Thomas Chalmers, in his classic sermon entited, “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection,” correctly ascribes subjective power to subjective affections, for love does have an expulsive power, whether one loves God to the despising of self, or loves self to the despising of God. But he incorrectly sides with objective justification, full pardon and gracious acceptance as the power that creates love and the engine that empowers sanctification. He is right to suggest that a new affection has expulsive power, but wrong to suggest that the source and power of a new affection is primarily in the indicative benefits. Jonathan Edwards, on the other hand, sided with regeneration for the obvious reason that without a new nature, the natural man can only be constrained by outside considerations (the indicatives) to superficially walk in newness of life (the imperatives). Such considerations mght produce change that rises as high as the outward performance of the Legalist, but it is still only the superficial height that self-love alone can achieve. The Spirit’s work of illuminating the higher glory and beauty of Christ to the soul is the only source of an affection that can be called new. If the expulsive power of a new affection does not dethrone self as one’s primary concern in life and theology, then what exactly is being expulsed by the power of the gospel? If one’s religion does not surpass one’s primary concern for what’s in it for oneself, then one’s self-love may have an expulsive power, but it will be the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus that is expulsed by the power of self-love. The irony of the cross was that Christ was crucified by those who already had a knowledge of God’s steadfast love and rejoiced in spiritual priviledges. The proper force and source behind the believer’s love for God is not found in the objective benefits as they reflect upon the believer’s high privileges, but God’s power alone as it is exerted in the soul by the Spirit imparting a new heart, new affections and a new principle of action that did not exist prior. Good fruit is produced only by a good tree, and however constrained by outside forces, a bad tree cannot be manipulated to produce fruit contrary to its nature.

As Satan tempted Christ, so he tempts us today. Pointing to the glory of the kingdoms of the world, he says, “All these things I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Although always with an air of piety, the consumer-driven church is lured into following the counsel of Satan while rejecting the example of Christ. He who is a deity emptied himself of his privileges and became a man. And not just any man but the lowest of men—a servant. He died not just any death but the cruelest of deaths—on a cross, as a condemned criminal. Such a vision of Christ’s humiliation should consume all of our self-interest and pour contempt on all our pride. But the vision of the exalted Christ should all the more compel us to renounce our own self-importance and self-seeking. The enslaving power of self-love does not only attach itself to the church, transforming its spiritual life into empty forms, turning its so-called good works into monuments of self-glory and changing its sacred mission into a search for the significance and fulfillment of self. It also enslaves the individual Christian by exalting the self to preeminence. Thus, it defeats real happiness by producing pride, discontent, envy, bitterness, unforgiveness, ambition, anxiety, and a whole host of other destructive qualities that exist for no other reason than to defend and maintain the self that we have erroneously, and to our own injury, exalted to preeminence. Self-love will never be made subordinate until we get a glimpse, by divine grave, of something far lovelier. Other idols may be replaced by even more enticing ones, but the idol of the self can only be laid aside by the all-entrancing vision of the loveliness of Christ.

The world has suffered so much with the terrors of death, sickness and disease, poverty, famine, drought, emotional distress, wars, and political strife. Is there an escape from these? According to Philips, the answer is "Yes!"

Master the essentials of effective biblical counseling Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling is a comprehensive resource that will help you understand how to minister from God’s truth to change lives. With the cumulative wisdom of almost 40 contributors with exceptional credentials and experience, you’ll discover a valuable model for counseling that explains… The Why of Biblical Counseling Why the Bible is sufficient and relevant for addressing every issue we face Why biblical counseling is so effective in helping people face life’s struggles in Christ’s strength The How of Biblical Counseling How you can lead struggling, hurting people to the hope and strength available only in Christ How to counsel in a way that is Christ-centered and God-glorifying Every chapter provides a wonderful blend of theological wisdom and practical expertise, and is written to be accessible to everyone who wishes to extend Christ’s love to others—pastors, church leaders, counseling practitioners, instructors, lay people, and students. In this massively important new book…leading figures in the biblical counseling movement set forth a wealth of wisdom. We have needed this book for a long time. —Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling is warm, personal, gentle, always wanting to listen and know the person, confident in the Spirit’s working through the Word of Christ. —Dr. Ed Welch, CCEF faculty, author of Shame Interrupted

