This Blog is dedicated to proclaiming the Truth of God, the Sufficiency of Scripture to all area's of life and thought. So, to sum it in all up in one word, Theonomy.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
R. J. Rushdoony Quote
"To have none other gods, means to have no other law than God's law, and no activity or thought apart from His law-word. Whether for food, to uphold the civil law, in warfare, or in self-defense, blood can be shed only in terms of God's word. Where God permits it, man cannot contradict God or propose a "better" or "higher" way without sin.
Thus, to regard vegetarianism, pacifism, or non-resistance in all cases, as a "higher" way is to treat God's way as lower than man's."
R. J. Rushdoony - The Institutes of Biblical Law Vol. 1, P. 47.
In talking of the 1st Commandment and the Shema Israel
Thus, to regard vegetarianism, pacifism, or non-resistance in all cases, as a "higher" way is to treat God's way as lower than man's."
R. J. Rushdoony - The Institutes of Biblical Law Vol. 1, P. 47.
In talking of the 1st Commandment and the Shema Israel
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Denying Self: The Key to Christian Living
John Calvin on Denying Self: The Key to Christian Living
In a book titled A Guide to Christian Living, Being part of book 3 of The Institutes of the Christian Religion translated from the French edition of 1560 by Robert White, published by Banner of Truth Trust.
Chapter 2. Point 2. Seeking God's Will and His Glory
"The corollary of this is, as we have said, that instead of seeking the things which suit us, we should seek the things which please God and which serve to exalt his glory. It is a fine virtue if we can more or less forget self, or at least care less about ourselves, and then loyally strive to follow God and his commands. For when Scripture bids us take no special thought for ourselves, it not only empties our heart of greed, of lust for power and the desire for great honours and alliances, it also seeks to root out all ambition, the longing for fame and other hidden plagues. Every Christian, to be sure, should become familiar with the thought that, throughout his life, it is with God he has to deal.
Knowing this, he will be ready to account to God for all his actions: he will plan nothing which does not comply with God's will and is not rooted in it. For whoever looks to God in all he does will soon rid his mind of every idle thought.
This is the meaning of the self-denial which Christ so strictly requires of all his disciples at the start of their apprenticeship (Matt. 16:24). Once self-denial possesses the human heart, arrogance, pride and empty show are the first things to go; then also greed, intemperance, extravagance and sensual pleasure, with all the other vices which are born of self-love. Conversely, when self-denial is not uppermost, either men will shamelessly throw themselves into every kind of villainy, or else, if the appearance of virtue is preserved, it is defiled by a wicked thirst for glory.
Can anyone show me a man who treats other men with unmerited kindness, and who has not first denied himself according to the Lord's command? Not everyone, however, is so high-minded: the least that can be said is that, in following virtue, many have sought men's praise. Even the philosophers, who fought strenuously to prove that virtue is desirable for its own sake, plainly showed by their vanity that their pursuit of virtue was merely an opportunity for pride. Now ambitious people who look for worldly fame, and others like them who are bursting with hidden conceit, are very far from pleasing God: of the first, God says they have received their reward in this world; of the second, that they are further from the kingdom of God than tax-collectors and prostitutes.
We have not yet, however, clearly explained how many obstacles prevent us from doing good unless we have first denied ourselves. In earlier times it was truly said that a world of evil is hidden in the soul of man. There is no other remedy than self-denial, Which enables us to lay our own preferences aside, and to set our minds on the things which God requires, striving for them only because they are pleasing to him."
In a book titled A Guide to Christian Living, Being part of book 3 of The Institutes of the Christian Religion translated from the French edition of 1560 by Robert White, published by Banner of Truth Trust.
Chapter 2. Point 2. Seeking God's Will and His Glory
"The corollary of this is, as we have said, that instead of seeking the things which suit us, we should seek the things which please God and which serve to exalt his glory. It is a fine virtue if we can more or less forget self, or at least care less about ourselves, and then loyally strive to follow God and his commands. For when Scripture bids us take no special thought for ourselves, it not only empties our heart of greed, of lust for power and the desire for great honours and alliances, it also seeks to root out all ambition, the longing for fame and other hidden plagues. Every Christian, to be sure, should become familiar with the thought that, throughout his life, it is with God he has to deal.
Knowing this, he will be ready to account to God for all his actions: he will plan nothing which does not comply with God's will and is not rooted in it. For whoever looks to God in all he does will soon rid his mind of every idle thought.
This is the meaning of the self-denial which Christ so strictly requires of all his disciples at the start of their apprenticeship (Matt. 16:24). Once self-denial possesses the human heart, arrogance, pride and empty show are the first things to go; then also greed, intemperance, extravagance and sensual pleasure, with all the other vices which are born of self-love. Conversely, when self-denial is not uppermost, either men will shamelessly throw themselves into every kind of villainy, or else, if the appearance of virtue is preserved, it is defiled by a wicked thirst for glory.
Can anyone show me a man who treats other men with unmerited kindness, and who has not first denied himself according to the Lord's command? Not everyone, however, is so high-minded: the least that can be said is that, in following virtue, many have sought men's praise. Even the philosophers, who fought strenuously to prove that virtue is desirable for its own sake, plainly showed by their vanity that their pursuit of virtue was merely an opportunity for pride. Now ambitious people who look for worldly fame, and others like them who are bursting with hidden conceit, are very far from pleasing God: of the first, God says they have received their reward in this world; of the second, that they are further from the kingdom of God than tax-collectors and prostitutes.
We have not yet, however, clearly explained how many obstacles prevent us from doing good unless we have first denied ourselves. In earlier times it was truly said that a world of evil is hidden in the soul of man. There is no other remedy than self-denial, Which enables us to lay our own preferences aside, and to set our minds on the things which God requires, striving for them only because they are pleasing to him."
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