neither compassionated the youth of the boy nor regarded the sex of the woman. Hence, they subjected them to every horrible suffering and led them through the whole round of torture, ever and anon striving to force them to swear, but were unable to effect it. Ponticus, indeed, encouraged by his sister, so that the heathen could see that she was encouraging and confirming him, nobly bore the whole of these sufferings and gave up his life.

"But the blessed Blandina, last of all, as a noble mother that had animated her children and sent them as victors to the great King, herself retracing the ground of all the conflicts her children had endured, hastened at last, with joy and exultation at the issue, to them, as if she were invited to a marriage feast and not to be cast to wild beasts. And thus, after scourging, after exposure to the beasts, after roasting, she was finally thrown into a net and cast before a bull, and when she had been well tossed by the animal, and had no longer any sense of what was done to her by reason of her firm hope, confidence, faith and her communion with Christ, she too was dispatched. Even the Gentiles confessed that no woman among them had ever endured sufferings as many and great as these."

From this account, we see that the woman Blandina was recognized by this group of Christians as their greatest martyr. She not only endured more than all the others, but she continually encouraged and prayed for them. As a spiritual mother, she strengthened them to remain steadfast for Christ by her exhortations and example. Blandina's example was a witness to the persecutors and the crowd of her leadership and faith in Christ.

Here is a link for another account of Blandina from a website that also has accounts of other famous historical women.
UPDATE: There is also an account of Blandina in Foxe's Book of Martyrs under the section titled 'The Fourth Persecution, Under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, A.D. 162'.

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Temporary Faith - Ralph Erskine

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Temporary Faith - Ralph Erskine

Cardinal Ratzinger: "The One who is to come will have the traits of the Jesus who has already come"

A while back I read the following quote by the then Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and then I couldn't find it again for a while. I recently looked it up again and found some articles on it and the original document from which the quote is taken. Following is the link to the original Vatican document and then the quote from it which really bothered me, as it seems to say that Ratzinger believes that the Messiah who is to come is not the same person as the Messiah who came 2000 years ago, but will have the same traits as He did. Following the quote are some more links discussing the document and the quote.
Does Pope Benedict believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ, or is he looking for another Messiah? Will he lead those who trust in him to follow 'another christ' who is not Jesus Christ?


Document: "The Jewish People and Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible"

"Jewish messianic expectation is not in vain. It can become for us Christians a powerful stimulant to keep alive the eschatological dimension of our faith. Like them, we too live in expectation. The difference is that for us the One who is to come will have the traits of the Jesus who has already come and is already present and active among us." (n.21)

Here is an article on the web page of Sacred Heart University that discusses the document and some of the reactions to it. However, they don't seem to be worried about the strange wording which bothered me and a few others.


Here are some more links about the quote and the document:
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2005/donnad425-1.htm

http://zenit.org/article-3425?l=english

A Study on The Lord's Supper by Eric Svendsen

Here is a link to a study on the Lord's Supper by Eric Svendsen. I haven't finished reading it all, but it promises to be very helpful and thought-provoking.

Romans 13:11-14

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

He Chose the Nails, sung by Wes King, video slide show by Jennie

For your enjoyment, here is my finished slide show, with Biblical images set to the song 'He Chose the Nails' sung by Wes King.

He Chose the Nails: sung by Wes King, video

This is one of my all time favorite songs. I made a slide show to go with it for a church program once a few years ago. I'm working on putting my slideshow online. Meanwhile, here's the song for you to enjoy.

The Coloring Song by Petra: Video

Here's a great old song by Petra. My daughter's dance class is going to dance to it soon, and I loved it when I heard it. Enjoy!

Visits to Candyland: The Noble Bereans

Here's another discussion beginning over at Visits to Candyland about a comment I made about the Bereans in the last post.

Visits to Candyland: Sanctified for the Lord

We're having a discussion about sanctification over at Visits to Candyland.

