I Wonder What He thinks of Earnestness

Published on by D. G. Hart

From the fellow who thought the comparison of Scripture reading to oatmeal needed an injection of sanity:

I had never heard the phrase “God’s ordinary means of grace” until I was introduced to the reformed faith. As a result I had no doctrinal or experiential category for the true significance of those ordinary elements that make up the corporate life of a biblically informed church. If you are unfamiliar with the term “ordinary means of grace” it refers to those elements of our gathered worship to which the Lord has attached his blessing: the preaching and reading of God’s Word, the sacraments (Lord’s Supper and Baptism), prayer, praise, and fellowship.

These ordinary means of grace are the things that the Lord has given his church. They are not the inventions of man. We call them means of grace because the Lord has appointed them as means by which he blesses and builds his church. We call them ordinary because there is nothing about them that is spectacular. They are not rare like miracles. They are ordinary. They are to be practiced regularly in our Lord’s Day gatherings precisely because we regularly need what God offers us through them. But these are gifts not given to movements. God has given these means of grace to his church.

Sounds rather oatmealish manna-like to me.

13 thoughts on “I Wonder What He thinks of Earnestness”

  2. Mudster sez he’ll still find a reason to trash DGH. Cuz that’s what spiritual people do.

    I don’t have a verse for that but that’s what I see so it must be true.

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  3. Welcome to that Confession. Preach It.

    Chapter 3: VI.
    Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.

    Chapter 8, V. The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience, and sacrifice of himself, which He, through the eternal Spirit, once offered up to God, hath fully satisfied the justice of His Father; and purchased, not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for all those whom the Father hath given unto him.

    https://www.cov-pres.org/resources/speakers/todd-pruitt

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  4. OK…here goes the nut job Lutheran guy again.

    The elements are ordinary…the voice of the preacher, his often less than stellar words…the little, bland tasting nothing of a wafer…and a sip of mediocre wine, at best.

    But the Living God is in those ordinary elements. As He was in the man Jesus. And as He is in the book of ordinary paper and ink, where His Word is made known.

    It’s more than a blessing. It is Himself…given to us…freely…the ungodly who so often don’t even want Him.

    Uhh…what was the question?

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  5. why so chilly, when you could always use some more fire?

    http://theecclesialcalvinist.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/united-with-the-risen-jesus/

    Clair Davis—I’m not hearing passion and joy in our worship

    Jesus did it all, so chill out? Enjoy life, tell each other things about Jesus, get used to losing the battle with Satan? That’s called Antinomianism… believing that following Jesus and obeying him, taking up your cross daily, are all just figures of speech.

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  6. Steve,
    Since you didn’t deny them, I’ll take your comment as a yes, you agree with the words of Martin Luther that I quoted…

    Uhh… what was the objection?

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  7. Since when did praise and fellowship become part of the ordinary means of grace? Reading too much Grudem, methinks. I mean, I have enough trouble with “prayer” making the list (I side with the Continental Reformed on this one).

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  8. Jack,

    We don’t liken the sacraments as “ordinary”.

    The elements are. But Baptism and The Lord’s Supper are quite extraordinary.

    I mean, the Living God comes to you in His true body and His true blood through lousy bread and crummy wine? That is outta this world special.

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  13. I like the manna / means of grace comparison. Christians today are so much like the Israelites in the desert only worse. What God provides is just too bland, too common, too ordinary. What is worse is that the manna was physical stuff and type whereas what God provides today in terms of ordinary means is the real Spiritual deal. For too many Christians today that is not satisfactory. We need a little ground up golden calf to go with that manna. Or, so much quail it makes one puke.

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