Gospel. Culture. Technology. Music.

Month: October 2017


Unpacking the Ninth Commandment

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

In these words is contained an entire volume that could be written on slander, lying, gossip, shaming others, and so on. Do we delight in speaking ill or even thinking ill of others, even if it’s true to one degree or another? Too often this manifests itself on social media, even in seemingly harmless ways (“humble shaming”?), but also in loose talk within conversations, even and especially with people in church many times. The Westminster Larger Catechism unpacks what is required and restricted within the ninth commandment. Quite convicting. Thankful that Jesus covers this by His great love through the accomplishment of our salvation in fulfilling this aspect of the law. And yet I pray that through His resurrection to new life that is now ours, that we would turn from our loose natural talk that demeans others, and as Paul says in Romans 3:31, uphold the law by this faith in His promises in the gospel.

Below is  link to a great article related to this and the section of questions related to the ninth commandment in the Westminster Larger Catechism.

Further reading: https://cccdiscover.com/this-is-why-gossip-is-the-most-unacceptable-sin/

In You We Live and Move and Have Our Being – A Prayer

Glorious Father, It is in you that we live and move and have our being. You have captivated our hearts through the unconquerable love You have demonstrated toward us in creation and redemption. You have united us together with Your Son. His death for sin is our death to sin. His resurrected life is our resurrected life as a new creation. His justification in His perfect life lived and sacrificial death on our behalf is our justification before You, through faith alone. You have adopted us and made us Your very own children through the work of the One who laid down everything so that You could have us as Your own. You have transferred us from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of Your beloved Son. Through your embrace of us, would you free us from the attachments and entanglements the world has on our hearts, with all of its distracting joys and delights, and replace those things we wrongly cherish more than You with an unfading joy and desire for You, surpassing the love of all things that so easily captures our hearts. Remind us throughout all our days of Your faithfulness and tender care and affection toward us, in order that we would remain faithful in this world.

Five Solas of the Reformation – Gregg Strawbridge

Sola Scriptura: The Scripture Alone is the Standard

The doctrine that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority was the “Formal Principle” of the Reformation. In 1521 at the historic interrogation of Luther at the Diet of Worms, he declared his conscience to be captive to the Word of God saying, “Unless I am overcome with testimonies from Scripture or with evident reasons — for I believe neither the Pope nor the Councils, since they have often erred and contradicted one another — I am overcome by the Scripture texts which I have adduced, and my conscience is bound by God’s Word.” Similarly, the Belgic Confession stated, “We believe that [the] holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein…Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures nor ought we to consider custom or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God… Therefore, we reject with all our hearts whatsoever does not agree with this infallible rule” (VII).

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