Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
I found this excerpt quite interesting…
“Do you have any regrets? I have some regrets…I’m ashamed…all the junk I know…all the theme songs of all the TV shows, all the pop songs, all the garbage in my head…because of all the time I wasted. What if I had been studying the bible instead of watching TV, what if I would have been reading great theology instead of listening to all the rock stars of the day?”- RC Sproul on Believing God
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Christmas is a joyous time for many reasons (Grrr… and how I wish it came around very often). It’s the time of the year we remember the humiliation of Christ. Well I know you didn’t expect me to put it that way. But truth is that in the incarnation of Christ – the infinite Son of God being born and taking on the form of a son of man – and born in a poor family; being made subject to the law and suffering the miseries of this life, enduring ultimately the wrath of God, and the curse of death on the cross.
The Bible begins its narrative in Genesis with the chronicling of the innocence and glorious beautiful world that God created. He creates man and places him in His garden (Eden) and there man too lives unashamed, untainted and un humiliated …
[Genesis Chapter 2, verse 25] reads, “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
This tells us that before sin came into the world, there was no shame. There was no embarrassment. The experience of humiliation was completely unknown and foreign to the human race. However, along with the first experience of sin came the awful burden of the weight of personal shame and embarrassment.
Shame and embarrassment are feelings and experiences that occur to us in various degrees. The worst kind of shame, the most dreadful form of embarrassment, is that which results in utter and complete humiliation. Humiliation brings with it not merely the reddened face of embarrassment but also the sense of despair as we lose our dignity and our reputations are cast into ruin.
Yet it was precisely into this domain of shame and humiliation that our Savior came voluntarily in the incarnation. The popular hymn, “Ivory Palaces,” depicts this descent from glory — the Son of Man’s voluntary departure from the ivory palace that is His eternal dwelling place. He chose willingly to make Himself of no reputation, to become a man and a servant, obedient even unto death.
I find the summary of the gospel message graciously penciled and underlined in Second Corinthians chapter eight and in the verse ninth verse:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Excerpt from Humiliation to Exaltation by R.C Sproul.
If you live in the US here is a free book by R.C Sproul. This book was one of my first primers in the Reformed faith. It answers a lot of questions and does ground you into solid foundational truths of Christianity.
Just a thought about the Holiness of God ….
The modern movement of worship is designed to break down barriers between man and God, to remove the veil, as it were, from the fearsome holiness of God, which might cause us to tremble. It is designed to make us feel comfortable. ~R.C Sproul
Ever wondered what Sproul’s initials R.C. stand for? oh well I will leave that for another Q and A. Speaking of legacies it is said R.C Sproul and John Piper are extraordinarily gifted preachers, prodigious authors, talented theologians. But they have never gotten over the stunning fact that they were treasonous rebels who were graciously summoned to the King’s banqueting table and clothed with the righteous robes of the King’s Son. “Between Two Worlds” has an interesting take on this:
sproul and piper
At one level, all Christians are the same. We are made in the image of God, saved by the grace of God, and live for the glory of God. We are blood-bought brothers and sisters, members of the same family, children of our heavenly Father.
On another level, we are each unique. The apostle Paul said that the body of Christ is like, well, a body: many parts, each with different shapes and sizes, each indispensable in characteristic and function.
The differences between R. C. Sproul and John Piper are easily discerned, even for the casual observer. I’m tempted to enumerate some of them, but it will be more fruitful to focus on the common threads that tie together their remarkable ministries.
Both men became Calvinists during seminary, as their resistance was overcome by God using a professor who insisted on taking God at his word.
Both men discovered and were deeply impacted by Jonathan Edwards during their seminary days. Oh There’s More!
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 