Machen's "Christianity and Liberalism" -- Free eBook

John Hendryx at Monergism.com is making available a free eBook edition of J. Gresham Machen's classic text Christianity and Liberalism.

This is one of those texts all Reformed Christians should read at least once.  Here it is, for free.  No excuses!

Christianity and Liberalism Free eBook

John also has a nice link to my Amillennialism 101 series (which is also found here on the Riddleblog's sidebar)

Amillennialism 101

"I and the Father Are One" -- John 10:22-42

The Thirty-Fourth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

When Jesus entered Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths, he began teaching regularly in the temple.  Although his hour has not yet come, it is drawing near.  Jesus’ messianic mission is reaching its conclusion.  Through a series of discourses and debates with the Jews, Jesus is preparing his disciples for that day just months away when he will depart from them.  There is much for them to learn and not much time remaining for Jesus to teach them.  But through these discourses and debates, Jesus is also bringing God’s covenant judgment upon unbelieving Israel.  His words do two things–they give life to his sheep, who hear his voice in his word, and his words serve to harden the hearts of the Pharisees who have opposed Jesus’ messianic mission from the moment he first set foot in the city.  During the Feast of Dedication, once again, Jesus demonstrates that he is Israel’s Messiah and one with YHWH.  And once again the Pharisees seek to arrest him.

In John 10:1-21 Jesus gives the “Good Shepherd” discourse in which our Lord affirms that he is the faithful shepherd over God’s messianic flock, that one who was foretold by Moses and Israel’s prophets (especially Ezekiel and Jeremiah).  Throughout the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Zechariah, Israel’s unbelieving kings and rulers are described as false shepherds who seek to exploit the people of God.  Many are singled out for God’s judgment in the form of covenant curse.  When Jesus gives the “Good Shepherd” discourse in John 10, it is clear to all listening to him that Jesus sees the Pharisees as false shepherds (strangers, thieves, and robbers).  These are men who, barring repentance, can expect to face the same covenant curses meted out upon Israel’s unbelieving kings as in the days of the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah.  The Pharisees’ mistreatment of the people of God is exemplified in John 9 by the cruel and callous way they treated the man who had been blind from birth, and who had been healed by Jesus.  These men are nothing but hirelings who care nothing for God’s sheep.

The “Good Shepherd” discourse takes up the first half of John 10, while the second half (vv. 22-41) serves as an elaboration and an extension of the themes set forth by Jesus in vv. 1-21, who has identified himself as the “Good Shepherd” of Israel, who has come to tend to God’s scattered flock, and who, unlike the false shepherds and hirelings, will lay down his life for the sheep.  Jesus will not abandon God’s people when savage wolves approach.  He will do whatever is necessary to protect God’s flock, and lead God’s people into those green pastures spoken of by the Psalmist in the 23rd Psalm.

As we have seen throughout the last several discourses in John, whenever Jesus speaks, those listening to him are divided among themselves as to whether or not Jesus is a dangerous false teacher, or the coming of God’s prophet as predicted by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).  There are messianic implications to virtually everything Jesus says and does.  As we saw last time, when Jesus finished his “Good Shepherd” discourse, we read in verses 19-21, “there was again a division among the Jews because of [Jesus’] words.  Many of them said, `He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?’  Others said, `These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’”

To read the rest of this sermon,  Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (May 25-31)

Sunday Morning (May 31):  We are moving forward with our sermon series on the books of Ezra-Nehemiah.  This Lord's day we will be working our way through Ezra 8:1-36, and considering Ezra's exodus from Babylon.  Our Lord's Day worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  Rev. Chris Coleman will be leading our catechism service, which begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (May 27):  We are continuing our series, "Run Through the Letters of Paul," and we are considering Galatians 4:21-31, and Paul's discussion of the two mountains and the two women.

The Academy:  Friday, May 29 @ 7:30 p.m.  

Our current Academy series "The Great and Holy War" has focused upon the legacy of World War One, including the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine (Israel), the roots of ISIS (the end of the Caliphate/Ottoman Empire), the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Marxist-Leninism.

This week, we conclude our discussion of the text for this series is Philip Jenkin's book,  The Great and Holy War.  You are welcome to join us for our discussion, if you have not read, nor finished reading the book.

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

“The Hand of the Lord My God Was on Me” -- Ezra 7:1-28

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon: Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn

Members of the Body of Christ

This week on the White Horse Inn we discuss what it means to be a member of the body of Christ. We are joined by Thabiti Anyabwile who is the assistant pastor for church planting at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. He has written numerous books, including most recently The Life of God in the Soul of the Church.

Should the church attempt to engage the culture in relevant ways, or does this strategy end up continuing to divide us by worldly preferences and priorities that are opposed to the gospel? What does it mean to be a member of a healthy church and, additionally, what does it mean to be a healthy church member? Join us as we seek discuss the body of Christ, the church, this week on the White Horse Inn.

Click Here

"The Great War" (World War One) -- Lectures and Handouts

Here is a complete list of lectures on "The Great War" and the topics covered in each of them.  The handouts, including a bibliography, can be found below

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Lecture One:  "Why Study a War Fought One Hundred Years Ago?"

There are seven broad-ranging geopolitical implications which comprise the legacy of the Great War:

1).  The Great War marks the dawn of the modern world

2).  The Great War shook the very foundation of Europe and Western Civilization

3).  The Great War leads to a sequel (WW2)

4).  The Great War gives rise to the Arab-Israeli conflict

5).  The Great War sets the stage for the rise of ISIS and transnational terrorism

6). The Great War gave rise to the Soviet Union and international Communism

7). The Great War gave rise to America as the world’s foremost super-power

The Great War: Lecture One

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 Lecture Two:  "Who Started It, and Why?"

