That is how Phil Ryken, pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, describes Paul Tripp’s newest book on Psalm 51, Whiter than Snow.

This is a book that will open wide the vistas of God’s grace to all struggling sinners who read it.

Click below to watch a short video of the author talking about his latest work:

Paul Tripp and Psalm 51

Do yourself a favor and buy this book and read it.

Q: What is the opposite of faith?  It’s unbelief. 

In his song Precious Angel, Bob Dylan observes:

Ya either got faith or ya got unbelief and there ain’t no neutral ground.
The enemy is subtle, how be it we are so deceived
When the truth’s in our hearts and we still don’t believe?
Shine your light, shine your light on me

As Christians, we know he is on to something. 

One way to better understand what faith looks like, would be to understand its opposite, unbelief.  But what does unbelief look like? 

The Puritan pastor John Bunyan, writing 300 years before Dylan, is helpful here.

In his book Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, Bunyan has a section in which he summarizes in 25 statements the qualities of unbelief, as opposed to faith.  I wish we had room to publish all 25 here (along with Scripture references), but this is a blog, subject to blog restrictions (not too long, I am told).

So here are a few worth considering.

1. Faith believes the Word of God; but unbelief questions the certainty of the same.

2. Faith believes the Word, because it is true; but unbelief doubts it, because it is true.

8. Faith makes great burdens light; but unbelief makes light ones intolerably heavy.

9. Faith helps us when we are down; but unbelief throws us down when we are up.

16. Faith gives us peace and comfort in our souls; but unbelief works trouble and tossings, like the restless waves of the sea.

20. Faith will show us more excellence in things not seen than in them that are; but unbelief sees more in things that are seen than in things that will be hereafter.

21. Faith makes the ways of God pleasant and admirable; but unbelief makes them heavy and hard.

I understand this distinction between faith and unbelief to apply not just to the faith that saves us (and the unbelief that damns us), but also to our faith every day, in various situations of our lives.  Do we believe God’s promises (faith), or not?  Let’s together be on the lookout for the sin of unbelief in ourselves!  That our faith may grow daily.

After a VERY long break, I’d like to take up again the topic of Reformed Worship.  In the first two posts in this series (click here for Part 1 and Part 2), we introduced the concept of the Regulative Principle and began an analysis of Jesus’ command to worship “in spirit and in truth” using Terry Johnson’s helpful book, Reformed Worship.  In the last installment, we explored how worship “in truth” is worship that is grounded in God’s self-revelation.  I want to expand on this a little by focusing on the dramatic shift that Jesus hinted was coming in the ways that God’s people worship Him.

As you recall, the Samaritan woman at the well asked Jesus whether the Jews were right in insisting upon the temple in Jerusalem as the only proper venue for the worship of God.  Her question was focused on Old Testament temple worship, but Jesus responded by pointing forward to the worship of the New Covenant.  With this instruction, He was redirecting the thrust of her question about “where” we should worship to answer the question “how” we should worship. 

How is God’s covenant administered differently today than it was under the Levitical priesthood?  Or, put differently, how is worship on this side of the cross different from what went before?  With the coming of Christ and the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, we have shifted from the temple system—with its sacrifices, rituals, and symbolism—to a service of worship focused on the straightforward proclamation of truth rather than dramatic and mysterious symbolism.  Greater revelation has enabled this shift of emphasis from external symbols to internal truths. 

Not that Old Testament worship wasn’t concerned with the internal… far from it.  God’s criticism of Israel that they honored Him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him shows that He has always been more interested in our heart disposition than the observance of mere forms.  Nor does New Testament worship completely dispense with the symbolic and mysterious.  Just think of the profound mystery and dramatic visuals of baptism and communion.  God designed us and knows better than we do how these symbols that we can see and touch speak volumes to our spirits. 

But the tendency of sinful men to idolatry causes us to gravitate to the external, and God has designed New Testament worship with a minimum of pomp and circumstance to keep us focused on the clear realities rather than the mysterious types which of necessity dominated temple worship.  On this side of the cross, to worship “in truth” we must adopt worship that embraces the reality rather than clings to the shadow.  This is why the worship described in the New Testament looks so different from the worship of the Old Testament.  Because we have less symbolism, we have a simpler service of worship.  This simplicity keeps us focused on the central truth that drives our worship: Christ and Him crucified.

In the next installment, I will take up the question of how we worship “in spirit,” and how that applies to us at GCPC.

Based on the evidence - we pay lots of money to see their concerts, we buy their music and related merchandise, we hire paparazzi to document their every sneeze - it would be fair to say that we hold rock stars in some esteem. In fact, it is the esteem of the public that finances a rock star lifestyle. And judging from the financed-by-your-dollars-and-my-dollars lifestyles of some of the most popular rockers, our esteem for them is quite high!

John Bunyan makes an eye-opening observation from Scripture that as Christians, we should esteem every single other Christian. In fact, if what Bunyan has written about every single child of God sinks in, we will see that each and every Christian is much more worthy of our esteem than even the most dynamic, creative, and magnetic performer enshrined in or destined for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Consider what Bunyan has written about you, about me, and about every Christian who has ever lived:

This is a man with whom God is, in whom God works and walks; a man whose motion is governed and steered by the mighty hand of God, and the effectual working of his power. Here is a man!

