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Category Archives: Calvinism

“A village church with a village God”

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on November 23, 2022

whale pod sculpture 5

Quoting John Stott:

“I remember some years ago visiting a church incognito. I sat in the back row. I wonder who’s in the back row tonight.

You know they often slip in there incognito. I’m not going to tell you the church. You won’t be able to identify it; it’s thousands of miles away from here.

When we came to the pastoral prayer, it was led by a lay brother, because the pastor was on holiday. So he prayed that the pastor might have a good holiday. Well, that’s fine. Pastors should have good holidays.

…Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Evangelism, Religion and Spirituality god, john stott, prayer, village church

Being at peace with indwelling sin.

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on November 5, 2022

Or rather not being at peace with indwelling sin…

Calvinism, Faith indwelling sin, Jc Ryle

Robert Flockhart the soldier who became a passionate open air street preacher.

4 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on November 2, 2022

A Street Preacher…

A remarkable sinner who became a remarkable convert, was an extraordinarily gifted man and fearless street preacher in the Edinburgh of the mid-1800’s. It is said Robert Flockhart (1778-1857) had sinned much, but he had been forgiven much, and so he loved much. Where Robert in Satan’s service had often exposed himself to disgrace, danger, and death itself, but after his conversion, “… If there had been need for it, I believe there was no man in Edinburgh who would have gone to the stake or scaffold for Jesus Christ with a firmer step or nobler bearing than this brave old soldier of the cross.”

Flockhart was converted in India, while a soldier, he became a fearless as a street preacher – often in the face of unruly crowds. In a tribute to Robert Flockhart, Charles Spurgeon said:

I must linger a moment over Robert Flockhart, of Edinburgh, who, though a lesser light, was a constant one, and a fit example to the bulk of Christ’s street witnesses. Every evening, in all weathers and amid many persecutions, did this brave man continue to speak in the street for forty-three years. Think of that, and never be discouraged. When he was tottering to the grave the old soldier was still at his post. “Compassion to the souls of men drove me,” said he, “to the streets and lanes of my native city, to plead with sinners and persuade them to come to Jesus. The love of Christ constrained me.”

Neither the hostility of the police, nor the insults of Papists, Unitarians, and the like could move him; he rebuked error in the plainest terms, and preached salvation by grace with all his might. So lately has he passed away that Edinburgh remembers him still. There is room for such in all our cities and towns, and need for hundreds of his noble order in this huge nation of London—can I call it less?

Lectures to my Students, Charles Spurgeon.

Lectures to My Students Vol One . PDF Download
Autobiography of Robert Flockhart (Amazon)
Q&A: Do Calvinists ask Jesus to ‘come into their heart’? (atwistedcrownofthorns.com)
Charles Spurgeon’s Advice To Preachers (christianlookingglass.wordpress.com)

Calvinism, Church History, Doctrine, Evangelism, Faith, Reformed Theology Charles Spurgeon, Edinburgh, lectures to my students, open air preaching, robert flockhart, scotland, street preachers

Top Ten Reasons Not To Join A Reformed Baptist Church.

19 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on September 14, 2022

If you are church shopping [this article was first published in OCTOBER 2011] or looking for a local Christian fellowship a Reformed Baptist Church may not be your cup of tea 🙂

Well you see, Dr. James White has (honestly) noted that in a Reformed Baptist Church…

You don’t get to leave after every sermon feeling good about yourself. You may even desire repentance.

You don’t get to hear the sermons in the same way you may be used to. It’s frequently verse by verse, maybe not even relevant to your current situation.

You don’t get to be entertained. We don’t want to entertain you. Read more of this post

Calvinism, Christianity, Reformed Theology, Satire church shopping, humor, james white, reformed baptist church, reformed doctrine

#SIN awareness day

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on August 3, 2022

2014-07-06 13.56.32 A lone street preacher calls on the crowd with a message. This is one of the most stirring photos I have seen in a long while…

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Religion and Spirituality

Why you must pray for the local church when there is a break up or scandal.

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on June 29, 2022

When a believer yields to temptation it brings dishonour to the Lord and sad consequences for the individual and others connected with him. When a church breaks down or departs from the truth it is impossible to judge how far reaching the effects might be. Many a town [and village] seems to have closed to the Gospel for 50 years or more because a once -thriving and influential church in the locality was torn by internal strife or caught up in a public scandal that has become common knowledge. How we must watch and pray over the churches, recognising that we can only really combat the enemy if we understand the scriptures.

Excerpt from Nigel Lacey’s book ‘God’s plan for the Local Church‘

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith church break down, gospel, Local Church, nigel lacey, scandals

How about the believer who falls?

