God's Saving Purpose - Thomas Watson

"Question: How shall we know that God has a purpose to save us?

Answer: By being effectually called. "Give dilligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10). We make our election sure, by making our calling sure. "God hath chosen you to salvation through sanctification" (2 Thess. 2:13). By the stream, we come at last to the fountain. If we find the stream of sanctification running in our souls, we may by this come to the spring-head of election. When a man cannot look up to the firmament, yet he may know the moon is there by seeing it shine upon the water: so, though I cannot look up into the secret of God's purpose, yet I may know I am elected by the shining of sanctifying grace in my soul. Whosoever finds the Word of God transcribed and copied out into his heart, may undeniably conclude his election."

-Thomas Watson "All Things for Good"

Mark Driscoll on Biblical Manhood...a must watch

Paul Tripp on Grace...

Grace is the most transformational word in the Bible. The entire content of the Bible is a narrative of God's grace, a story of undeserved redemption. By the transformational power of his grace, God unilaterally reaches his hands into the muck of this fallen world, through the presence of his Son, and radically transforms his children from what we are (sinners) into what we are becoming by his power (Christ-like). The famous Newton hymn uses the best word possible, maybe the only word big enough, for that grace—amazing....


To read the rest of the article on DesiringGod, click the link.

Eternal Life is Given to All Who Come for It - Charles Spurgeon

And ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.”—John v 40.

This brings us to the third point: that ETERNAL LIFE IS GIVEN TO ALL WHO COME FOR IT. There never was a man who came to Christ for eternal life, for legal life, for spiritual life, who had not already received it, in some sense, and it was manifested to him that he had received it soon after he came. Let us take one or two texts:— “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto him.” Every man who comes to Christ will find that Christ is able to save him—not able to save him a little, to deliver him from a little sin, to keep him from a little trial, to carry him a little way and then drop him—but able to save him to the uttermost extent of his sin, unto the uttermost length of his trials, the uttermost depths of his sorrows, unto the uttermost duration of his existence. Christ says to every one who comes to him, “Come, poor sinner, thou needst not ask whether I have power to save. I will not ask thee how far thou hast gone into sin; I am able to save thee to the utter most.” And there is no one on earth can go beyond God’s “uttermost.”

Now another text: “Him that cometh to me, (mark the promises are nearly always to the coming ones) I will in no wise cast out.” Every man that comes shall find the door of Christ’s house opened—and the door of his heart too—Every man that comes—I say it in the broadest sense—shall find that Christ has mercy for him. The greatest absurdity in the world is to want to have a wider gospel than that re corded in Scripture. I preach that every man that believes shall be saved—that every man who comes shall find mercy. People ask me, “But suppose a man should come who was not chosen, would he be saved?” You go and suppose nonsense and I am not going to give you an answer. If a man is not chosen he will never come. When he does come it is a sure proof that he was chosen. Says one, “Suppose any one should go to Christ who had not been called of the Spirit.” Stop, my brother, that is a supposition thou hast no right to make, for such a thing cannot happen; you only say it to entangle me, and you will not do that just yet. I say every man who comes to Christ shall be saved. I can say that as a Calvinist, or as a hyper Calvinist, as plainly as you can say it. I have no narrower gospel than you have; only my gospel is on a solid foundation, whereas yours is built upon nothing but sand and rottenness. “Every man that cometh shall be saved, for no man cometh to me except the Father draw him.” “But,” says one, “suppose all the world should come, would Christ receive them?” Certainly, if all came; but then they won’t come. I tell you all that come—aye,if they were as bad as devils, Christ would receive them; if they had all sin and filthiness running into their hearts as into a common sewer for the whole world, Christ would receive them. Another says, “I want to know about the rest of the people. May I go out and tell them—Jesus Christ died for every one of you? May I say—there is righteousness for every one of you, there is life for every one of you?” No; you may not. You may say—there is life for every man that comes. But if you say there is life for one of those that do not believe, you utter a dangerous lie. If you tell them that Jesus Christ was punished for their sins, and yet they will he lost, you tell a willful false hood. To think that God could punish Christ and then punish them—I wonder at your daring to have the impudence to say so! A good man was once preaching that there were harps and crowns in heaven for all his congregation; and then he wound up in a most solemn manner: “My dear friends, there are many for whom these things are prepared who will not get there.” In fact, he made such a pitiful tale, as indeed he might do; but I tell you who he ought to have wept for—he ought to have wept for the angels of heaven and all the saints, because that would spoil heaven thoroughly. You know when you meet at Christmas, if you have lost your brother David and his seat is empty, you say: “Well, we always enjoyed Christmas, but there is a drawback to it now—poor David is dead and buried!” Think of the angels saying: “Ah! this is a beautiful heaven, but we don’t like to see all those crowns up there with cobwebs on; we cannot endure that uninhabited street: we cannot behold yon empty thrones.” And then, poor souls, they might begin talking to one another, and say, “we are none of us safe here, for the promise was—‘I give unto my sheep eternal life,’ and there is a lot of them in hell that God gave eternal life to; there is a number that Christ shed his blood for burning in the pit, and if they may be sent there, so may we. If we cannot trust one promise we cannot another.” So heaven would lose its foundation, and fall. Away with your nonsensical gospel! God gives us a safe and solid one, built on covenant doings and covenant relationships, on eternal purposes and sure fulfilments.