Why did "Christian" Europe self-destruct?

1).  What are the causes of the Great War?

2).  What is just war theory, and how should it have been applied by the participants?

3).  How did Christian progressives and fundamentalists view the Great War?

The Great War: Lecture Two

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Lecture Three:  "The Cessation of Hostilities"

Did the "Great War" really end?  Or was there merely a temporary cessation of hostilities?

1).  The Treaty of Versailles (1919)

2).  The Balfour Declaration (1917)

The Great War: Lecture Three

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Lecture Four:  "One Hundred Years Later"

The scars from the Great War are deep and permanent

1).  The geopolitical, theological, and philosophical scars of the Great War

2).  The rise of ISIS

The Great War:  Lecture Four

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Handouts

J. I. Packer's "Introduction" to John Owen's "Death of Death"

J. I. Packer's "Introduction" to John Owen's magisterial defense of particular redemption (Owen's Death of Death) is simply must reading.  Packer's essay is one of the most succinct and clear presentations of the so-called "five points" of Calvinism you'll ever read.

John Hendryx (proprietor of Mongerism.com) has made this wonderful essay available for free in a number of e-book and printable formats.

If you've not read it, now is the time!

Packer's "Introduction"

"I am the Good Shepherd" -- John 10:1-21

The Thirty-Third in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Moses and Israel’s prophets foretold of a time when God would send a faithful shepherd to care for God’s people (his flock)–yet another blessing of the messianic age.  In the person of Jesus, that shepherd has come to Israel.  Ironically, the Pharisees see themselves as Israel’s shepherds.  But Jesus sees them as faithless thieves and robbers who care little for God’s flock, and who think nothing of exploiting the flock as it suits them.  It is Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who will gather God’s flock to himself, lead them to green pastures, and protect them from all enemies.  The Good Shepherd cares for his flock and he will lay down his life for his sheep, those who hear his voice and who follow their shepherd wherever he leads them.

In John 9, Jesus miraculously heals a man who had been blind from birth.  This miracle–the sixth of seven miraculous signs in John’s Gospel–proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah.  One of the main themes of messianic prophecy (especially that found in the Book of Isaiah), is that when the Messiah comes, he will restore sight to the blind.  When the Pharisees learn that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath, they were outraged by Jesus’ action and sought to use his miracle, and the manner in which he performed it (using mud and spittle), as grounds to find Jesus guilty of breaking the Sabbath.  This would be sufficient to arrest Jesus and put him to death.  

When the Pharisees could not prove that Jesus had done anything wrong, they angrily turn on the blind man who identified Jesus as the prophet.  When the blind man refuses to change his story about how Jesus healed him, or change his opinion about Jesus’ identity, the Pharisees cast him and his parents out of the synagogue, solely on the ground that Jesus had healed him.  Knowing what had happened to this man and his family, Jesus has compassion on him yet again, and brings him to saving faith (as recounted in verses 35-37).  The blind man whose eyes are now open, confesses his faith in Jesus, and then worships him.  Remarkably, Jesus receives his worship.

The ever-present Pharisees are watching this transpire and could not help but respond when Jesus places God’s covenant judgment (curse) upon them.  In John 9:39-41, “Jesus said, `For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’  Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, `Are we also blind?’  Jesus said to them, `If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.’”  The Pharisees witnessed a man born blind from birth receiving sight, and yet offer not a word of praise to God.  The miracle proves that Jesus is the Messiah, but they seek to kill him.  Because the blind man will not change his story to help them trap Jesus, the Pharisees revile him, before excommunicating him.  John leaves us with the amazing irony in chapter 9 is that a blind man can now see (spiritually and physically) while it is the Pharisees who are truly blind even though there is nothing wrong with their eyesight.

The actions of the unbelieving, heartless, and cruel Pharisees towards the blind man and his parents, coupled with the fact that Jesus places God’s covenant curse upon them (they remain in their sins), sets the stage for one of the most beloved sections in the New Testament, John 10:1-21, wherein Jesus proclaims that he is the Good Shepherd of Israel.  In the prior chapter (John 9), the account of the healing of the blind man takes place against the backdrop of the messianic expectation of sight being restored to the blind.  So too in chapter 10, Jesus discourse is set against the Old Testament backdrop of God placing his covenant curse upon the faithless shepherds of Israel who exploit the people of God for personal gain.  The list of Old Testament texts is extensive, and we will consider a number of them.  The list includes Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 56:9-12, Jeremiah 23:1-8 (which we read as our Old Testament lesson), 25:32-38, Zechariah 11, and even the 23rd Psalm.  In John 10, Jesus will make the point that the Pharisees, who have just demonstrated their rank unbelief in their treatment of both Jesus and the man born blind, are false shepherds who will come under the covenant curses.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (May 18-24)

Sunday Morning (May 24):  We are continuing our sermon series on the books of Ezra-Nehemiah.  We come now to Ezra 7:1-28, and Ezra's focus on renewed devotion to the law of God.  Our Lord's Day worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  We are back in the Heidelberg Catechism!  We will be discussing the guilt-grace-gratitude structure of the Catechism.  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (May 20):  We are continuing our series, "Run Through the Letters of Paul," and we in Galatians 4:8-31, and Paul's discussion of the two mountains and the two women.

The Academy:  Friday, May 22 @ 7:30 p.m.  

Our current Academy series "The Great and Holy War" is focusing upon the legacy of World War One, including the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine (Israel), the roots of ISIS (the end of the Caliphate/Ottoman Empire), the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Marxist-Leninism.

This week, we will begin our discussion of the text for this series is Philip Jenkin's book,  The Great and Holy War.  You are welcome to join us for our discussion, if you have not read, nor finished reading the book.

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

"Great Joy" -- Ezra 6:1-22

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon

Click Here