4 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on December 20, 2021

The topic of a believer who falls into sin or renounces his profession is a common one. And from that spring boards the questions Can a believer fall radically? Can a believer fall totally, irretrievably and be lost for all eternity? I hope this post sheds some light on what scripture says…

We may live in a culture that believes everyone will be saved, that we are “justified by death” and all you need to do to go to heaven is die, but God’s Word certainly doesn’t give us the luxury of believing that. Any quick and honest reading of the New Testament shows that the Apostles were convinced that nobody can go to heaven unless they believe in Christ alone for their salvation (John 14:6; Rom. 10:9–10).

Historically, evangelical Christians have largely agreed on this point. Where they have differed has been on the matter of the security of salvation. People who would otherwise agree that only those who trust in Jesus will be saved have disagreed on whether anyone who truly believes in Christ can lose his salvation.

Theologically speaking, what we are talking about here is the concept of apostasy. This term comes from a Greek word that means “to stand away from.” When we talk about those who have become apostate or have committed apostasy, we’re talking about those who have fallen from the faith or at least from the profession of faith in Christ that they once made. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith, Reformed Theology apostacy, believers, fall, rc sproul

Some days I long for God…

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on November 1, 2021

That’s is absolutely true and more so today. I came across a Puritan poem-prayer that articulates this longing a lot better than I could…

My dear Lord, I can but tell Thee that Thou knowest I long for nothing but Thyself, nothing but holiness, nothing but union with Thy will. Thou hast given me these desires, and thou alone canst give me the thing desired. My soul longs for communion with Thee, for mortification of indwelling corruption, especially spiritual pride. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith, Reformed Theology, Religion and Spirituality longing for god, Puritan prayers

Preparing to listen to the preaching of the word

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on October 28, 2021

listening

We are told men ought not to preach without preparation. Granted. But, we add, men ought not to hear without preparation. Which, do you think, needs the most preparation, the sower or the ground? I would have the sower come with clean hands, but I would have the ground well-plowed and harrowed, well-turned over, and the clods broken before the seed comes in. It seems to me that there is more preparation needed by the ground than by the sower, more by the hearer than by the preacher. – Spurgeon

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith Charles Spurgeon, Preaching

O that I would pour out my heart before Him

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on September 11, 2021

Usually God’s children are able to most affectionately pour out their hearts before him in private. Here, they find their affections free to wrestle with God. Here, one finds most communion with God, and enlargement of heart. In private we are wholly at leisure to deal with God in a child-like liberty. Now, will you omit this duty where you may be most free, without distraction, to let out your heart to God? The sweetest experiences of God’s saints are when they are alone with him. ~ Thomas Manton

Calvinism, Christianity, Reformed Theology, Religion and Spirituality Puritan quotes, thomas manton, voices from the past

Church membership: Reasons to (or not to become) a member.

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on September 8, 2021

Nine Marks has an interesting article on why you should become a church member and even when you have an excuse for not joining one church you must look for another and BECOME A COMMITTED CHURCH MEMBER. Check this out….

REASONS TO JOIN THE CHURCH

These more deliberate conversations veer back and forth between the biblical and the practical. Typically, I generally encourage a person to join the church

# For the sake of the pastors. It lets the pastors know who you are, and makes them responsible for you (see Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:17).

# For the sake of obedience to Jesus. Jesus did not give you the keys of the kingdom for binding and loosing. He gave the keys to the apostolic local church (Matt. 16:13-20; 18:15-20). You don’t have the authority to baptize yourself or feed yourself the Lord’s Supper. It requires a church to affirm your profession of faith, which is what membership is at its very heart (see Acts 2:38).

# For the sake of other believers. Joining makes you responsible for one local congregation, and they for you. You now own or have a share in their discipleship to Christ. That is, you are now responsible for their growth and professions of faith, insofar as you are responsible for the church’s faithful gospel preaching (Gal. 1) and that individual’s discipline (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5).

…Read More!

Calvinism, Christian news, Christianity, Faith, Reformed Theology church membership, excuses, nine marks, reasons

The conversion of Charles Spurgeon

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on June 27, 2021

low angle photography of cathedral

Charles H. Spurgeon was born at Essex, England, June 19, 1834; led his class at every examination in school at Colchester; converted December 15, 1850; preached first sermon 1851 at age 16; became a pastor in 1852; published more than 1900 sermons in his lifetime; died 1892, he was mourned by thousands.

In Spurgeon’s own words:

I had been about five years in the most fearful distress in mind, as a lad. If any human being felt more of the terror of God’s law, I can indeed pity and sympathize with him. Bunyan’s “Grace Abounding” contains, in the main, my history. Some abysses he went into I never trod; but some into which I plunged he seems to have never known. I thought the sun was blotted out of my sky–that I had sinned so against God that there was no hope for me. I prayed – the Lord knoweth how I prayed, but I never had a glimpse of an answer that I knew of. I searched the Word of God; the promises were more alarming than the threatenings. I read the privileges of the people of God, but with the fullest persuasions that they were not for me. The secret of my distress was this: I did not know the gospel. I was in a Christian land, I had Christian parents, but I did not fully understand the simplicity of the gospel.

