July 20, 2010

Justification & Your Response to the Law

As a Christian, what is your response to the demands of the law? Darryl Hart posted an edifying excerpt from Petrus Dathenus’ The Pearl of Christian Comfort on the grounds of the Christians’ assurance.

For even though the law requires perfect righteousness from believers, they refer the demanding law to Christ, in whom they have become the righteousness of God; that is, a righteousness that is acceptable to God (Col. 1:14). If the law demands that believers shall pay for their sins, they refer the law again to Christ who has completely fulfilled all the demands of the law that He also blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, nailing it to His cross (Col. 2:14). That is, He canceled them so that the law can no longer condemn us, no more than it can condemn Christ unto whom we are united, seeing that Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). Paul is therefore correct when he says, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15: 55-57). This proves that in Christ we are not only set free from the strength of the law and of sin, but also from the power and dominion of death and hell.

From this proceeds the spiritual glorying and confidence of Paul, when he exclaims, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?” (Rom. 8:33-34).

HT: Heidelblog

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June 9, 2010

John Owen’s “Of The Mortification Of Sin In Believers”

Last October I linked to a free audio-book download of John Owen’s classic work “Of The Mortification Of Sin In Believers”. Today I’m pleased to let you know Danny Hyde is giving weekly lectures through it and several of the lectures are already available for download.

You can buy the book or read it for free at Google Books.

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June 8, 2010

Winner Announced: “The Holiness of God” by R.C. Sproul

Yesterday I quickly posted that I was planning on giving my winning copy of The Holiness of God to one of my US based readers. Well, the comments and entries are now closed.

Thanks to The Thirsty Theologian and random.org I’m pleased to announce the winner of The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul.

The winner is: Kevin Altenhofel

I’ll be sending you an email shortly asking for your US based postal address.

Thanks everyone for reading, and if you’d like another opportunity to win then visit The Thirsty Theologian’s blog as he is still giving away copies.

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June 7, 2010

Win “The Holiness of God” by R.C. Sproul

The Thirsty Theologian, aka David Kjos, has been giving away copies of The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul. Who won the last copy? None other than me!

As I live in Australia (and as David wasn’t intending to pay for books to be shipped around the globe) I’ve decided to give the winning copy to one of my US based readers. You don’t have to be an American citizen, but you must have an United States shipping address.

So, if you’ve never read and don’t presently own R. C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God, then leave a nice comment below stating why random.org should pick you to get the book. In about 24 hours I’ll close the comments and random.org will pick one of you. I’ll email you for your shipping details and then David will kindly forward the book to you. Simple!

Comment away. :-)

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June 4, 2010

Keswick Theology – Should We “Let Go And Let God”?

…the answer is no.

If you’re not sure why then maybe read this recent interview with Andy Naselli or get his Ph.D. dissertation turned book available for pre-order now through Logos.

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May 31, 2010

The Major Works of Herman Witsius

…will soon be available at Reformation Heritage Books.

I’ve only read a summary version of his The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man so I look forward to owning a copy and working through it. His two other major works being released are The Apostles’ Creed and The Lord’s Prayer.

You can buy them separately, or for the best price buy them all together.

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May 29, 2010

Classic Horton – Heretical TV Preachers

I was browsing some videos online and I stumbled across some classic Horton from the early 90′s. In the videos below Horton exposes the errors of “word of faith” prosperity preachers and other heretical teachers based on the book he edited, The Agony of Deceit. I wasn’t aware of this book and am intending on buying a copy.

You can watch the videos in the series at the following links:

Agony of the Health & Wealth Gospel #1: Historical Roots of This False Religion
Charlatan TV Preachers “Little gods?”: Touch Not the Annointed gods
Miracles for Money by Phoney TV Preachers Such as Robert Tilton
Cult of the Televangelists Such as Benny Hinn & Kenneth Copeland
Negating Positive Confession Heresy Created by Money Making TV Preachers

I’ve only watched one so far; has anyone read this book or watched this when it originally aired?

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May 27, 2010

The Gospel Is For Losers!

