Linked Together: Christian History

Reasons to Study
Aaron Armstrong lists three reasons to study church history:

1. The Bible commands us too.
2. The stories of the past help us persevere in the present.
3. The past helps us defend the faith in the present.

Read the whole piece for Aaron’s explanations. Also included — a few recommended resources for the beginning learner. 

People to Know 

1. Adoniram Judson (Nathan Busenitz): “As a husband, father, missionary, and friend, Judson truly knew what it was to sacrifice and suffer. Nevertheless, enduring all of this, he steadfastly pursued his goal of evangelizing the Burmese people and translating the Bible into their language.”
2. Lady Jane Grey (Justin Taylor with Dr. J. Stephan Edwards): “Lady Jane Grey (1536/7-1554) is a daughter of the Reformation whose story of faithfulness and grace deserves to be better known.”

Finding the Gospel
Quotes from three Christian leaders from the patristic era of church history who affirm sola fide (Nathan Busenitz).

Check out the previous posts in this series, too: Part 1,Part 2, Part 3.

Thankful Thursday

This week’s list of good gifts from God:

• We now have 3.5 hours more light per day than we did on December 21st. I know because I looked it up this morning. I’m thankful for every minute of those 3+ hours.
• My grandson, who turns one this weekend. He took several steps this week, too. 
• My grandchildren’s wonderful mothers—both of them.
• Quiet time to read.
• Help with a daunting task. 
• Root vegetables—potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, onions, parsnips, carrots, turnips—giving me my vegie vitamins throughout the cold winter months. 

What are you thankful for?

Election Is the Spring

God’s saving actions in the Pentateuch are primarily focused on his chosen people, the nation he has chosen from all others to be his “treasured possession” (Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6). Thus understood, any atonement that encompasses the entire community of Israel cannot really be interpreted in a general or universal sense; rather, it must be seen to have a definite or particular focus. The community it encompasses is a special community—the object of God’s love and special favor, a people evidently distinguished from all others (cf. Deut 4:32-35; 32:8-9). Thus it would be inappropriate to infer some kind of general atonement from Israel’s corporate experience of atonement. Any such atonement is accomplished and applied on the basis of Israel’s divine election—the latter is the spring from which the former flows; atonement is made for Israel as God’s elect people.

From Paul R. Williamson’s essay, “Because He Loved Your Forefathers”: Election, Atonement, and Intercession in the Pentateuch in From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective. 

Previously posted quote from this “comprehensive resource on definite atonement”:

• Death Is the Penalty
• Someone for Some People