…Read more!

Calvinism, Christian news, Christianity, Church History, Evangelism, Religion and Spirituality Charles Spurgeon, Conversion, Testimony

Sola Scriptura and The Cult of One

6 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on March 31, 2021

The clarion call of the Reformation was to get back to the source of christian faith. A relentless and clear cry to go back to the scriptures, the principle now known as “Sola Scriptura” (by scripture alone). Additionally, another prominent doctrine which was then brought forth is often known as “the universal priesthood of the believer“. Well you see…

Many, many, people in the years since interpreted those two doctrines taken-together to mean that each person interprets the bible for himself (and by himself). Unfortunately, this has had the tendency to create novel doctrines over the years, and yes, a proliferation of cults.

I’m not saying that each individual cannot understand the Bible — and thus needs a professional clergy-person to do it for him. Rather, the point of those two doctrines was to emphasize the idea that one needn’t be part of the professional clergy to understand the Bible. …Read More!

Calvinism, Church History, Doctrine, Reformed Theology reformed history, sola scriptura, universal priesthood of believers

Black and Reformed: A Paradigm Shift

6 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on March 27, 2021

[First posted in 2011] Is it true that the green shoots of recovery are sprouting and there is a gradually surging under current of hunger for Scripturally sound preaching with relentless intensity, indepth theological conviction and astute hermeneutic discipline? A couple of years ago Christianity Today noted that there was a growing resurgence towards Reformed Theology. Reformed theology or Calvinism stresses that the initiative, sovereignty, and power of God is the only sure hope for the sinfulness, fickleness, and moral weakness of human beings—and the glory of God is the ultimate theme of preaching and focus of worship. But how proportional has this interest panned out among different ethnic communities? This in its self is just a glancing over view of the paradigm shift in the Black communities.
Read More

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Evangelism, Reformed Theology anthony carter, aseity, attributes of god, black and reformed, black reformed churches, black reformed preachers, calvinism, calvinist, immutability, John Piper, liberation theology, martin luther, paul gifford, peter hammond, Prosperity Gospel, reformed theology, supremacy of god, TULIP, voddie baucham, young restless and reformed

An Easter thought on Christmas!

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on December 5, 2019

At Christmas the time of the year when most people are setting up nativity scenes not many set up a bloodied cross or an empty tomb to celebrate the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ yet his birth goes hand in hand with his death. Only true Christians know the immense and infinite significance of Christ’s death…He came as a lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He came to die!
Imagine Christ, the sin bearer, approaching that hour…the hour of his appointed death. Is that a “Christmasy” thought? You bet! It gets better when you understand the reason why his death was was necessary.
Horatius Bonar puts it this way…

The feelings of the trembling sinner, when awakened under the terrors of the divine law, and made alive to the hell of sin within him, may help to give us some faint idea of the way in which the burden of our sins pressed upon Christ. It is true He had no sin—not the shadow of sin upon Him, for He was the Holy One; yet He speaks always of our sins as if they were His own, as if He had committed them. He felt under them just as if they were His own. He was perfectly holy, yet so closely were our sins bound upon Him by God, that He felt the pressure just as if they were His own.

Being our substitute, God dealt with Him as such—as if the sins He bore had really been His, not ours. Being thus in the eye of the law identified with those whose sins He bore, He was made to feel what they would have been doomed to feel, had God left them to reap themselves the fruit of their own transgressions. This awful burden He bore alone. He had none to aid Him; none to relieve Him of any part of its overwhelming pressure. There was none that could assist Him. There was none to divide the burden with Him; nor to uphold Him under it. “My lovers and my friends stand aloof…and my kinsmen stand afar off.” They all forsook Him and fled. And, as He bare it alone, so He bare it fully. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christian news, Christianity, Doctrine, Faith Christmas, horatius bonar, the sin bearer

Jim Elliot on Missions

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on September 5, 2019

“You wonder why people choose fields away from the States when young people at home are drifting because no one wants to take time to listen to their problems. Ill tell you why I left. Because those Stateside young people have every opportunity to study, hear, and understand the Word of God in their own language, and these Indians have no opportunity whatsoever. I have had to make a cross of two logs, and lie down on it, to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man. When there is that much ignorance over here and so much knowledge and opportunity over there, I have no question in my mind why God sent me here. Those whimpering Stateside young people will wake up on the Day of Judgment condemned to worse fates than these demon-fearing Indians, because, having a Bible, they were bored with it—while these never heard of such a thing as writing.”
Jim Elliot

YWAM Publishing: Jim Elliot Book and Study Guide Review (wecanhackett.wordpress.com)
“Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose” Review (finchnwren.wordpress.com)

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Religion and Spirituality Bible, Jim Elliot, Missions, Youth

J.C Ryle: God doesn’t look at…

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on August 31, 2019

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine J.c Ryle, Quotes

Jesus is mighty to save those who repent…

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on August 26, 2019

“Mighty to save.” -Isaiah 63:1

By the words “to save” we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parro: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only “mighty to save” those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him.

