Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has conquered . . . Revelation 5:5
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Galatians 6:14
You have been very angry with your Anointed One. Psalm 89:38
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2
Let the motto upon your whole ministry be - "Christ is All!" - Cotton Mather

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Answering Joe Burrow's Post On Abortion And Roe v. Wade


This is my brief response to a pro-abortion post the Cincinnati Bengal's (and former LSU) quarterback, Joe Burrow, made about the overturning of Roe v. Wade and caring for women. I have included the text of his post and put my answers to the post in brackets, indented below:

Joe Burrow: I'm not pro-murdering babies.

[Yes, actually you are. But you, the world, and the devil have deceived you into thinking that you are not.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Becky who found out at her 20 week anatomy scan that the infant she had been so excited to bring into this world had developed without life sustaining organs.

[This is a very sad situation. We should pray for Becky and grieve with her and get her all the medical and counseling help we can. If her baby is already dead in the womb, that is called a miscarriage. It is not an abortion. Overturning Roe v. Wade does not address her very sad situation. Overturning Roe v. Wade has to do with parents, doctors, and politicians who want the right to murder living children in the womb].

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Susan who was sexually assaulted on her way home from work, only to come to the horrific realization that her assailant planted his seed in her when she got a positive pregnancy test result a month later.

[This is another very sad situation. We should pray for Susan, grieve with her, and get her all the medical and counseling help we can. We should seek to bring her rapist to justice and punish him to the fullest extent of the law. But we should not punish the innocent child that God is knitting together in her womb (Psalm 139). It is never good, right, or just to punish an innocent person for the crimes of another. The child in Susan’s womb is a human being, made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). This baby should be protected. Putting the baby up for adoption is an option if she is unable to keep this baby conceived by rape.

One of the reasons rape is so evil is because the rapist is forcing his will on a woman against her will. This is exactly what abortion is: parents and doctors forcing their will to murder on the baby who desires to live. Punish the rapist, not the innocent child. This is the best way to be pro-Susan. One option is for Susan to give her baby up for adoption. It should also be noted that abortion due to rape is less than 0.5% of all abortions. In other words, it very rarely happens, but it is often the first reason brought up against the pro-life position. 80% of abortions are due to sexual immorality between two consenting adults. (https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/)]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Theresa who hemorrhaged due to a placental abruption, causing her parents, spouse, and children to have to make the impossible decision on whether to save her or her unborn child.

[If the life of the mother is in danger, then hard decisions do have to be made. Yes, care for Theresa and her unborn baby as best as possible. (These situations rarely happen!) Do everything you can to save both of their lives. Again, it must be noted that these cases are very rare, and some mothers may choose to give up their lives in order to save their children. Noble mothers do this all the time: (https://abort73.com/end_abortion/is_abortion_ever_justified/)]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-little Cathy who had her innocence ripped away from her by someone she should have been able to trust and her 11 year old body isn't mature enough to bear the consequence of that betrayal.

[This is another very sad situation. We should pray for Cathy, grieve with her, and get her all the medical and counseling help we can. We should seek to bring her child molesting rapist to justice and punish him to the fullest extent of the law. But we should not punish the innocent child that God is knitting together in her womb (Psalm 139). It is never good, right, or just to punish an innocent person for the crimes of another. The child in Cathy’s womb is a human being, made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). This baby should be protected. Putting the baby up for adoption is an option if she is unable to keep and raise this baby conceived by this horrific assault.

One of the reasons rape is so evil is because the rapist is forcing his will on a woman against her will. This is exactly what abortion is: parents and doctors forcing their will to murder on the baby who desires to live. Punish the rapist, not the innocent child. This is the best way to be pro-Cathy. One option is for Cathy to give her baby up for adoption. It should also be noted that abortion due to rape is less than 0.5% of all abortions. In other words, if very rarely happens, but it is often the first reason brought up against the pro-life position. 80% of abortions are due to sexual immorality between two consenting adults. (https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/)]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Melissa who's working two jobs just to make ends meet and has to choose between bringing another child into poverty or feeding the children she already has because her spouse walked out on her.

[Poverty never justifies the murder of an innocent child. Adoption is the better option.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Brittany who realizes that she is in no way financially, emotionally, or physically able to raise a child.

