Lofton Comments on Manhattan Declaration

The link below connects to John Lofton's thoughts on the MD. Hold tight and click firm. Sometimes the truth hurts.

http://www.covenantnews.com/lofton091204.htm

Sabbath: to keep or not to keep that is the question

Here is a link to a thought provoking and convicting discussion among the elders of a 1689 Confessional Credo-Baptist Church in North Carolina dealing with the sanctification of the Lord's Day.

Amos 3:1-6  Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 

  You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 

  Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 

  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 

 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 

  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? 

John Wesley on Earthquakes

"Now, that God is himself the Author, and sin the moral cause, of earthquakes, (whatever the natural cause may be,) cannot be denied by any who believe the Scriptures; for these are they which testify of Him, that it is God” which removeth the mountains, and overturneth them in his anger; which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.” (Job 9:5, 6.) “He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.” (Ps. 104:32.) “The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.” (Ps. 97:5.) “The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt. Who can stand before his indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.” (Nahum 1:5, 6.)

Earthquakes are set forth by the inspired writers as God’s proper judicial act, or the punishment of sin: Sin is the cause, earthquakes the effect, of his anger. So the Psalmist: “The earth trembled and quaked; the very foundations also of the hills shook, and were removed, because he was wroth” (Ps. 18:7.) So the Prophet Isaiah: “I will punish the world for their evil, — and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible: — Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shalt remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of host, and in the day of his fierce anger.” (Isa. 13:11, 13.) And again. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty; and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,” (in the original, perverteth the face thereof,) “and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. For the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not rise again.” (Isa. 24:1, 18-20.) “Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the God of Jacob.” (Ps. 114:7.) “thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise.” (Isa. 29:6.)

Nothing can be more express than these scripture testimonies, which determine both the cause and author of this terrible calamity. But reason, as well as faith, doth sufficiently assure us it must be the punishment of sin, and the effect of that curse which was brought upon the earth by the original transgression. Steadfastness must be no longer looked for in the world, since innocency is banished thence: But we cannot conceive that the universe would have been disturbed by these furious accidents during the state of original righteousness. Wherefore should God’s anger have armed the elements against his faithful subjects? Wherefore should he have overthrown all his works to destroy innocent men? or why overwhelmed the inhabitants of the earth with the ruins thereof, if they had not been sinful? why buried those in the bowels of the earth who were not to die? Let us then conclude, both from Scripture and reason, that earthquakes are God’s strange works of judgment — the proper effect and punishment of sin."

This post is a response to all the hoopla in the past few days over Pat Robertson's comments that the quake in Haiti was due to a pact with the devil.  Now, I do not know if the forefathers of the poor souls that endured and perished in the recent quake sold their souls to Satan or not, and I usually do not make a habit of listening to the conventional wisdom of Pat Robertson either, but I do know that while the idea that natural calamity is the disciplinary rod of the Prince of the kings of the earth is abhorrent to modern ears, our Christian forebears, reformed and non-reformed alike, understood them in that way.

For any who are interested here is a link the entirety of Mr. Wesley's sermon:
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/129/

Hodge Podge of stuff

"American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward to perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt hath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It tends to risk nothing serious for the sake of truth.” ~ R. L. Dabney

"If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees." – Bill Clinton

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin

"There ought to be limits to freedom." - G.W. Bush

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” - Thomas Jefferson

Dr. White explains why there are a bunch more bald secularists since the Brit Hume Affair.

General Lee, We salute you!

Robert Edward Lee was born on the 19th day of January 1807, by God's good providence,  into a prominent Virginia family that was intricately used by God during the War for American Independence to turn the world, upside-down, sending the British back across the English pond. Lee's Father was Major General Henry "light Horse Harry" Lee, a hero in the late war. Lee married into another prominent Virginia family, that of G.W.P. Custis, a former colonel and adopted son of President George Washington. 

Lee excelled in his studies, was a devout gentleman, a devoted patriot, a stalwart Christian, loving family man and a son of  unwavering duty.  Lee seems to understand manhood in a more profoundly intimate manner than we men of the present century. Thus, we would do well to sit at this wise man's feet and drink in all that he has to offer us about the art of Godly manhood.  On this premise, I post a few of the many tid-bits of wisdom spoken by this gentleman and brother in the Lord.

~ My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian.

~ My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good.

~ You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.

~ Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.

~ The education of a man is never completed until he dies.

~ Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less.

~ I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.

Will the real minister of Christ please stand up.

Romans 1:16-17 (KJV) 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.




Well, wonders have not ceased, even in these politically correct days of Christless christianity and cultural pluralism. On Sunday morning, January 3rd, and the days following, Christ was presented, without editing, on a major news network television show. The proclaimer of the good news was not physically harassed and immediately challenged on the air, but instead had the opportunity to explain, in brief and to the amazement of his colleagues, that Christianity offered the hope and comfort needed for those in despairing situations. The specific incident that aroused such discussion was the recent 'fall from grace' of golf superstar Tiger Woods, who after years of projecting a squeaky clean image of morality and proclaiming the propaganda of a family man in control of his life, was recently caught in a sex ring scandal that would make any WestPac sailor blush. Tiger, in all his carousing, has destroyed his reputation, tarnished his outstanding golf career and most sadly of all, lost the heart and trust of his wife, who has recently filed for divorce. This disastrous menagerie of events has awoken the rage of the modern moralistic media. "How dare our undaunted and revered hero show himself to be frail, faulted and finite.", is the summary of their response, "Don't you know, Tiger, that you are suppose to do all those naughty things with out getting caught? After all, as a human you are 'the measure of all things', 'the maker of your own destiny' ". Well, while I admit nobody actually was insightful and honest enough to say such things, that was the gist of it all; a perfect time for the Gospel to make a star appearance. But who would be the messenger for the the Good News? Who had the courage to brave the certain fury of the Godless press and pundits? Was it Joel Osteen, the pastor of the largest church in America? Would Pastor Osteen take a stand for the gospel at all costs proclaiming Christ to be the only mediator between God and man? Well, why don't you watch this clip from the Larry King Show and be the judge if the good reverend has the spirit of Peter and Paul of old.




HMMMM.... not exactly Paulish, but maybe Mr. Osteen was just....nervous, yea, I mean he was on network TV and just wasn't as clear as he might have been. If only someone would give him an opportunity to clarify. Well, what do you know about that, later on the same show, a bewildered viewer called up to give Mr. Osteen another chance to explain that Christ is the only way to the Father. Let's listen....

"I can't judge somebody's heart?" Well, no Mr. Osteen you can not, but how about their words and their works. It doesn't seem like a stretch to say that someone that does not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father is wrong in their conceptions of spiritual things. Or that the millions that pray in any other name than the name of Jesus have any hope of gaining the salvation that he alone has secured. Nor does it seem like a shot in the dark to say that men and women that seek spiritual peace through meditation, ritual or some other mediation than Jesus are deluded by the Evil One. Or that those that suggest salvation consists of building up the 'inner self' and encouraging that 'inner light' are wrongheaded. Is the very essence of the Gospel Message not that all mankind is undone by sin and in need of a savior, namely Jesus Christ. Is He not the only one, being both God and Man that could fulfill the righteous demands of the law and offer satisfactory atonement to the Father in the stead of His people? Well then, why does this minister the largest Christian Church in America have difficulty saying that Salvation is found in Christ alone and that Jews, Muslims, Hindu's and any other propagator of false religion must forsake their own man-made feeble attempts to appease God and flee to Christ alone?

Well, if you have not been following along, let me summarize: Joel Osteen is not the person that recently exhibited the courage to stand up and proclaim Christ as the only savior of men. When given an opportunity on a network news show to clearly proclaim Christ as the sole surety of salvation, he did the Texas two step. It was, instead the Fox News anchor, Brit Hume. No kidding...a major face in the media spoke in a direct and courageous way, proclaiming Christ as the answer to Tiger's deep seated woes. Take a look...




At first glance this comparison may seem unfair. After all I do not know for sure that Mr. Osteen has not reached out to Tiger in his fallen state. If he has, or does speak to Tiger, I do hope that he has the wisdom and courage to confront him. Not in a destructive kind of way, pointing fingers and speaking accusatory words, but in the loving sort of way that one man should judge another, humbly bringing his recent actions under the light of Scripture. Holding his feet to the purifying fire of Scripture before the judge of the Universe; proclaiming him a fallen sinner and transgressor of God's holy law in order to prepare the way of repentance and forgiveness in Christ. One can not escape seeing Tiger's years of interviews, remembering his portrayal of self control and moral character, seeing those pictures of him smiling like all is well, next to his wife and not judge him as a wretched hypocrite. The error is not passing obvious judgment on Tiger, but stopping there and not seeing that we all, like Tiger, are wretches and are undone apart from the justifying work of Christ in our lives.


Well, in all this hoopla, I am not endorsing Brit Hume for the 'Believer of the Year award', I know very little about Mr. Hume and was not aware that he professed Christ before this incident, nor do I believe him to have the eloquence and substance in presenting the Gospel as did the Puritan's of old, but I am thanking God for his honesty in telling Tiger, and the American people, what needs to be said: Jesus alone is the Savior of mankind in whom is found peace and reconciliation for the soul. Also, I hope that this dauntless declaration shakes the hearts of ministers, like Mr. Osteen, who are not willing to do what they stand on the stage to do regardless of the cost, namely declare Christ alone as the Savior of men and the solace of the sinful soul. When this transformation occurs in the pulpits of America, when the unadulterated Gospel is boldly proclaimed to the adulterous nation, we will be on the way to real spiritual revival. It is my earnest prayer that the Lord will have mercy on Tiger, granting him true repentance and faith in Christ, and also on our nation, that in a similar fashion has been a whoring with other God's for far to long.