…Read More!

Calvinism, Doctrine, Faith, Reformed Theology, Religion and Spirituality Charles Spurgeon, mighty to save, morning and evening

John Flavel: You are indebted to God

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on August 21, 2019

In nothing does Providence shine forth more gloriously in this world than in ordering the occasions, instruments and means of conversion of the people of God. However skillfully its hand had moulded your bodies, however tenderly it had preserved them and however bountifully it had provided for them; if it had not also ordered some means or other for your conversion, all the former favours and benefits it had done for you had meant little. This, O this, is the most excellent benefit you ever received from its hand. You are more indebted to it for this, than for all your other mercies. ~ John Flavel

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Faith John Flavel, Providence, Puritan quotes

Martyn Lloyd Jones on missionary zeal.

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on May 22, 2019

“There is no better test of our spiritual state and condition than our missionary zeal, our concern for lost souls. That is always the thing that divides people who are just theoretical and intellectual Christians from those who have a living and a vital spiritual life.” -Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Romans – God’s Sovereign Purpose)

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism martyn lloyd-jones, missionary zeal, Quotes

A Dummy’s Guide to Calvinism

16 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on February 11, 2019

The Crucifixion- Matthias Grunewald (1470-1528)

Is there a God? Is He sitting some where twiddling His thumbs or biting His finger nails as the world spirals into debauchery? Ever fancied taking a peek over His shoulder and catching Him taking a cat nap or slumped over in a yoga- pose with legs helplessly inter twined? Calvinism is associated with Reformed Theology the Theological system associated with the Reformer John Calvin that emphasizes and underlines the vitally important truth that God is in control of all things, not man; that God is the source of salvation; and that men and women can do nothing to save themselves. It emphasises our total dependence as guilty sinners on the mercy and grace of God for salvation. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation. Read More

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Evangelism doctrines of grace, dummys guide to calvinism, irresistable grae, limited atonement, perseverance of saints, reformed theology, Total Depravity, unconditional election

William Carey: The Doctrines of Grace in Evangelism

4 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on January 1, 2019

When it comes to missionaries to South East Asia or rather India in particular William Carey, a shoemaker by trade is the first name that springs up. Born in England in 1761 he spent an active forty-one years serving the Lord in India, including translating the Scriptures. This was after being heckled,”Young man, sit down: when God pleases to covert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”

To know what William believed I will let this excerpt unfold the story:

William Carey’s greatest contribution to the modern missions movement was his trust in the sovereignty of God in missions. This fueled his zeal to reach the heathen with the gospel. In his youth, he was told to sit down by an elder brother, a hyper-Calvinist, who told him that when God wanted to reach the heathen He would do it without him or Carey. Carey’s Calvinism however, his theological understanding of God’s sovereignty and the responsibility of man, would not allow him to either doubt God’s sovereignty or neglect his responsibility. Read More…

Calvinism, Christianity, Church History, Evangelism, Reformed Theology calvinism, calvinists in evangelism, election of god, great commission, india missionaries, william carey, worldwide missions

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood…

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on September 11, 2018

saving drowning man Oh how the words of some hymns just linger in the recesses of your mind and nourish you with rich spiritual truths. Today I will feature the first two verses and the last verse of William Cowper’s hymn ‘There is a fountain filled with blood’

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains…

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away… …Read More!

Calvinism, Christian news, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Reformed Theology, Religion and Spirituality Hymns, there is a fountain filled with blood, william cowper

What God begins, he finishes…

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on August 31, 2018

On the perseverance of the saints…

Psa 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Ecc 3:14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.
Isa 46:4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
Jer 32:40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Phi 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safety into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Of all whom he has called and brought to Christ, none will be lost
Joh 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Joh 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Rom 8:28-31 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith, Reformed Theology Christ, Christ Jesus, god, Lord Jesus Christ, monergism, nathan pitchford, perseverance of the saints

Why do missionaries check on Sparrows every morning?

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on August 27, 2018

Many missionaries learn of God’s wonderful providence in times of difficulty and more so in financial difficulty. David Sitton shares in his free book on how to pray and support missionaries Warfare Prayer:

Financial anxiety increases with the sudden drop of support. Every missionary has gotten the “Dear John” letter explaining why support is being discontinued. One such letter I received had a final check and a hand scribbled note explaining that it was no longer financially feasible to invest in the ministry, as the parking lot of the church building needed re-paving.
My missionary mentor, Joe Cannon, encouraged us during tough financial times by saying: “Check and see if the sparrows have eaten today. As long as they eat, we eat. When God quits feeding the sparrows, missionaries will become extinct.” How true that is. Yet, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Dependence upon God and his daily provision is a wonderful way to live. ~David Sitton

Luke 12:6-7: Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Calvinism, Christian news, Evangelism, Faith david sitton, Missionaries

How may I shorten my sermons?