To read the rest of this sermon titled "Free Will a Slave" click on the link.

Two Sermons and an Update....

It has been a while since I've actually posted to AdjustMyThoughts. Life has been a little busier lately, and your prayers are very much coveted. I wanted to share the most recent sermons I have preached, and and these are probably the two sermons that have impacted me the most, in that they have been weighty on my heart.
The first sermon is called "Dont Trust In It". This sermon was taken from Matthew 7:21-23 and focuses on some of the most sobering words of Jesus that are directed at people who claim to be attached to Him. In this message I didn't want to focus on the tragedy of the scenario as much as I wanted to focus on the reason these people who really thought they loved and knew Jesus, dont make it into heaven. The need for justification is the root of their issue, and the fact that they would rather trust in "doing for" Jesus rather than Jesus Himself, is the reason they find themselves without a Savior on the Day of Judgment. We must be careful as Christians to not get caught in the fruit of Christianity and end up missing out on the Root of Christianity. In the end, to miss out on Christ is to miss everything: even if you tithed, served in church ministries, witnessed your faith, or did many miracles.

"Dont Trust in It"


The most recent message I preached was actually a sermon I taught earlier in the year, but God doesn't say the same thing twice, at least not in this situation. This message was taken from Psalm 1, and the title of this message is "Delight in God's Law". The focus of this message was a contrast between the righteous and the wicked, and there is only one determinant between the two: God's Word. Our attitude towards God's law is the factor that determines whether we will find ourselves in the congregation of the righteous or the wicked on that Great Day of Judgment. To delight in God's law is only possible when one has been given the heart and mind to delight in it and meditate on it.

Delight in God's Law


I look forward to posting more frequently the rest of the year, also I'm hoping to re-design the site as well, as I think the shroud picture is starting to be a little gloomy....it will always be about Christ though. May Grace be with you as you listen to these sermons and may God continue to keep you....

If you cannot see the sermons, visit AdjustMyThoughts.com for the original posting...

Justification in Job 33

19Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
and with continual strife in his bones,
20so that his life loathes bread,
and his appetite the choicest food.
21His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22His soul draws near the pit,
and his life to those who bring death.
23If there be for him an angel,
a mediator, one of the thousand,
to declare to man what is right for him,
24and he is merciful to him, and says,
'Deliver him from going down into the pit;
I have found a ransom;
25let his flesh become fresh with youth;
let him return to the days of his youthful vigor';
26then man prays to God, and he accepts him;
he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he restores to man his righteousness.
27He sings before men and says:
'I sinned and perverted what was right,
and it was not repaid to me.
28He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,
and my life shall look upon the light.'

29"Behold, God does all these things,
twice, three times, with a man,
30to bring back his soul from the pit,
that he may be lighted with the light of life.

