Blood-Bought Blessings

From The Great Exchange, by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington: 

The cross is not a mere first step toward spiritual development; is is the all-encompassing foundation for Christian growth. ..[I]t first provides complete forgivenss of past, present, and future sins, and then it becomes a means of the deliverance by which we are freed from bondage to sin….

 
By tying the transformation of the believer to the cross, Paul makes his point aboundantly clear: everything we need for life and eternity is provided by virture of Christ’s great atonement. Furthermore, in everything God is for us; he is for us in Christ wisdom instead of ignorance, justification instead of condemnation, sanctification instead of sinfulnees, and redemption instead of slavery. “[God] is the source of [our] life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and santification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). In view of this, it is no wonder Paul is adamant and unwavering regarding the centrality of the cross of Christ. The fulfillment of every hope we have is blood bought by the atoning work of Christ on the Cross. And the work of Christ on the cross must remain our only hope.

Expect a review of this book to be posted here soon. 

Reformation Day Symposium

I’m betting you’ve already read about it, but I’ll post the info here just in case you missed it. Tim Challies has put out notice that he will host another Reformation Day Symposium this year. From Tim:

…once again I’m asking you to consider blogging about the Reformation to celebrate Reformation Day. As I did last year, I’ll link to all of the posts from this site. And as I did last year, I’ll award prizes to the “best” entries (as judged by myself and likely a couple of other judges, and based on whatever subjective criteria we come up with).

You may want to reflect on a person, an event, or a particular point of theology. The topic is wide open, so long as it somehow ties in to Reformation Day. And remember, you do not need to be Reformed to appreciate the Reformation and all it stood for. If you do not have a blog of your own, but would still like to participate, why not ask another blogger if you can “guest” on his site that day.

And there be prizes! You’ll find more details here.

What shall immediately follow after the resurrection?

Immediately after the resurrection shall follow the general and final judgment of angels and men;[1] the day and hour whereof no man knows, that all may watch and pray, and be ever ready for the coming of the Lord.[2]

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