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on May 22, 2018

“If you ask me how you may shorten your sermons, I should say, STUDY THEM BETTER. Spend more time in the study that you may need less in the pulpit. …Read More!

Calvinism, Charismania, Christianity, Doctrine Charles Spurgeon, long sermons

Quote of the day: Ulrich Zwingli…

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on March 14, 2018

“The Christian life, then, is a battle, so sharp and full of danger that effort can nowhere be relaxed without loss…” -Ulrich Zwingli, 16th Century Swiss Reformer

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith, Reformed Theology Quotes, reformers, Ulrich Zwingli

Saint Augustine’s fruitless joys…

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on March 9, 2018

HT The Old Guys via FB.

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Faith Augustine Of Hippo, saint augustine

Do not be discouraged at the difficulties…

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on March 1, 2018

If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31

Do not be discouraged at the difficulties and oppositions that will rise up before you when you begin resolvedly to walk with God. Discouragements turn multitudes from religion, and provide a great temptation for many young beginners to turn back. Israel in the wilderness was ready to retreat to Egypt. God himself will have his servants and his graces tried and exercised by difficulties, and Satan, will quickly raise up storms before us, as soon as we are set out to sea.

But God is on your side and has all your enemies in his hand, and can rebuke them, or destroy them in a moment. O what is the breath or
fury of dust or devils, against the Lord Almighty! In the day you entered into a covenant with God, and he with you, you entered into the most impregnable rock and fortress, and covered yourself in a castle of defence, where you may (modestly) defy all adverse powers of earth
or hell. If God cannot save you, he is not God. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith, Religion and Spirituality devotional, difficulties, Quotes, richard baxter

David Livingstone: Going to Africa ON MISSION was no sacrifice. It was a PRIVILEDGE!

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on January 22, 2018

livingstone7 David Livingstone gave his life to serve Christ in the exploration of Africa for the sake of the access of the gospel.
Here is what Livingstone said to the Cambridge students about his “leaving” the benefits of England:

For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? …Read More!

Calvinism, Christian news, Christianity, Church History, Faith, Religion and Spirituality david livingstone, gospel, mission, priviledge

Sermons of a man called George Whitefield.

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on October 12, 2017

Some one once said George Whitefield preached a pure gospel, a powerful gospel and a passionate gospel. He was a man of deep prayer, tremendous spiritual fortitude with a burdened heart, burning lips and brimming eyes. A contemporary of Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley, he was an English Anglican preacher who spent most of his life spreading the gospel by preaching in open air and was one of the major instruments of God used in the Great Awakening in Britain and the United States.

He drew great crowds when he preached to people from all walks of life. From a lordly chamber heavy with the pungent aroma of costly perfumes, Whitefield would race off to a street meeting. Catch his joy as he says, “There I was honored with having stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cats thrown at me.”

Now it’s possible to download read and study atleast 59 George Whitefield sermons either as a kindle ebook, pdf or EPub.

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith, Reformed Theology George Whitefield, Sermons

Lessons from the conversion of Zaccheus

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on September 18, 2017

(

From a sermon by George Whitefield:

O that the Lord would be pleased to pass by some of you at this time! O that he may call you by his Spirit, and make you a willing people in this day of his power! For I know my calling will not do, unless he, by his efficacious grace, compel you to come in. O that you once felt what it is to receive Jesus Christ into your hearts! You would soon, like Zaccheus, give him everything. You do not love Christ, because you do not know him; you do not come to him, because you do not feel your want of him: you are whole, and not broken hearted; you are not sick, at least not sensible of your sickness; and, therefore, no wonder you do not apply to Jesus Christ, that great, that almighty physician. You do not feel yourselves lost, and therefore do not seek to be found in Christ. O that God would wound you with the sword of his Spirit, and cause his arrows of conviction to stick deep in your hearts!

Read more of this post

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Religion and Spirituality Conversion, George Whitefield, zaccheus

Correcting the offending brother

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on March 24, 2017

I am currently reading a rare and out of print 1993 book that was kindly given to me by a retired pastor and I have reached the interesting section on ‘church discipline’. Indeed my coffee cup is filled to the brim and I am sprawling on a tiny chair as I indulge in savory words of virtue and wisdom. Okay lets back track a bit -church discipline -this of course is a delicate issue facing any congregation of Christians:

On one hand, believers are sensitive to the claims of truth on the conscience. They are further aware that truth is for the purpose of promoting godliness. Consequently, sin is to be taken seriously, and discipline when necessary, is to be administered according to the gravity of the offense in question. ‘If your brother sins,’ says our Lord, ‘correct him.’ (Matt 18:15).

On the other hand, Christians are aware that the truth has not been entrusted to the church in abstraction from the welfare of the people who are recipients of that truth.