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Augustine: Scripture Can Thoroughly Equip the Man of God - Response to Taylor Marshall

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Augustine: Scripture Can Thoroughly Equip the Man of God - Response to Taylor Marshall

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Unloading 35 Loaded Questions for "Bible Christians" 27/35

Thoughts of Francis Turretin: Unloading 35 Loaded Questions for "Bible Christians" 27/35

Grace, Faith, and Good Works: acts17-11.com

This article is linked in the post below this one, but I thought it was so good it deserved to get a separate post. It is called 'Grace, Faith, and Good Works' and is from acts17-11.com.

Another great study on their site is called 'Are You a Christian?'

Justification: The Catholic Church and the Judaizers in St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

There's an interesting discussion about justification on calledtocommunion.com, specifically on this post by Bryan Cross:

Justification: The Catholic Church and the Judaizers in St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

It's been a couple of weeks since anyone commented on the post and I haven't read all the comments yet, so I'm going to make my comments here for now.

Here is an excerpt from Bryan's post:

What makes this difficult to understand, from a Protestant point of view, is that in Catholic theology there is a distinction between justification and an increase in justification. There is no such distinction in Protestant theologies, and for that reason Protestants not infrequently treat Catholic statements about the increase in justification as though they are about justification itself.

Justification is defined by the Council of Trent as “translation from that state in which man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Savior.” (Trent VI.4)1 Justification takes place through the sacrament of baptism, and then, if a person falls into mortal sin, through the sacrament of penance. At the instant of justification, the person receives sanctifying grace and the theological (supernatural) virtues of faith, hope and charity (agape). This does not mean that these cannot be received prior to the actual reception of the sacrament of baptism. Even then, however, they come through the sacrament, and anticipate its reception.

An increase in justification is not the same thing as justification. An increase in justification is not the translation from a state in which one is deprived of sanctifying grace to a state in which one has sanctifying grace. An increase in justification is an increase in sanctifying grace from a condition in which one already has sanctifying grace. This is what St. Peter means in exhorting believers to grow in grace. (2 Pet 3:18) An increase in justification is not receiving sanctifying grace where there is none, but a movement of growth from grace to more grace, and thus a growth in conformity to the likeness of Christ, by an increase in the capacity of our participation in the divine nature. (2 Pet 1:4)

The reason this distinction between justification and its increase is important for understanding the Catholic doctrine concerning justification is that although a person can and should prepare for justification (Trent VI.6), he cannot merit justification by any works. But, a person who is already justified and in a state of grace, can merit an increase in justification by doing good works out of love (agape) for God. Among these good works are works in keeping with the moral law, done out of love (agape) for God. God rewards our works done in agape by increasing our capacity to participate in His divine nature, and thus by increasing our participation in His agape. He Himself is our reward, and growth in grace is growth in Him, a reward we receive already in this present life, to be multiplied abundantly in the life to come.

This brings up so many questions, I hardly know where to start. First I want to ask, if 'an increase in justification is not the translation from a state in which one is deprived of sanctifying grace to a state in which one has sanctifying grace' AND 'if a person falls into mortal sin, [justification takes place] through the sacrament of penance' THEN would you also say that if a person falls into mortal sin they are deprived of justification and sanctifying grace and must regain it by the sacrament of penance? So, a person can lose justification and regain it and can also gain more justification?
Some Catholics may know that Protestants don't speak of losing justification or gaining more of it, but instead speak of being sanctified, which means being made more like Christ as we abide in Him through His word, prayer, and obedience. Protestants don't believe in losing justification through sin, but some believe it can be lost by apostasy (defecting from the faith). Is it possible that the phrases 'increase in justification' and 'sanctification' mean the same thing or are similar? I don't know.
The main differences I see here are that Protestants don't believe in losing justification by sinning and that most don't believe that baptism confers justification. We believe that justification is by faith the moment the person believes in the gospel. We believe that regeneration, which is being made a new creation by the power of the Holy Spirit, occurs at this moment as well. The person is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and desires to be like Christ and fellowship with Him and other believers. We believe that baptism is commanded and is a sign of justification. Some believe that it is absolutely necessary for salvation and some don't, the latter believing that it is a sign of obedience and should be done; if it isn't then the person may not have faith that leads to obedience (unless there is some circumstance that makes baptism impossible, or the person dies first).
The most important difference I see here, which I mentioned earlier, is that protestants don't believe that justification can increase, and scripture doesn't speak of this either. We don't believe that someone who is 'just' can be made any more just. Scripture does speak of an increase or growth of grace, however. The Bible says 'The just shall live by faith.' This means that the one who has been justified by faith will continue to live by faith, and this faith brings more grace as we abide in Christ. This increase in grace is the ability to live as Christ wants us to, to be more and more like Him. Grace comes by faith and the Spirit and the Word working in us to make us like Christ, helping us do the good works for which we are saved. Here is an article I found which does a VERY good job of explaining grace, faith, and good works.


