The Reformed Desk

The ancient world had never heard anything like it. Not just that God exists. Not just that God is one. But that God became human. Graham Cole's Themelios essay on the Incarnation is a masterclass in why this doctrine is the hinge on which everything turns. 🧵

@jasonkovacs Great post! And to pastors: today's demands aren't the measure of faithfulness! His Word won't return to him void.

Many pastors carry a pressure unlike anything else in history. The temptation to compare, to innovate, to keep up, to launch a podcast, to preach at a certain level, to grow the church, and to produce visible results are just a few. So many begin to feel like failures, questioning whether the ordinary means of grace can really accomplish what today’s demands require. Christ never called pastors to be celebrities, brands, or ministry entrepreneurs. He called them to be faithful shepherds. The Word preached, the sacraments administered, prayer offered, and people loved may seem ordinary in a world obsessed with metrics and platforms, but God has always delighted to work through what appears weak and unimpressive. The pressure to produce what only God can give is crushing. Results belong to Him. We plant, water, but God gives the growth (1 Cor 3:6). Pray for pastors today!

@JustusPeccator1 @alexgarnerccbc @MattSmethurst Of course it could easily become checking a box. But that's a different issue. Watson was just helpfully breaking down the process, imo.

@alexgarnerccbc @ReformedDesk @MattSmethurst The law of God shows us our sin, bringing us to contrition. His Gospel shows us our Saviour, creating faith. Repentance is the work of God in us. My issue was with the fruit-checking checklist.

Six ingredients of true repentance: 1. Sight of sin 2. Sorrow for sin 3. Confession of sin 4. Shame for sin 5. Hatred of sin 6. Turning from sin — Thomas Watson (1620–1686)

@alexgarnerccbc @JustusPeccator1 @MattSmethurst Turning from sin is an exercise of faith, no?

@JustusPeccator1 @ReformedDesk @MattSmethurst Regeneration precedes faith, and only those who have faith turn from sin. One could argue that turning from sin is simultaneously possessing faith. We’re in the weeds.

@JustusPeccator1 @MattSmethurst You can't have any of Watson's without faith. It's fundamental to all 6.

@ReformedDesk @MattSmethurst Watson’s includes emotional penance and does not include faith.

@JustusPeccator1 @MattSmethurst Watson's is just more broken down than yours.

@MattSmethurst Two ingredients of repentance: contrition and faith. That is enough.

@Chippermunk123 @sola_chad Just a misunderstanding of Calvinism

@sola_chad Calvinists don't have a "will"

@OldeWorldOrder This account don't miss

TEDDY ROOSEVELT: "To educate a man in mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

@brothernelson For sure. Has to do with integrity (the whole of who a person is). I imagine this is what James has in mind in James 1:6.

Worthy of a devotional Bible Study: the phrase “whole heart”: 2 Chronicles 19:9 - And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart:”

@gospelrefnet Don't I know it

“Creed and custom often conflict. What is confessed to be truth does not always translate into practice.” - Michael P.V. Barrett

@MastersSeminary A classic

“Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.” —John Owen

@PCAByFaith Facts

We do not see this great drama of life clearly. God is the only One who knows the end from the beginning. byfaithonline.com/devotion-for-m…

The Incarnation is the doctrine that separates Christianity from every other religion and philosophy in history. Not just that God is there. Not just that God cares. But God with us. Follow @ReformedDesk for weekly threads turning Reformed scholarship into bite-sized reads. Full article by Graham A. Cole via @Themelios_ (13/13)

The ancient world had never heard anything like it. Not just that God exists. Not just that God is one. But that God became human. Graham Cole's Themelios essay on the Incarnation is a masterclass in why this doctrine is the hinge on which everything turns. 🧵