If sin is exposed and corrected, it is only to the end that Christ may be glorified by the recovery and restoration of his errant sheep (cf James 5:19-20). The problem of church discipline, accordingly resides in the BALANCE of the truth and love of people… Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Contemporary Christian Music, Religion and Spirituality Christianity, church discipline, reformed

WWUTT: Hates the sin but loves the sinner? Not so fast dear!

6 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on March 10, 2017

This is quite interesting….

HT: Rated R for Reformed.

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine god loves sinners, rated r for reformed, Wrath Of God, wwutt

When sin shall be unmasked.

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on March 8, 2017

Ah, souls! when you shall lie upon a dying bed, and stand before a judgment-seat, sin shall be unmasked, and its dress and robes shall then be taken off, and then it shall appear more vile, filthy, and terrible than hell itself; then, that which formerly appeared most sweet will appear most bitter, and that which appeared most beautiful will appear most ugly, and that which appeared most delightful will then appear most dreadful to the soul.

~ Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices

HT Reformed Quotes.

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith puritans, reformed quotes, thomas brook

Ye Are The Salt!—Not Sugar Candy

6 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on March 3, 2017

By Charles Spurgeon

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. Read More

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism charles spurgeon quotes, liberalism

When God ordains thorns for me…

7 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on February 22, 2017

hope Having faith in God and putting your trust in Him involves trusting Him for your salvation and through your sanctification. Your sanctification is for His glory and for your good through times and situations you do not understand. More times than not there will be tough times; occasions when the proverbial thorn remains in your side and He will not take it away. In such times where do you draw your strength from? Our trust should always be in The Sovereign God knowing that what God ordains is always good for me for His glory. In the words of Nancy Guthrie…

Some claim that strong faith is defined by throwing our energies into begging God for a miracle that will take away our suffering and then believing without doubting that he will do it. But faith is not measured by our ability to manipulate God to get what we want, it is measured by our willingness to submit to what he wants. It takes great faith to say to God, ” Even if you don’t heal me or the one I love, even if you don’t change my circumstances, even if you don’t restore my relationship, even if you allow me to lose what is most precious to me, I will still love you and obey you and believe that you are good. – Nancy Guthrie (Hearing Jesus Speak Into your Sorrow) …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine god ordains, gods sovereign plan, nancy guthrie

Adonirom Judson’s letter to his prospective father in law Mr Hasseltine.

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on February 15, 2017

Adoniram Judson, Jr. (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. Judson is remembered as the first significant missionary in Burma, as well as one of the very first missionaries from America to travel overseas. The story of his biography has touched many people, however I will just dig into a small bit here and it’s his letter to his prospective father in law shines some light into the kind of person he was and his passion for missions and evangelism of the dangerous heathen lands:

“I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world ? Whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? Whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death? Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall resound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?”

HT J.D Greer

Adoniram Judson ended up spending his missionary career not in India, but in Burma. During his thirty-seven years of service there, he persevered through seventeen months of brutal imprisonment, several bouts of life-threatening illness, and the death of two wives and six children. He succeeded in translating the Bible into Burmese and compiling an English-Burmese dictionary. He waited six years for his first Burmese convert, but by the time of his death in 1850, there were a hundred Burmese churches and over 8,000 Burmese Christians. A very readable biography, To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson, recounts the epic story of his remarkable life.

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Religion and Spirituality adoniram judson, letter to father inlaw, mr hasseltine

How do the deaf hear the gospel?

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on February 4, 2017

That is a good question to ask a lady called Jean. I have had a really wonderful evening hearing of the missions work among the deaf in Austria. I must say any day I hear of God’s glorious works in the salvation of any soul I am always intrigued and amazed. This time I was glad to hear of how the gospel is spreading among the deaf in Klagenfurt, Austria. Jean Ellis has given over thirty years of her life to work in Austria. Her ministry in affiliation with Grace Baptist Mission (GBM) has almost been exclusively among the deaf and their families. By God’s grace some have come to repentance and faith in Christ and by the grace of God the number of deaf believers is growing who are now led by local sign language using pastors grounded in sound Biblical teaching. The work in Austria has been blessed with conversions and even baptisms.

The work among the deaf:

There have been many challenges in the work; part of the challenges were to translate the Bible into Austrian sign language, prayers of the leaders and new believers. Much prayer is still needed for missionaries to this community group (as well as to many missionaries to deaf people around the world). More missionaries are needed to special needs people whether deaf, blind or mute. Why? Because we as believers have an obligation and a commission from the Lord to spread the gospel. Besides…

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? [Rom 10:14]

May God send workers in to the harvest. May the Lord equip the workers for the harvest. May the glory go to Him alone.

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Religion and Spirituality Austria, Bible, Christ, Deafness, GBM, Hearing impairment, jean ellis, Klagenfurt, Sign language

Take the Calvinism Test.