[Poverty and emotional and physical limitations never justify the murder on an innocent child. Adoption is the better option.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Emily who went through IVF, ending up with SIX viable implanted eggs requiring selective reduction in order to ensure the safety of her and a SAFE amount of fetuses.

[I would not condone IVF as a method for having children: (See: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/evangelicalisms-silence-ivf/) What should Emily do now? I agree with Matthew Lee Anderson and Andrew T. Walker who write:
 
First, we’d urge them to see this embryo as a person awaiting future development: He or she is owed love, care, and respect. The embryo is also made in God’s image. Second, if they have no intention to transfer him or her, we’d encourage the couple to consider allowing the embryo to be given to a family through embryo adoption. Third, we’d implore them to never allow this embryo to be destroyed or used for research. Absent these options and considering the toll that would come with possible embryo degeneration, couples might consider allowing the person they created to go into the hand of God and engage in the penitent lament that marks grief at our complicity in human death.

And if a couple is infertile and considering IVF? We’d advise them to alert their pastor and community so they do not walk through infertility alone. We’d urge them to avoid IVF, but to pursue every therapeutic medical treatment that might make natural conception more probable. Most importantly, we’d exhort them to explore how their life together might bear witness to God’s kingdom by forging non-biological, parental bonds. In doing so they bear witness to a hope fundamentally fulfilled not through the birth of children, but through the advent of our Lord.

We believe, and have tried to argue, that the good news for infertile couples means saying “no” to means of generating life that are contrary to the integrity of God’s good creation. We tear apart what God has joined together only at grave peril to ourselves: By dividing sex from procreation, we reconfigure the form which God has laid down for us to understand the nature of his agency in bringing new life into the world. If a people who emphasize the gospel cannot say no to that division, we are a people unworthy of our name.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Christina who doesn't want to be a mother, but birth control methods sometimes fail.

[Not wanting to be a mother does not give you the right to murder your own child. Adoption is the better option.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Jessica who is FINALLY getting the strength to get away from her physically abusive spouse only to find out that she is carrying the monster's child.

[Spousal abuse is a great evil and should not be tolerated. Jessica’s abusive spouse should be reported to the police and brought to justice. Jessica should find refuge in a safe place, and we should help her do this. But murdering her child is not an option. The child is innocent. By having an abortion, you are committing the very evil that Jessica’s abusive spouse committed. You are abusing an innocent life – the child. You are murdering the child. Again, adoption is the better option.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Vanessa who went into her confirmation appointment after YEARS of trying to conceive only to hear silence where there should be a heartbeat.

[Miscarriages are very sad, but they are not abortions.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Lindsay who lost her virginity in her sophomore year with a broken condom and now has to choose whether to be a teenage mom or just a teenager.

[It’s never right to murder an innocent child. Adoption is the better option. Being pro-Lindsay also means explaining to her the consequences of premarital sex and God’s design for sex to be enjoyed only within the covenant of marriage. Sexual immorality accounts for 80% of abortions. If sexual immorality stopped, most abortions would stop.]

Joe Burrow: I'm pro-Courtney who just found out she's already 13 weeks along, but the egg never made it out of her fallopian tube so either she terminates the pregnancy or risks dying from internal bleeding.

[This is an ectopic pregnancy, and a medical procedure to remove the egg is not considered an abortion. This has nothing to do with Roe v. Wade being overturned: (https://aaplog.org/what-is-aaplogs-position-on-treatment-of-ectopic-pregnancy/)]

Joe Burrow: You can argue and say that I'm pro-choice all you want, but the truth is: I'm pro-life. 

[No you are not. You grossly misunderstand what you are talking about, and you are totally denying that the child in the womb of the mother is a human being, made in God’s image.]

Joe Burrow: Their lives. 

[We should care for both the lives of the mothers and the lives of the unborn children.]

Joe Burrow: Women's lives. 

[Yes, and we should care about the lives of the little women developing in the womb as well.]

For more information on abortion, please read: To Be Pro-Choice Is To Be Pro-Murder And Anti-Christ

What Becky, Susan, Theresa, Cathy, Melissa, Brittany, Emily, Christina, Jessica, Vanessa, Lindsay, Courtney, and all men and women desperately need more than anything else is Jesus Christ and His Gospel message: His life, His death for sinners, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead.

