On Resolving to Control My Tongue, 14-20
In his Some Pastors and Teachers, Sinclair Ferguson “takes a leaf out of Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions” and writes twenty resolutions on the tongue from James (pages 638-642). They are resolutions I need to better to keep. I will be posting all twenty, and here are six through thirteen. Resolutions 1-5 are here, and 6-13 are here.
(14) Resolved: To never allow anything but total integrity in my speech.
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation (James 5:12)…
On Resolving to Control My Tongue, 6-13
In his Some Pastors and Teachers, Sinclair Ferguson “takes a leaf out of Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions” and writes twenty resolutions on the tongue from James (pages 638-642). They are resolutions I need to better to keep. I will be posting all twenty, and here are six through thirteen. The first five are here.
(6) Resolved: To speak in the consciousness of the final judgment.
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty (James 2:12)…
On Resolving to Control My Tongue, 1-5
In his Some Pastors and Teachers, Sinclair Ferguson “takes a leaf out of Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions” and writes twenty resolutions on the tongue from James (pages 638-642). They are resolutions I need to better to keep. I will be posting all twenty, and here are the first five.
(1) Resolved: To ask God for wisdom to speak and to do so with a single mind.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. … in faith, with no doubting. … For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything … he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8)…
On the Methodist Addition to the JDDJ
Christianity Today published a review on Protestant-Catholic relations that focused upon two books, the first written by Protestant-turned Catholic Peter Kreeft, the other co-authored by Protestants Kenneth J. Collins (Catholic converted to Wesleyanism) and Jerry L. Walls, a Baptist. Both books address the JDDJ, with Kreeft calling it, “the greatest ecumenical achievement in the five hundred years since the Reformation.” Collins and Walls dedicate an entire chapter to the JDDJ, in which they echo the concerns of the LCMS and hit the same points that I addressed in my previous post.
The World Methodist Council adopted the JDDJ in August, 2006, with some additions to reflect distinctly Wesleyan understandings of justification. It is interesting that the Methodists constantly cite John Wesley to express their theological points and scriptural interpretation; the Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed all cite their exegetical tradition or confessional statements, not individual theologians.
The Methodist additions to the JDDJ, like the Lutheran comments, functionally defer to the Catholic structure of understanding justification. Any notable doctrinal difference between the Methodists and the initial JDDJ undercuts the common consensus on the foundational nature of justification that the Lutherans and Catholics are attempting to achieve….
On Nonchalance and Unconditional Election
It should be clear that if a doctrine is a) biblical, b) directly related to salvation, c) a critical and distinctive part of the Reformed Protestant tradition, and d) pastorally helpful in providing comfort for sanctification, that rejecting it is…