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on February 1, 2017

The label Calvinist is thrown about flippantly. In some circles it’s used with a snarl and a growl. In most cases people do not actually know what it means. However Times Herald has noted that….

This label that once was considered very bad in almost all Christian circles is enjoying incredible new popularity. Surging numbers of Christians are attending Calvinistic conferences and reading Calvinistic books and articles.

Calvinism is still misunderstood and is recovering from so many decades of bad press. In spite of that, however, more people opening called themselves Calvinists or variations of that, like mild Calvinists or moderate Calvinists. Have you been labeled a Calvinist? How can you know if you or someone else is such an animal? In a moment I’d like to give you a simple test to determine just that.

The nickname Calvinist comes from the Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564). Although John Calvin taught through books of the Bible day-by-day in Geneva, Switzerland, he is known mostly for teaching that God is sovereign over the salvation of sinners. He taught that God chose to save some people before time began, and then predestined that they would become believers in Christ. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity Bible, calvinism, calvinist, Christ, Christianity, john calvin, quiz, reformed theology, test

Steven Lawson: The kind of preaching that God blesses

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on January 31, 2017

There is a kind of preaching that God blesses, specifically the proclamation that exalts the crucified Christ by the power of the Spirit. Conversely, there is a kind of preaching that God does not bless, a mere echoing of man’s empty wisdom that is devoid of Christ. ~ Lawson, Steven J. from The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine preaching god blesses, Quotes, steven lawson

Ecce Homo: Behold The Man!

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on January 30, 2017

It’s about two thousand years since Pilate said, “Ecce homo” (behold the man). How easily we forget that God was among us (Emmanuel). How easily we forget that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

How easily we let our focus shift to material give aways and easter eggs. What if we beheld the crucifixion of Jesus and remembered that:

Death by crucifixion was agonizingly slow, and came about by suffocation. A medical expert on crucifixion describes the physical effects that Jesus would have endured while nailed to a cross,

“As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles . . . With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed . . . Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.” (The Crucifixion of Jesus: The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View, Arizona Medicine, vol. 22, no. 3 (March 1965), 183-187).

This process would continue for hours until all strength in the legs is gone, and Jesus is no longer able to push up in order to breathe.

Aside from the physical pain of crucifixion, there was also the stigma of disgrace and humiliation that was attached to it. Victims were beaten, whipped, and taunted even before reaching the cross. They were usually hanged naked, made a spectacle of shame for all to see. Read More…

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Evangelism christ's death, Easter, easter give aways, ecce homo, how did jesus die, medical point of crucifixion

Breakthrough: The documentary of Missionary James O. Fraser and the Lisu people

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on January 25, 2017

Above is a trailer of documentary of James Fraser:

James Fraser was only 22 years old when he left his engineering career and went to China. From the very first time he saw the Lisu tribespeople of Yunnan Province, he was filled with God’s love for them. He spent the rest of his life laboring to bring them the gospel. Breakthrough came only after his partners back home took up the challenge to pray. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Religion and Spirituality docudrama, Evangelism, james fraser, lisu people, Missionaries

Moving from Angry Calvinism to gentle forbearing….

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on January 24, 2017

Isn’t it a wonder some times when one discovers some truth about a facet of God’s divine design or the doctrines of grace and then we lose all patience with those slow to taste the honey dew? The term used here is usually –Angry Calvinist. Could it be that we become angry with them and not realise we too were once blind to these truth until the light of God’s grace shone on our paths? On becoming a humble Calvinist – John Newton, Memoirs of the Life of the Late Rev. William Grimshaw (London: 1799), pages 86–87 writes something that rings true:

They who avow the doctrines distinguished by the name of Calvinism, ought, if consistent with their own principles, to be the most gentle and forbearing of all men, in meekness instructing them that oppose. With us, it is a fundamental maxim, that a man can receive nothing but what is given him from heaven (John 3:27). If, therefore, it has pleased God to give us the knowledge of some truths, which are hidden from others, who have the same outward means of information; it is a just reason for thankfulness to him, but will not justify our being angry with them; for we are no better or wiser than they in ourselves, and might have opposed the truths which we now prize, with the same eagerness and obstinacy, if his grace had not made us to differ. If the man, mentioned in John 9, who was born blind, on whom our Lord graciously bestowed the blessing of sight, had taken a cudgel and beat all the blind men he met, because they would not see, his conduct would have greatly resembled that of an angry Calvinist.

HT Tony Reinke on Humble Calvinism.

Calvinism, Christian news, Christianity angry calvinism, arminianism, humble calvinism, john newton

Do I need Jesus?

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on January 22, 2017

Do I need the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes, infinitely, but chiefly on two accounts. The guilt of sin on me is mountainous; none but he can remove it. The power of sin in me is marvellous, none but he can subdue it.

