Advent: From Jesse's root hath sprung

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
   and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
   the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the Spirit of counsel and might,
   the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
   or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
— Isaiah 11:1–5, ESV

Offsping of a virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail, the Incarnate Deity,
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
  — Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.

—Isaac Watts

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
     for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
     whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
     from the east and from the west,
     from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
     finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
     their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
     and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
     till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
     for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
     and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

(Psalm 107:1-9, ESV)

A Humble Statement of Faith

Speaking of orthodoxy, I was looking through the “statement of faith” at the website monergism.com. Their statement concerning eschatology is quite fair and humble. We are often arrogant in our dogmatics and that’s rarely the wisest approach. I see this as an example I can certainly learn from. I share it hoping you too might find it useful.

At the end of the age we expect the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures. We find that the amillennial view has the most biblical evidence, and therefore, this is the view we affirm. But we do not teach with surety any of the major millennial views, but encourage each person to study the Scriptures and come to their own conclusion. In preparation for His coming we are called to live holy lives. Through years of study we personally favor the amillennial understanding of the eschaton.

A Decent Synopsis of Orthodoxy

On page 81 of John MacArthur‘s new book Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship, he discusses continuationists who embrace what MacArthur calls the “true gospel.” His enumeration of the traits is a decent synopsis of orthodoxy.

They embrace substitutionary atonement, the true nature of Christ, the Trinitarian nature of God, biblical repentance, and the unique authority of the Bible. They recognize that salvation is not about health and wealth, and they genuinely desire to be rescued from sin, spiritual death, and everlasting hell.

We could argue about what this list does not include, but it’s quite a solid starting point.

Neither Condemnation Nor Justification

Michael Horton on Joel Osteen:

There is no condemnation in Osteen’s message for failing to fulfill God’s righteous law. On the other hand, there is no justification. Instead of either message, there is an upbeat moralism that is somewhere in the middle: Do your best, follow the instructions I give you, and God will make your life successful. “Don’t sit back passively,” he warns, but with a gentle pleading suggests that the only reason we need to follow his advice is because it’s useful for getting what we want. God is a buddy or partner who exists primarily to make sure we are happy. “You do your part, and God will do his part.”

Read the whole thing here