To hear about this saving Gospel of Jesus Christ through which you can be saved and forgiven of all your sins, including the sin of abortion, please watch this excellent documentary: American Gospel: Christ Alone

To watch the whole 2.5 hour version of this excellent documentary, American Gospel: Christ Alone, get a free trial and watch here.

Monday, June 20, 2022

Christ Jesus Is Our True Kindred Brother Relation!

"That's My King!" In Matthew 12!


Jesus Is LORD Of Sabbath Rest
He’s God And Man The Greatest’s Best
And Though The Pharisees Would Test
It’s He Who Made The Sabbath Blessed
And Gave The Rules That God Expressed
So Follow Him And Don’t Be Stressed
He Heals And Frees Those Tired, Oppressed
He Died And Took God’s Wrath Expressed
Then Rose Alive To Death Arrest
Come To Him And You’ll Be Dressed
In His Righteousness Possessed
By Faith Alone As You’ve Confessed
Your Sins Are Gone From East To West
So Come To Christ For Saving Rest
To Do His Good Will Be Your Quest
With Him Alone You’ll Be Obsessed!

That's my King!

Christ Is The Center In Each Deed
Of Grace And Love That Here We Read
He Healed Them All, Met Every Need
Yet Hidden, Quiet He’s Decreed
His Time’s Not Come But Will Indeed
When He Would Suffer, Die, And Bleed
And Bear God’s Wrath So We Are Freed
Then Rise Alive All Hopes Exceed
He’s God’s Beloved Woman’s Seed
Who Crushed The Serpent’s Head To Lead
In Gentle, Lowliness Proceed
He Will Not Break A Bruised Reed
Brings Justice, Victory With Speed
Saves Every Nation Guaranteed
He Is Our All, Our Life, Our Creed
So Every Word Of His We Heed!
 
That's my King! Do you know Him?!

The Christ Is David’s Greater Son
Though Pharisees Would Hate And Shun
And Call His Work What Satan’s Done
The Kingdom’s Come, His Reign’s Begun
His Spirit Makes The Demons Run
He’d Die And Rise The Righteous Sun
And Bind The Strong Man, Chains Are Spun
All Words You Speak Against The Son
He Will Forgive, Salvation’s Done
Don’t Speak Against The Spirit None
For If You Do God’s Hell Will Stun
So Flee From Sin, To Jesus Run
He’s Life And Joy Second To None!

That's my King! 

Christ Jesus Is The Greatest Tree
His Fruit’s The Best You’ll Ever See
His Heart’s Abundant Purity
And All He Speaks Is Truth Decree
He’s Good And Filled With Treasures Free
And Saves The Bad And Evil We
Who’ve Sinned The Vilest In Degree
With Careless Words None Could Foresee
But Christ Went On A Saving Spree
He Bore God’s Wrath Upon That Tree
He Died And Rose Our Jubilee
He Casts Our Sins Into The Sea
By Faith Alone We’ll Righteous Be
He Grants New Hearts That Bow The Knee
To Him Forever Speak With Glee
Those Words That Please The One In Three
For God’s Our Joy Guarantee!

That's my King! I wonder if you know Him today?!

Christ Jesus Is The Greatest Sign
Greater Than Jonah’s Story Line
Greater Than Solomon’s Wise Mind
He’s Here By God’s Perfect Design
He’s Holy, Blameless Brightness Shine
He’s God And Man, Truly Divine
He Is God’s Wisdom, Truth Defined
Yet He Would Suffer, They’d Malign
Struck Down By God, Drank Fury Wine
He Died But Never Will Resign
He Rose To Start A New Bloodline
By Faith Alone We Join His Vine
We’re Filled With Joy On Cloud Nine
Our Everlasting Treasure Mine
All Hopes And Dreams In Him Combine!

That's my King!

Christ Jesus Is Our True Kindred Brother Relation
If You Do Father’s Will Without Hesitation
Mothers, Sisters, Brothers From Every Nation
You Are To Him Who Bought Us Salvation
He Did His Father’s Will For The Whole Duration
Unlike Us Who Have Sinned And Deserve Full Damnation
He Never Sinned, Conquered Every Temptation
Died On That Cross As Our Propitiation
Rose From The Dead For Our Justification
By Faith Alone There’s No Condemnation
In Him We Are God’s, An All New Creation
Filled With His Spirit We Obey With Elation
For He Is Our All, Our Preoccupation
He’s Family And Friend, Our Sanctification
Come To Him Now And Find Transformation!