- Job 33:19-30

I came across this passage in Job 33 and was amazed at the points on justification found in these verses.
If you arent familiar with the situation of Job, then I encourage you to read the book. It contains wonderful truth concerning the Sovereignty of God over Satan, the world, and suffering. Job is a man who has found favor in the sight of the Lord, being upright and very prosperous in his life. Satan, the accuser, approaches God and believes that ,with God's Sovereign permission, he can cause Job to turn against Him by taking away Job's possessions, destroying his family, and afflicting his body. Job is both consoled and condemned by his five friends who offer him a variety of answers as to why his sufferings are taking place. Job is left with unanswered questions after the last sentence of the fourth, but Elihu, the fifth friend responds to Job in a long rebuke, that causes Job to look his Maker in the face and bow down before The King of Kings.
Verses 19 - 22 I believe describe every man's sinful state. While Ephesians 2:1 says that we are dead in trespases and sins, this description of a man in Job is one that is very close to death. Pain, strife, vanity in food, and temporary pleasures: this is life for every person on this planet because of the universiality of sin and its effects - and yet men glory in this life, thinking its worth something apart from God. Every man experiences pain, sickness (from a head cold to cancer) strife , stress, and the temporary unfulfilling pleasures of this world: to eat and never be filled, to enjoy the most wonderful pleasures and to never be satisfied. These are the effects of spiritual death on this earth and all men in this state are helpless and hopeless. Our bodies age, our flesh wastes away, gravity kicks in, our bones stick out. Although all of our death experiences may not be as this one, physically, we all deserve this slow kind of suffering, and we all experience this aging and wasting away.
His soul draws near to the pit is a refrence to death and possibly Hell. This word 'pit' is mentioned five times in Job 33 and I dont think that it just means "grave" by itself, because if a man were to die in the condition mentioned previously, apart from God, there wouldnt just be physical death for him, but also spiritual death, namely, eternal corruption and destruction in Hell - something all sinners deserve. Death is a magnet and no ones life can escape its pull. The question is not will death strike? The question is when will death strike? Everyday the sinner lives without the redeeming blood of Christ is another day that his soul is uncontrollably pulled one step closer to death and destruction.
In short, this man is hopeless, wasted, and dead. His only solution, or hope is outside of himself . There must be a messenger, a mediator, an ambassador to save him. Jesus Christ is that mediator between the spiritually dead man and the Just God (1 Tim 2:5).By declaring what is "right for him", Christ declares Himself. He is the only Way that a man can be righteous before God. Christ mercifully shows the hopeless sinner that the only road to righteousness is Himself. This is grace at its apex. Through the perfect life of Jesus Christ and through His substitutionary death on the cross, God has declared to the sinner that there is deliverance from His wrath and there is life and righteousness in Jesus Christ. Through Christ, the Judge of all the earth does right. He sees the imputed righteousness of His Son on those who were unworthy. He declares to those who were once His enemies that they have been purchased with His blood and their sins have not been counted against them. He gives His own a new heart and a new spirit. He gives them faith to believe, and repentance that leads to life. The blood of Christ is the ransom for the many who believe on Him and it is for them that He gives His life (Mark 10:45; Isa 53:12)
Furthermore, now that the Root of Justification has been shown....what is the fruit of Justification?
Verses 25-28 speak about the results and the effects of what has happened to this man who was once on his deathbed.
1) His "flesh becomes fresh with youth." Isa 40:31 says " but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint." Romans 8:11 "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." 1 Cor 15:40 "I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep,but we shall all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality...."
2)"Then man prays to God, and He accepts him." Contrary to what many think, "He accepts him" does not mean man accepts Jesus into his heart as his personal Lord and Savior because of a one time prayer....rather, "He accepts him" means that God has accepted and recieved this sinner into His Kingdom on the meritorious work of Christ alone, and that is why this man prays. This is repentance, an ongoing, progressive repentance that goes deeper and deeper at each and every greater revelation of sin and greater revelation of God. This prayer says "Save me! Keep me! I will perish without saving grace! I am hopeless!" This prayer is the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:13 "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'. Jesus said that it was THIS man that went away justified. Likewise, this man in Job 33 has also experienced the wonderful grace of justification.
Upon praying and being broken over his sin, the penitent sinner, at the end of himself beholds the beauty of saving grace in the face of Jesus Christ. "He sees HIS face with a shout of joy". This same man who was once sickly unto death, bones sticking out, flesh withering, destined for hell, is now filled with life, rejoicing at the joy of his salvation! The solution to this man's problem was not a "best life now", or a even a "purpose" to live for; this man was changed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, that didnt come from himself, but came from the Mediator. The beauty of the Savior and His grace was enough: it revives, restores, and renews the one who is dead in trespasses and sins.
3)"He restores to man his righteousness". In one word: Imputation. Matthew Henry puts it this way "Righteousness shall be imputed to him, and peace thereupon spoken, the joy and gladness of which he shall then be made to hear though he could not hear them in the day of his affliction. God will now deal with him as a righteous man, with whom it shall be well. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, even righteousness, Ps. 24:5. God shall give him grace to go and sin no more." This man has recieved the imputation of Christ's perfect righteousness, and he has also revieved a new heart that has the laws of God written upon it so that he may be guided by the Spirit, and he has also recieved a new mind, transformed by the Spirit's work so that he may do that good and perfect will of God. Christs righteousness earns this man eternal life, this mans righteousness in Christ is proof that the former is true.
4)"He sings before men and says..." Observe the outward manifestations of what has happened inwardly to this man. He should in no way rely solely on his outward expressions to confirm the inward work. To trust in what he sees, or feels, or does, or expresses is to not trust in Christ and Christ alone. This man is singing of this work done by God, he is joyful about it! Confession of sin, repentance, thanks to God are all things that he is mentioning and that are ever before his eyes. He realizes that this was not a man-generated work, but a God-generated work, HE didnt give me what I deserved. HE delivered my soul from the pit. This man was not the captain of his own fate, God was. Yet, God had mercy on him - through Christ. This man's testimony is not about works, its about grace. He looks upon the light because he has been made to look upon the light. Because he has been saved, he now looks upon the light and lives. He sees his sin and loathes it, he realizes that he has perverted and wasted his life. He feels the reality of his justification in that he owed an infinite debt to an Almighty Sovereign and he no longer has to pay it. He had committed crimes against the maker of the universe and deserved an eternal sentencing of capital punishment. He would be incarcerated in the lowest parts of hell for ages beyond ages, and then into his courtroom walks an Advocate, a punishment absorbing, gracious and merciful man who bears his sentence and transfers all that He is to him.