This man, by the power of God’s might, which works in him, is able to cast a whole world behind him, with all the lusts and pleasures of it, and to charge through all the difficulties that men and devils can set against him. Here is a man!

This man is traveling to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God….Here is a man!

This man can look upon death with comfort, can laugh at destruction when it comes, and longs to hear the sound of the last trump, and to see his Judge coming in the clouds of heaven. Here is a man indeed!

All these are true of EVERY believer - every man, woman and child saved by God! By the Father’s grace, through Christ’s work, and because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, an ordinary person becomes more than a rock star - we are all God’s workmanship, instruments of Almighty God’s work and power, able to withstand all difficulties by the Father’s grace, destined for certain eternity with God in Christ, sure of our salvation on the last day as sealed by the Holy Spirit, and righteous-justified-sanctified before the Judge of the world.

This is true of all who call on our Lord as savior - no matter how immature, unlikeable, annoying, hurtful, obnoxious, embarrassing, judgmental, or wrong they may sometimes (or often) be. It is helpful to remember what the Bible teaches is true of them, so that we can count (esteem) them better than ourselves. Phil. 2:3.

Our denomination is on sight helping those in Iowa suffering due to the recent flooding.  You can find out what the PCA is doing here and see where you might be able to help.

The 36th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America has now entered the history books.

For a helpful summary about the week’s work, please check out the websites here and here.

>>UPDATE<<

A very thorough summary of the actions of the 36th General Assembly can be found here.

The PCA General Assembly in Dallas is now in its second full day of proceedings.

On Tuesday night, the GA elected Mission to the World coordinator Paul Kooistra to the very important job of Moderator.

Here is a report about what happened yesterday, from ByFaith magazine: June 11 GA Report.

The report also includes this numerical snapshot of the PCA as of the end of 2007.

Number of churches: 1,666

Professions of faith: 10,201

Total members: 342,041

Although numbers alone do not speak to our faithfulness to the Great Commission, the numbers should be an encouragement that the PCA is in good health!  Let’s keep the GA and the Presbyterian Church in America in our prayers.

You may have heard that our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), is convening its General Assembly in Dallas next week, from Tuesday June 10 through Friday June 13.

What is the General Assembly?
The General Assembly (or GA) is the annual gathering of Teaching Elders (pastors) and Ruling Elders from around the country to conduct the business of the church. Click here for the official page of the General Assembly.

What happens at GA?
Well, the most important thing that happens when a bunch of pastors and elders get together is, of course, prayer and worship. There will be a worship service each night, from 7 to 9, and you are invited to attend. The location is the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas, beside Reunion Arena (you can’t miss it if you head towards the landmark rotating ball restaurant). The worship service is quite encouraging, as it is an opportunity to join in worship with brothers and sisters from New England to Hawaii! I hope some of you are planning on being there for one or more nights.

The other thing that happens is “church business.” For example, there will be reports and decisions about the ministries of the PCA, such as church planting in the U.S., missions work overseas, ministries in colleges and universities, educational institutions (our seminary and college), properties (such as our retreat center), and other similar matters.

Finally, the GA is also the highest court in the PCA. In this capacity, it will discuss issues brought before it by the lower courts (presbyteries). For example, in the past, the GA discussed what it means for church officers to subscribe to the confessions of the church. This year, the GA will discuss certain questions about the role of women in serving the church.

If you want to see a draft of this year’s docket, click here: 2008 Draft Docket. (This will open a pdf document)

What can I do?

You can go. Worship is on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights at 7. There is also a public area for visitors to observe the proceedings.

If you can’t go, you can listen live! A live Webcast of the sessions will be available here starting on Tuesday night: GA Live Webcast.

Everyone can pray. Pray for safety for the thousands who are traveling. Pray for wisdom and brotherly love for the pastors and ruling elders as they discuss and decide important issues. Above all, pray that the GA will be faithful in continuing to make the PCA a church that is faithful to the Great Commission, and that seeks God’s glory above all else.

“A scintillating helicopter tour of the amazing men–and wonderful women–of the Reformation.” This is how Sinclair Ferguson describes the latest offering from Steve Nichols, The Reformation: How a Monk and Mallet Changed the World.

If you had the privilege of sitting under Pastor Tom Browning’s excellent Sunday School class (still available in our church’s archive here) on the History of the Reformation, this book will thrill you. If you did not, this book will open your eyes wide to a God who acts in history for the benefit of His people.

This small little book on church history promises to capture you in such a way that you will be looking for more. And “more” is immediately available at the companion website to the book that you can check out here.

You can read the Introduction and chapter 1 here.

The book is a fun and winsome read. It is short too, just under 130 pages (not including a GREAT appendix). This is NOT your father’s church history book. Nichols has a gift for writing church history in such a way that will draw you in.

I highly recommend this book to you for a wonderful summer read. Buy it here.

Pilgrim’s Progress audio for free is available here.

(HT: Justin Taylor)