Here is another excerpt which engenders more questions:

Does St. Paul teach that justification is by keeping the ceremonial law? No. Does St. Paul teach that justification is by keeping the moral law? No. According to St. Paul, justification is not by works of the law, and in St. Paul “works of the Law” refers to the whole law under the Old Covenant. That’s what Robert [Sungenis] is saying, and I agree with him, and nothing I said contradicts what he said. But, as I will explain below, unless we recognize the difference between the meaning of “works of the Law” as including the ceremonial law, and the New Covenant law that does not include the ceremonial law, we can mistakenly treat St. Paul’s teaching that justification is not by the former as though it also denies increases in justification by means of the latter.

Without sanctifying grace and living faith, we cannot merit heaven; to claim otherwise would be Pelagianism. And that is why we cannot be justified by works. For St. Paul justification is by living faith, and we receive this living faith by hearing (Rom 10:17), and it is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) through the sacrament of baptism (Rom 6, Col 2). But none of that condemns or denies increases in justification through good works in accordance with the moral law done out of love (agape) for
God.

What is the 'new covenant'? It isn't a new law, it's the law written in our hearts: the law of love for God and our neighbors, which we can now follow by faith and in love, no longer trying to save ourselves because we are saved by faith through Christ's sacrifice. We have been given His righteousness and His Spirit and so are free to act in love rather than by compulsion or fear as we would if we had to keep up our own justification or earn our own salvation by our own power.


There is a difference between 'justification by faith' in Paul (Romans 4) and James' statement 'You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.' See James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. In other words, a dead body has no spirit just as dead faith has no works.
In James he is talking about 'being shown to be justified'. So we are justified by faith and then our faith produces works which show us to be justified. I've heard that the Greek word which is translated 'justified' can mean both of these things and the context must show which one is meant. The same word can mean 'made or declared righteous or just' or it can mean 'shown or proved to be righteous or just'.
It seems that Catholics believe that our works of love make us more just, but protestants believe that our completed justification (by faith) makes us do works of love (that show our faith). Is the former what Bryan is saying about Catholicism or am I misunderstanding? Protestants believe that after justification by faith, all is now of faith and we continue to be made more like Christ as we abide in Him. We can't lose justification because it is a gift of God and we can't become MORE justified because to be justified means to be made righteous by Christ's perfect righteousness. We can't gain justification because we are already perfect in God's grace, and are alive in Him, when before we were dead in sin. We can then grow up and mature in love and obedience to Him as we learn to submit to Him and repent of our sins.

James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? Is James setting up a contrast here between two extremes? Between someone who thinks they are saved by faith even though they have no works afterward and someone who thinks they are saved by their own works but have no faith in Christ? In other words 'Show me your faith without your works' could mean 'show me your faith that justifies APART from works'. James then says 'I will show you my true faith that produces works.' Is this a valid understanding of what James is saying here? Faith produces works, but faith must come first and bring life, then works are the life lived out by faith.
Our works show or prove that we are just and works complete or perfect our faith. These works are done by faith and show that our faith is complete. James 2:22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”And he was called the friend of God.