That's my King! That's my King!

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Psalm 88 Is Ultimately About The Sufferings Of Jesus Christ On That Cross

From Daniel Fletcher's book: Psalms Of Christ

I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your anger lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves . . . Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? . . . I have suffered your terrors and am in despair. Your anger has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. Psalm 88:5-7, 14-16

And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself . . . Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead . . . . Luke 24:25-27, 44-46

Daniel Fletcher writes:

. . . the psalmist's experience in Ps 88 and that of Jesus is an example of biblical typology. Because the entire book of Psalms testifies to Jesus, namely his sufferings (Luke 24:25-27, 44-47), the words of lamentation of the psalmist point to Christ, culminating in his passion experience. The psalmist had his own experience of suffering as the historical analysis indicates, but Jesus also had his own experience that both echoes and exceeds that of the psalmist, as the antitype exceeds that type. (Daniel Fletcher, Psalms Of Christ: The Messiah In Non-Messianic Psalms, (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2018), 109-110.) (All of the wonderful meditations below come from Fletcher's book.)

J. Clinton McCann Jr. writes: 

Psalm 88 . . . serves to articulate the same experience Jesus would later live out. (J. Clinton McCann Jr., A Theological Introduction To The Book Of Psalms: The Psalms As Torah, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), 99.)

Commenting on Psalm 88:7, Augustine wrote: 

The anger of God was not merely roused, but lay hard upon Him, whom they dared to bring to death, and not only death, but that kind, which they regarded as the most execrable of all, namely the death of the Cross. (Augustine of Hippo, Expositions On The Psalms, In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff. Trans. J. E. Tweed, (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature, 1888), 88.)

Jerome gave this heading to Psalm 88 in the Vulgate:

The voice of Christ: he speaks concerning his Passion to the Father. (John Eaton, The Psalms: A Historical and Spiritual Commentary With An Introduction And New Translation, (New York: Continuum, 2005), 509.)

Richard Belcher writes:

Jesus experienced the darkness and abandonment by God expressed in Psalm 88 as he hung on the cross suffering the judgment of God against sin. His human life ended in darkness, but only for a short time, for on the third day he burst from the grave conquering sin and death. Because Jesus experienced the dark night of the soul we are assured that darkness will not be the last word. (Richard P. Belcher, The Messiah And The Psalms: Preaching Christ From All The Psalms, (Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2006), 76.)

Preaching on Psalm 88, Timothy Keller says: 

The end of Psalm 39: God's face is turned away. The end of Psalm 88: darkness. Losing God's face; darkness. Does that sound familiar to you? Matthew 27:45: "From the sixth hour to the ninth hour, darkness came down over all the land. At the ninth hour, Jesus Christ on the cross cried: 'My God! My God! . . . Why have You forsaken Me?'" . . . Jesus got the total darkness that Heman thought he was getting. When Jesus went to the cross, He was abandoned. Really. Not just subjectively. "My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" On the cross, Jesus Christ really got the wrath of God. Not just I felt the wrath. He actually got the wrath of God. Everybody abandoned Jesus so only Jesus Christ of all the people who have ever trusted God as Savior, only Jesus Christ - darkness really was His only friend. His disciples had left Him; His people had left Him, His Father had abandoned Him - darkness was His only friend. You know why? He was taking the sins upon Himself that we've committed . . . but Jesus took the darkness so that when you believe in Him, your sins are forgiven. Or put it another way: Jesus Christ experienced darkness as His only friend so in your darkness you can know that Jesus is still your friend. He's still there. Jesus was truly abandoned so that you will only feel abandoned, and you can know that God's still there. He's not going to abandon you. No matter what you've done wrong, because of what Jesus Christ has done - He's taken the penalty. It all fell on Him. It all fell on to His heart. (Timothy Keller, How To Deal With Dark Times, Accessed 07 JUNE 2022).

Hallelujah! What a Savior! 

Christ Jesus Is The Greatest Tree!