Linked Together: Three Theological Statements

God
“God is without … passions,” teaches the confession. Can that be true? Doesn’t he love us? In The Problem with Passion, Tom Chantry explains what “without passions” means, and tells us why it’s good news that God is without them.

Christ
The author of Hebrews says that Christ is “the radiance of the glory of God.” In other words,

All that God is — the measureless sum of his eternal and eternally rich attributes — shines forth in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. Jesus is supremely radiant.

For more explanation, read all of Christ As Radiance by Jared Wilson. It just might make your heart sing.

People
How do we square Paul’s statement, “no one does good,” with the acts of kindness done by those around us who are unbelievers? How is Paul defining good?

The “goodness” in view in Romans 3:12 (citing Ps. 14:3) is goodness as God sees it. The Bible is asserting that even acts of civic kindness done by an unbeliever fail to meet the requirement of God’s law—namely, that all our actions must be done with a view to glorifying God. In that sense, even the unbeliever’s good acts are evil. 

Read all of Is It True That Natural Man Cannot Do Any Good? by Derek Thomas.

Sunday's Hymn: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above

All praise to God, who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of wonders, pow’r, and love,
The God of our salvation!
With healing balm my soul he fills,
The God who every sorrow stills,
To God all praise and glory!

What God’s almighty pow’r hath made
His gracious mercy keepeth;
By morning dawn or evening shade
His watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
Within the kingdom of his might,
Lo, all is just and all is right,
To God all praise and glory!

I cried to him in time of need:
Lord God, O, hear my calling!
For death he gave me life indeed
And kept my feet from falling.
For this my thanks shall endless be;
O thank him, thank our God, with me,
To God all praise and glory!

The Lord forsaketh not his flock,
His chosen generation;
He is their refuge and their rock,
Their peace and their salvation.
As with a mother’s tender hand
He leads his own, his chosen band,
To God all praise and glory!

Ye who confess Christ’s holy name,
To God give praise and glory!
Ye who the Father’s power proclaim,
To God give praise and glory!
All idols under foot be trod,
The Lord is God! the Lord is God!
To God all praise and glory!

Then come before his presence now
And banish fear and sadness;
To your Redeemer pay your vow
And sing with joy and gladness:
Though great distress my soul befell,
The Lord, my God, did all things well,
To God all praise and glory!

—Johann J. Schütz

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• You Are My Hiding Place at By Grace Alone
• Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross at Graces Daily
• There Is a Fountain at The Happy Wonderer
• Abundant Joy at Tried With Fire
• Lord’s Day 13, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs: An Unrecognized Blessing

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Linked Together: The Thankful Thursday Edition

For the Small Things
Erik Raymond reminds us to “consider the little things,” like David did when he wrote Psalm 3:

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me (Psalm 3:5).

When We Suffer
Mark Altrogge: 

One of the most important things we must do when we suffer is to give thanks.  I don’t say this lightly and I know many believers who have endured unimaginable pain and tragedy.  Giving thanks in the midst of agony and affliction is certainly not easy to do. 

To help us out, he’s listed 12 things we can give thanks for when we suffer.

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Here are a few things I’m thankful for this week:

• Health. I haven’t been sick (yet) this winter. Everyone around me has been sick, and some have been really sick, but I haven’t.
• Safety—safety as I drive, safety as I walk (It’s very icy out there!). For safety for my whole family this week. 
• Two ladies in my church who have taken on a really difficult job this week—one I don’t think I could do—out of Christian love. 
• My oldest son, who just had a birthday.
• That God has sustained me through the past 11 years.
• That God is in control of everything, including my life.