It started out as the Full Life Study Bible; then it became the Life in the Spirit Study Bible. Now we know it as the new and improved Fire Bible--a reference library in one volume. Originally conceived as a tool to help Pentecostal pastors and lay leaders preach, teach, and reach others with the Gospel, this study Bible is now available in the King James Version. It includes extensive notes, background articles on key issues, and authoritative commentary, along with dozens of other unique features. Created by Life Publishers International. Special Features - Themefinders(TM) point readers to 12 major themes of the Pentecostal tradition - More than 70 articles explain historical and theological aspects of major topics - Study notes for key verses - Book introductionsv - Subject index; cross-references; concordance - In-text maps and charts - One-year reading plan; and a color maps section - Ribbon markers (except on hardcovers)

The 13 lessons of this study guide help Christians develop an informed faith about supernatural evil and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each lesson refers the reader to significant teachings in Silencing Satan: Handbook of Biblical Demonology. In the book, the authors teach about the nature and strategies of Satan and the demons, and their defeat through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They advocate resisting the devil in his various guises--apparitions, voices, sensations, false doctrine, and immoral temptations--by reflexively turning to Jesus Christ and Scripture. The authors expose the half-truths and lies propagated by popular culture. They caution not to fill in gaps of understanding with extra-biblical sources. Does the study of Satan and the demons increase fear or give him too much attention? In fact, when presented from a biblical perspective, such knowledge can increase faith in Jesus Christ and enable Christians to effectively serve God and his church. Believers are challenged to live a radical life of faith, expressed through love and obedience to Christ. Seminarians, pastors, Bible teachers, Christian counselors, and lay leaders will find this study useful in individual and small group situations. A leaders' guide is available in the appendix.

Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry (SEDM) is expressly authorized to be republish this document on Google Book and Google Play and elsewhere by the author at the following location on the author's website: DMCA/Copyright, Section 10 https://nikeinsights.famguardian.org/footer/dmcacopyright/ For reasons why NONE of our materials may legally be censored and violate NO Google policies, see: https://sedm.org/why-our-materials-cannot-legally-be-censored/

John Langston III searches the Scriptures to find answers to the question, "How can a believer avoid irreverent behavior before the holy God of Heaven?" These scriptural studies contained within this book should remind us that we have no room to boast of our spiritual maturity, and we are indeed, "Not far from the Dirt!" Almost since Adam was formed from the dirt, irreverent behavior towards God has been a catastrophic ongoing problem since sin entered the world. We live in the days where irreverent behavior is rampant towards God, sadly, sometime committed by believers in Christ. However, this book refreshes the truth for us that God is God and we are created beings, for His glory. Those who read this book will gain a deeper understanding of how important it is that we not offend the Holy God, who created us. Dr. John L. Langston III has been the president of TMA Ministries since its founding in 1982. This ministry has taken him to more than forty countries, sharing his talents as a missionary in practical service, evangelism, and Bible teaching. He is also the author of, "Speeding Beyond the Limit?" (published by Xulon Press), this is one in a series on Christian ethics for the last days. Currently, Dr. Langston continues teaching on the Minor Prophets and the Attributes of God as a visiting seminary professor in South India, Trinidad and Guyana, South America.

Friedrich Nietzsche believed that with the gospel, "the Christian [is] a useless, separated, resigned person, extraneous to the progress of the world." Hence, to Nietzsche the Christian message is a “virtue of the weak.” This criticism emanates from the kind of a gospel we have known, accepted, and preached for centuries—a gospel that represented the Christian message out of the medieval and Reformation theologies. With the revival of biblical studies and theology in the eighteenth century and onwards, studies on the gospel shifted to more historical approaches, paving the way for a more biblical gospel that is faithful to the larger biblical narrative. Slowly we have rediscovered a different understanding of the gospel that is not limited to a personal and highly spiritualized gospel, but one that is more cosmic in its grandeur. Your Gospel Is Too Small invites readers to a whole new world open to men and women toward a vision greater than previously held—a world that is even beyond what übermensch offers to us. This is a reframation of the gospel we thought we already knew.