Conclusion, Behold! Who does these things? Is it man? Is it part man-part God? Is it good works? Is it free will? No, it is God! "God does all these things, twice, three times with a man". Ephesians 2:4-9 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works,so that no one may boast." Why does He do these things? One reason leads to another. 1) to bring back his soul from the pit. God saves so that sinners will not perish under His wrath, and so that He might save a people for Himself. (Eze 36:31) 2) "that he may be lighted with the light of life." Its amazing to me that Christ is also referred to in John 1:4 as the light of life. I think that in addition to physical life, as referred to in the context of this passage, i think this refers to spiritual life as well. Christ gives physical life to all, because He is the source of life, but to as many as recieve Him , to them He gives the right to become children of God. The grace in salvation isn't limited in that Christ just pays for sins and thats it. He doesn't just resurrect a dead man and leave him standing in grave clothes. He gives him new life and then gives to him a life he would never have been able to live on his own. Christ gives His righteousness. The infinite debt isn't just paid and the balance is zero, but the account is filled with all things that pertain to life and godliness because "if He spared not His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"(Romans 8:32) . God is sovereign in salvation, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. It is wonderful to see the points of justification seen so clearly in this passage, namely in a book outside of Paul's writings. To me this re-affirms scripture's doctrinal chain that runs all throughout the Bible and cannot be broken.

God's Sovereignty and Unbelievers...

A dear brother posted this question on Facebook yesterday. My comments below...

Q:If God is ultimately soveriegn, what effect(positive and negative) and/or benefit does the Cross of Christ have on unbelievers, who will never come to believe?

