Consider the folly of a non-teleological human being, and a non-teleological cosmos—a man and a universe with no meaning, no purpose, no destiny, no design. It's absurd. An undesigned man living in an undesigned, un-purposed cosmos is set forth as if it were scientific objectivity, as if the study of the properties of matter can conclusively answer the ultimate questions of metaphysics. This is a guarantee that man is done with historic religion. And this is one of the reasons why there is going to be another Babylon, a new tower of Babel, so to speak. Why? Because to be left without absolute meaning results in man worshipping himself so that nothing outside of him authoritatively defines him. That's the present state of folly which our Western world has reached.
Read moreThe Boldness of the Man of God
When we abide in Christ, there is power and nerve. And we will make it our ambition to please Christ first (2 Cor 5:9). The ambition to please Him is filled with the hope of favorably greeting Him at His return (1 Jn 2:28). Courage is a byproduct of living to please Christ. When Christ's approval towers over all other sources of approval, boldness is second nature. Those who live to please Christ have the judgment seat of Christ etched upon their consciousness (2 Cor 5:9-10).
Read moreSelf-Denial Part Two
Self-denial accompanies obedience of every kind, which is why Christianity without self-denial is impossible. Biblical commands are almost always 180 degrees opposite of our natural way of doing things (Tim LaHaye). How true! “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov 14:12). Every area of obedience Scripture calls for requires self-denial. No wonder Charles Spurgeon offered this observation, “Superficial religion will always be fashionable because it does not require self-denial.”
Read moreSelf Denial, Faith's Warranty
A disciple’s practice of self-denial is essential in caring for, and maintaining his relationship with the Lord.
The self-denial God commanded by Christ is not the asceticism found in medieval piety, for that severe treatment of the body was driven by insecurity; by an absence of assurance of salvation. By contrast, true self-denial is logically the outworking of one’s communion with Christ, and one’s sonship and union with Christ. The believer enjoys belonging; he possesses the Spirit of Sonship (Rom 8:15).
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