But am I willing to have the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes, most heartily: for there is a dreadful necessity that the miseries of my soul should be relieved; he, and none but he, can relieve them. ~ Cotton Mather

Calvinism, Christianity, Faith cotton mather, jesus christ

Free Reformed Christian E-Books!

5 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on September 25, 2016

Free Ebooks

Are you looking for good and deep Christian literature? I thought I should share these sites with you. In case you are looking for free Christian ebooks, epub or kindle format you may want to bookmark these links below starting with:
0 Monergism Free Ebooks.

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine, Reformed Theology, Religion and Spirituality calvinism, christian, ebooks, ePub, free books, Free reformed books, grace ebooks, kindle, mobi, monergism, PDF, puritan ebooks, theology

“Do not linger!” by J.C. Ryle

Leave a comment Posted by The Cidrìe on June 26, 2016

“‘He lingered.’ (Genesis 19:16) Do not be a lingering soul.

Would you know what the times demand?—The shaking of nations,—the uprooting of ancient things,—the overturning of kingdoms,—the stir and restlessness of men’s minds—what do they say? They all cry aloud,—Christian! do not linger!

Would you be found ready for Christ at His second appearing,—your loins girded,—your lamp burning. yourself bold, and prepared to meet Him? Then do not linger!

Would you enjoy much sensible comfort in your religion,—feel the witness of the Spirit within you,—know whom you have believed,—and not be a gloomy, complaining, sour, downcast, and melancholy Christian? Then do not linger! …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Religion and Spirituality do not linger, J.c Ryle

Hurrying To Hear George Whitefield Preach The Gospel

6 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on April 29, 2016

This is the true account of Nathan Cole describing the moment he heard that the gospel was coming to Connecticut. George Whitefield was the preacher -as fields were emptied, people converged eagerly to listen with bated breaths.

“Now it pleased God to send Mr. Whitefield into this land; and my hearing of his preaching at Philadelphia, like one of the Old apostles, and many thousands flocking to hear him preach the Gospel, and great numbers were converted to Christ; I felt the Spirit of God drawing me by conviction, longed to see and hear him, and wished he would come this way. And I soon heard he was come to New York and the Jerseys and great multitudes flocking after him under great concern for their Souls and many converted which brought on my concern more and more hoping soon to see him but next I heard he was at Long Island, then at Boston, and next at Northampton.

Then one morning all on a Sudden, about 8 or 9 o’clock there came a messenger and said Mr. Whitefield preached at Hartford and Weathersfield yesterday and is to preach at Middletown this morning [October 23, 1740] at ten of the Clock. I was in my field at Work. I dropt my tool that I had in my hand and ran home and run through my house and bade my wife get ready quick to go and hear Mr. Whitefield preach at Middletown, and run to my pasture for my horse with all my might fearing that I should be too late to hear him.

I brought my horse home and soon mounted and took my wife up and went forward as fast as I thought the horse could bear, and when my horse began to be out of breath, I would get down and put my wife on the Saddle and bid her ride as fast as she could and not Stop or Slack for me except I bad her, and so I would run until I was much out of breath, and then mount my horse again, and so I did several times to favour my horse Read More

Calvinism, Christianity, Church History, Doctrine, Evangelism church history, George Whitefield, great awakening, hurrying to hear the gospel, nathan cole, Revival

Which of these 8 statements is heretical and which ones are orthodox?

2 Comments Posted by The Cidrìe on April 23, 2016

Just a little quiz on Christology. Which of the following statements, if any, are orthodox; or which of the following statements, if any, are heretical?

1. The Son of God, the Second member of the Trinity, in the Incarnation, stopped being God for a time and became man for a time.

2. The Son of God took on the form of a man, but was not really a man.

3. The Son of God, the Second member of the Trinity, laid aside some of His attributes for a time and became man for a time.

4. Jesus was simply a common man when He was born and was later glorified by the Father and adopted as God.

5. In Christ there two persons: a human person and a Divine Person. …Read More!

Calvinism, Christianity, Doctrine athanasian creed, belgic confession, christology quiz, Heresy

Free E-Book: Blood Work by Anthony Carter

1 Comment Posted by The Cidrìe on March 22, 2016

FreeEbook-BloodWork It’s Easter week….

In light of this, Reformation Trust is making the ebook edition of Anthony Carter’s Blood Work: How the Blood of Christ Accomplishes Our Salvation free to download until the end of the month. We encourage you to share this resource offer with your family, friends, and church community.

Evangelical Christians often sing and preach about the blessed blood of Christ and the wonderful things it accomplishes for believers. To the uninformed ear, such language can convey the idea that Jesus’ blood had semi-magical qualities. Actually, Jesus’ blood was normal human blood, but the Bible refers to it in metaphorical terms to portray the many benefits that come to Christians because of Jesus’ death.

HT Ligonier Ministries.

Calvinism, Christianity, Church History, Doctrine, Reformed Theology anthony carter, blood work, ebook, free

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