God's sovereignty and man's responsibility are two lines that will never cross. The unbelievers condemnation and eternal punishment has everything to do with God's sovereignty and sinful man's sinfulness. With that said, I dont see any positive benefits of the cross for the unbeliever, simply because "the wrath of God remains on them" (John 3:36) They are condemned before the cross; if they view the cross and reject it, they are still condemned, and they are actually worse off than before because they have seen their only hope in the infinitely glorious Christ and have still rejected Him. I think the cross of Christ and the good news concerning it, namely the gospel has a two-fold effect in its power, a power to save and a power to condemn. 2 Corinthians 2:14 says "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?" There are two fragrances; both glorify God. Ill explain the fragrance of death to death. I think this means that although God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, His justice and righteousness are on glorious display in that He judges and condemns sinners. He is glorified in exercising forbearance and patience in fitting/preparing a vessel for destruction (Rom 2:4-5; 9:22)."Death to death" to me means the same as Jesus words in John 3:18 "condemned already"....you were condemned...youre still condemned; dead...still dead.... The gospel's two-fold power is seen in giving life to those who believe and being a stumbling block to those who are perishing. (Luke 2:34; John 9:39; 1 Peter 2:7-8; Matt 13:10-16; 2 Cor 2:14)

5 Things You Should Know About Christ's Substitutionary Death....

The key question in Christianity is, Why the cross? Why did Jesus die? Erickson offers these five implications of the substitutionary death of Christ:

1. It confirms the biblical teaching of the total depravity of humans.
2. It demonstrates both the love and the justice of God in a perfect unity.
3. Salvation comes from the pure, sovereign grace of God.
4. The believer can be secure in the grace of God.
5. We are motivated not to neglect so great a salvation that came at such a great cost.

- Ericson, Christian Theology, 822-823

-taken from "Introduction to Evangelism" by Alvin Reid

Righteous Nightmares....

Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
my ear received the whisper of it.
13Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
14dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
15A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my flesh stood up.
16It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard a voice:
17 'Can mortal man be in the right before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18Even in his servants he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with error;
19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like the moth.
20Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
they perish forever without anyone regarding it.
21Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
do they not die, and that without wisdom?'

- Job 4:12-21

This passage reminds me of who God is, and reminds me of who I am. Its so easy to get caught up in a works righteousness, trusting in what you do and your good days, thinking that they are keeping you in grace. WRONG! Its only your Maker, who doesent even trust the most transcendent and holiest of angels, Who keeps you. It wouldnt matter if I obeyed every commandment (I should); It wouldnt matter if I preformed many mighty miracles (I should be praying for them), and it wouldnt matter if i never sinned (although He calls me to be holy as He is)....none of these things makes me pure before God. Only the blood of Christ makes this mortal 5'11 clay figurine something of worth in His sight. I mean He could crush me like a moth! He approaches me and my hair stands straight up! My bones shake before Him! Yet the heart of a man so decieves him so that he thinks he can look God in the face and be justified according to his works.....Tell that to the spirit who stands at the foot of your bed and reminds you of your mortality...if you can get the words out....selah...

Why I Study Theology, and Why I Recommend This Book by Josh Harris....

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

If you cant see this video, you can see the original post at www.adjustmythoughts.com
or you can visit Joshua Harris.com to find out more about the book

Dangers Facing the Young and Reformed - Paul Washer

Dangers Facing the Young and Reformed - Paul Washer from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.

Why Me? - R.C. Sproul

"The deepest theological question that I can think of, the one for which I have no adequate answer, is the question, 'Why Me?' My students come to me with all kind of conundrums from theology, but they rarely ask, "Why did God save me?" It sometimes seems as if we're thinking: "Why wouldn't He save me?" Yes, we have little aphorisms such as, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." Do we really believe that? Are we really amazed by the measure of grace God has poured out on us? Can we say with John, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God!"(1 John 3:1). I cannot give a single reason under heaven why God would save me other than, as the prophet Isaiah said, that the Suffering Servant of Israel should see the travail of His soul and be satisfied - that God has determined to honor His Son by giving Him adopted brothers and sisters (Isa.53:11).

In the final analysis, the only reason I am a Christian is that the Father wants to honor the Son. From all eternity, He determined that the Son's work would not be in vain and that He would be the firstborn of many brethren. Therefore, He determined not just to make salvation possible and then step back and cross His fingers, hoping that somebody would take advantage of the ministry of Jesus. No, God the Father, from all eternity, determined to make salvation certain for those whom He had determined to give to His Son.

- R.C. Sproul on John 6:37, from his commentary on the Gospel of John "John:St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary"