The Glory of the All Sufficient Christ

In my previous post I pointed you towards Neil's blog.   Here's a link that Neil included to an interview with his brother whose wife died of cancer in 2009.  

It is profoundly moving and once again I want to underline that this is the kind of faith that the Bible speaks of.  Not the consumer driven, cool, slick, "God wants to make your life easier" faith that's peddled today in so many quarters.   

The interview is about twenty minutes long.  It was recorded at Kensington Baptist Church in Bristol in front of about 400 people.  The mic plays up a bit at the start, before it is replaced, so bear with it.  If you are only interested in the question of faith and suffering then jump in at 14 minutes.

Click here to listen.  

The Kind of Faith I Want

John and Vanda Todman are good friends of ours from our previous church; they love Jesus, are passionate about world mission and have an infectious confidence in the goodness of God.  (Alastair and Ros always remind me of them).  They have two sons, Clive and Neil who, after kicking against the faith of their parents, were soundly converted and gave their lives to Christ in their late teens.   Louise and I did marriage preparation classes for Clive and Sarah before their wedding and so it was with particular sadness that we heard the news some five years ago that Sarah had terminal cancer.  She died in 2009 leaving a grieving husband and two small girls.  Clive preached powerfully at his wife’s service of thanksgiving and I have given away many copies of the cd as it was an incredible testimony to God’s incredible and amazing grace.  

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from Vanda to say that their other daughter-in-law, Elaine, had been diagnosed with cancer and the outlook was bleak.  The next day I drove to their home in Bath and sat with them.   The pain and sadness was grievous but the knowledge of God’s presence as we read scripture, prayed and shed tears, was profound.  

Neil is the pastor of Headley Park Church and as well as shepherding his family (they have two small boys) through this ordeal he is also shepherding his church.  To this end he has written a blog (diary) from the point at which they heard the diagnosis.   I would like to encourage you to read what he has written thus far.  You’ll read of how they have shared the news with their children and how they have sought to view their situation through the lens of the gospel.  Its real, gutsy and honest and shines a huge spotlight on the all the sufficient grace of God.   It’s the kind of faith that I hope I have in the midst of such a trauma. 

Do yourself and the Kingdom a favour and visit http://www.headleyparkchurch.org.uk/#     Track back (hitting “View older posts”) until you get to 7^th January and read through. 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Self-examination and Justification by Faith Alone

Do you ever struggle with assurance of salvation, especially when examining yourself? Here are some wise words from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the importance of grounding our self-examination in the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

I must never start upon this process of self-examination without reminding myself at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the cardinal doctrine of justification by faith only. I mean this. If I start upon the process of self-examination without reminding myself that I am justified by faith only, there can be but one result of my self-examination, and that is, that I shall feel that I am not a Christian at all. I shall feel utterly hopeless and shall be thrown into a state of morbidity. Now this, of course, is the danger that confronts us when we read certain well-known and famous manuals of devotion. Take the famous Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis, in many ways a very valuable book, and yet in many ways an extremely dangerous book, because it tends ultimately to teach justification by works. It tends ultimately to give the impression that we make ourselves Christian by what we do. And, I say, if we start with that idea, this self-examination can but drive us to despair. There is only one safe way of examining ourselves, and it is to start by reminding ourselves that we are saved solely by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and that if we move heaven and earth, or ascend into the depths, we can never make ourselves righteous before God. Nothing can save you and me but the fact that Christ died on the cross for us - there is our salvation!

--D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Expository Sermons on 2 Peter, Banner of Truth, p. 244

With gratitude to Brian Hedges for posting this on his blog,  http://www.brianghedges.com