In the age of the celebrity, Tullian Tchividjian reminds us that the gospel isn’t for the elite, but shockingly, the gospel is for losers! Consider Tullian’s words from his latest book Surprised by Grace (pp.103-104):

“People were offended back when media mogul Ted Turner called Christianity ‘a religion for losers’ (he later expressed regret for that and similar remarks). But the fact is, in one sense Ted Turner was exactly right. Christianity is for losers.

For a long time, we Christians have spent time and energy and money trying our best to convince the world we’re cool, and that we’re winners. And in our world, cool means being just as prominent and prosperous, just as smart and stylish, just as successful and savvy as anybody else. Just look at how Christians swell with pride when a successful athlete or actor or politician professes his faith. It’s as if we shout to everyone, ‘See! This guy has everything, and he’s a believer—so Christianity has to be cool.’ We want to parade these celebrities and their faith before the world.

In Too Good to Be True, Michael Horton asks, ‘Have you ever seen a janitor interviewed for his testimony?’ The reason we haven’t is that God-fearing janitors don’t represent strength or intelligence or coolness in our culture. They’re viewed as less valuable than the famous entertainer or the sports star or the rising politician. And we, as the church, have adopted the same categorization.

The gospel, however, is not just for the all-star and the illustrious and the legendary. It’s for the loser. It’s for the defeated, not the dominant. It’s for those who realize they’re unable to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders—those who’ve figured out that they’re not gods. It’s for people who understand the bankruptcy of life without God. It’s for people who recognize that while they’re definitely deficient, God is more than sufficient.”

Click here to find out how you could win a free copy of the newly released Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels OR buy a copy here.

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May 24, 2010

God’s Massive Mercy – Jesus Is The Storm

In Surprised by Grace (pp.51-52) Tullian Tchividjian reminds the reader once again of God’s grace as he reflects on the storm Jonah faced:

This storm tells us that God spares no expense in going after those who run away.

God could easily have raised up someone else to do the work Jonah refused. It’s not like the Lord’s hands were tied or that after sending the storm he kept his fingers crossed, hoping his unruly servant would at last respond. God is never in such weakness. He’s always in the position of authority and control, whether or not we realize it.

The supreme example of this massive mercy is Jesus. The incarnation of Christ tells us most emphatically how God spares nothing in going after those who run away. God’s becoming man is anything but a quiet and subtle response from God to our running from him. It’s a huge and loud statement. It shouts to us that God confronts human flight in the most outspoken, powerful way.

Of all the world’s religions, only in Christianity does God become one of his creatures. God becoming human? That’s massive, deafening—anything but subtle. Jesus is really God’s “great wind,” his “mighty tempest” in response to human running and rebellion. Jesus is the storm. Jesus is God’s gracious intervention for those who are enslaved to themselves. He comes loudly, not subtly, with an aggressive affection to pursue fugitives like you and me.

Click here to find out how you could win a free copy of the newly released Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels OR buy a copy here.

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Win Tullian Tchividjian’s “Surprised by Grace”

Surprised by GraceTo celebrate the release of Tullian Tchividjian’s “Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels” my good friends at Crossway have kindly donated a copy of the book to give away to one of my subscribers. If you would like to subscribe to be eligible to enter you can do so freely via RSS or via email.

One entry will be drawn on Friday, May 28th 2010 (US) with the first valid entry winning a copy of “Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels”.

How do I enter the giveaway?

  1. You must be a subscriber of NWBingham.com via RSS or email.
  2. Complete this form with all your contact and subscriber details.
  3. That’s it! On May 28th 2010 (US) one entry will randomly be drawn with the first valid entry winning one copy of “Surprised by Grace”. You will be contacted via email for your shipping details and you must respond within 72 hours before your prize is forfeited.

Can I increase the odds of winning?

Please only enter the competition once. However, if you’re a blogger you can increase the odds of being drawn. If you have a blog, add the following link, Nathan W. Bingham, to your blogroll / sidebar before submitting your entry. Then, when you complete your entry simply provide the URL of your blog on the optional last question. When the giveaway closes, all those who have correctly supplied a link will have their entry automatically duplicated, doubling their statistical odds of winning!

>>>Enter Giveaway Here<<<

During this week I’ll be posting several excerpts from Tullian’s “Surprised by Grace” so stay tuned!

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