Apathy

"Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

On Charity & Doctrinal Disputes

There are many ministers, nowadays, who think that they must shift their doctrinal landmarks, and there are others who have no landmarks at all. They believe something, or everything, or nothing--it is difficult to tell which; and their common cry is, 'We must be charitable.' I have known many people who were willing to be charitable with other people's money, and I have known others who are charitable with doctrines that are not theirs to give away, for they are Christ's doctrines; but these supposed custodians of them care so little for them that they offer to give them away in any quantity. But a faithful steward of Christ's gospel will not do so; he who loves Christ, and wishes to honour him, keeps Christ's words, and treasures them up.

--Spurgeon

Orange on Monergism

If anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). If anyone affirms that we can form any right opinion or make any right choice which relates to the salvation of eternal life, or that we can be saved by assent to the preaching of the gospel through our natural powers without the effectual work of the Holy Spirit, who makes all whom He calls gladly and willingly assent to and believe in the truth, he is led astray from the plain teaching of Scripture by exalting the natural ability of man, and does not understand the voice of God who says in the Gospel, "For apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), and the word of the Apostle, "Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5). - The Council of Orange (529 AD)

IT IS WRITTEN! by Spurgeon

"'It is written.' Stand upon it, and if the devil were fifty devils in one, he could not overcome you. On the other hand, if you leave 'It is written,' Satan knows more about reasoning than you do. He is far older, has studied mankind very thoroughly, and knows all our weak points. Therefore, the contest will be an unequal one. Do not argue with him but wave in his face the banner of God's Word. Satan cannot endure the infallible truth, for it is death to the falsehood of which he is the father."
~ Charles Spurgeon

The Fire of Affliction

"Water in the glass looks clear, but set it on the fire, and the scum boils up. In prosperity, a man seems to be humble and thankful, the water looks clear; but set this man a little on the fire of affliction, and the scum boils up ñ much impatience and unbelief appear."

Thomas Watson - All Things for Good

A Thumbnail Sketch of Romans

"The 30,000 Foot View"

By Michael Horton

The problem that all of humanity faces is the wrath of God, which is entirely justified because the Gentiles know God according to general revelation and the Jews know God according to special revelation. Yet both have failed to truly acknowledge God since they have violated His law. Since everyone is under sin and God's wrath the only way out is the Gospel, the announcement that in Christ God has provided a righteousness that satisfies his holy requirements. Christ has absorbed God's wrath in His death and justifies the wicked in his resurrection. All of this is received by faith alone apart from works as the examples of Abraham and David demonstrate Yet God has not only secured our life from the condemnation of the law, but also from the dominion of sin and death. Baptized into Christ's death and resurrection we are made new creatures and yet we continue to struggle throughout our lives with indwelling sin and the only hope we have is to look outside of ourselves to Christ, with the indwelling Spirit testifying in our hearts to our free adoption and keeping alive within us the hope that not only we but the whole creation will share in the final redemption.

In the light of all this, nothing can separate us from God's love. But how then can we trust this gospel if God has been unfaithful to his early promises to Israel? Well, God has always maintained his prerogative of Election, even among the physical descendents of Abraham. So salvation isn't a matter of physical decent or of human decision or effort, but of God's mercy alone. God HAS been faithful to His promises, because even now an elect remnant is being saved from among Jews and Gentiles and after God adds alien Gentile branches to the tree of Israel he will finally bring in the fullness of the Jews as well. In view of all these mercies that stagger our imagination, we can now offer, not the dead sacrifices of animals for atonement, but our own bodies as living sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. In that light, stop judging each other about things indifferent and get on with the business of loving and serving each other.

Regeneration

When a man is converted to God, it is done in a moment.

Regeneration is an instantaneous work.

Conversion to God, the fruit of regeneration, occupies all
our life, but regeneration itself is effected in an instant.

A man hates God-- the Holy Spirit makes him love God.

A man is opposed to Christ, he hates his gospel, does not
understand it and will not receive it-- the Holy Spirit comes,
puts light into his darkened understanding, takes the chain
from his bondaged will, gives liberty to his conscience, gives
life to his dead soul, so that the voice of conscience is heard,
and the man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.

And all this is done, mark you, by the instantaneous
supernatural influence of God the Holy Spirit working
as he wills among the sons of men.

--Spurgeon

Introduction

Greetings!

This is a group blog, consisting of six friends who, as we like to say, "came from the four winds" to become close brothers in the Lord. Our friendship is based solely on the free grace and mercy of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We all come from varying backgrounds. We were all converted to Christ as adults. We all came to the Reformed faith long after being converted. Hence, we understand the monergistic, regenerating grace of God the Holy Spirit quite well, because without His regenerating power in our souls, none of us would care about the things of the Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:14). The passage we chose to feature in the header above is a wondrous picture of God's regenerating Spirit on spiritually dead, sinful humans.

None of us have attended bible school or seminary. It has, myself included, been a desire of some of us to attend seminary, but at this point in our lives, seminary is out of the question. We all enjoy reading good books, listening to good sermons, and studying the Scriptures together.
One point of interest is the fact that our group has a mix of ecclesiological commitments. Three of us are Reformed Presbyterians, and three are Reformed Baptists. Guess what? We get along! Imagine that! Our unity lies in the Gospel of God.

We hope you enjoy our blog. It will be quite random, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but hopefully, in our pursuits, we can glorify God in what we say. None of us has arrived; we are all pilgrims, on our way to the celestial city above.

In Christ,
Joe