Tom Drion: The Pilgrim’s Progress Through Trials

The message was delivered at the Truth in Love Conference at Founders Baptist Church in Spring, Tx: 

Jerry Bridges on God's Holiness

As used in Scripture, holiness describes both the majesty of God and the purity and moral perfection of His nature. Holiness is one of His attributes; that is, holiness is an essential part of the nature of God. His holiness is as necessary as His existence, or as necessary, for example, as His wisdom or omniscience. Just as He cannot but know what is right, so He cannot but do what is right…

God’s holiness then is perfect freedom from all evil. We say a garment is clean when it is free from any spot, or gold is pure when all dross has been refined from it. In this manner we can think of the holiness of God as the absolute absence of any evil in Him. John said, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Light and darkness, when used this way in Scripture, have moral significance. John is telling us that God is absolutely free from any moral evil and that He is Himself the essence of moral purity.

Adapted from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

Ian Hamilton: Sola Gratia

This message took place during the Sola Conference at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, Tx:   

Nathan Busenitz: Sola Fide

This message took place during the Sola Conference at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, Tx:   

Is God an Unsatisfied Redeemer?

In Acts 17:25, it says that God is not "served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things." We see in Philippians 1:6 "that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." God does not need us, and He is completing His good work in us till the day of Christ. Does this mean that God is unsatisfied with the work He is doing in our lives?

You might be asking where is there coming from? This is actually from Paul Tripp's devotional New Morning Mercies. Tripp began with this statement:

If you are not full formed into the image of Jesus, your Redeemer is neither satisfied nor finished, and neither should you be.

I understand that meaning of us want to grow in our sanctification, but the idea that God is not satisfied means He is left wanting to do more or His is not sufficient in all of His work. Does need to accomplish the good work in us? No. Yes, He did promise, but He would have been content with leaving us in our sin, yet God is not ungracious. He did promise a Messiah to redeem from our sins and since we are saved, we are being conformed into the image of His Son. This does not mean God is unsatisfied. 

Tripp continues:

Your Redeemer is zealous for one goal- the final renewal of all things. Ultimate salvation from all that sin is and all that sin has broken is his unrelenting pursuit. He will continue to unleash his power to accomplish redemption and he will not be satisfied until the last enemy is under his feet and the final kingdom has come. Yes, there is great and eternal hope for you in the dissatisfaction of your Redeemer.

This makes it sound like God is all about us. Our salvation was to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:3-14). Does this imply that God has needs and He needs to be satisfied to complete His good work in us. When God created the world, he saw that it was good (Genesis 1) not He was unsatisfied. 

Tripp indicating God is an unsatisfied redeemer means that He is a God who is lacking. A God who is in need of us which we all know is not biblical. God has no unsatisfaction because He is self-sufficient. 

Recommended Reading:

God Doesn't Try by Jim Osman and Dave Rich

James Coates: The Glory of the One and Only Gospel

Tom Pennington: Sola Scriptura

This message took place during the Sola Conference at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, Tx:   

Phillip De Courcy: The Pilgrims Ambition: Study in the Judgment Seat of Christ

The message was delivered at the Truth in Love Conference at Founders Baptist Church in Spring, Tx:

Jeffrey Johnson: How to Have Communion with God in Prayer

Owen Strachan: Addressing the Work of the Spirit

Book Review: A Quest for Godliness by J.I. Packer

There have been many books on the Puritans. Most of them are biographical while others on their teachings. These books have benefitted many in the body of Christ over the centuries.

One book on the Puritans that many recommend is J.I. Packer's A Quest for Godliness, which addresses the spiritual life of these men who walked with God so many years ago. Packer begins with the necessity of the Puritans and examines some of their writings.

Packer addresses how the Puritans viewed the Bible including John Owen's view that the Bible is how God speaks to us today, which is the view of the majority of the Puritans and those who hold Reformed Theology. A Chapter in this book is the introduction that Packer wrote from an edition of Owen's classic book, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Packer dives into how the Puritans viewed the gospel as well as the preaching of it as well as their view of justification.

Many people are not aware that the Puritans have a high view of the Holy Spirit. Packer unpacks that by showing what Puritans believed about the Holy Spirit along with John Owen's view of the spiritual gifts, which is a hot topic in the church today. Packer continues by looking into the Puritans in living the Christian life by writing on their dealings with the Lord's Day as well as worship. Packer even tackles their views on marriage and family.

Finally, Packer writes about the ministry of the Puritans. The Puritans did believe that God is sovereign in the salvation of souls, yet we have a task to proclaim the gospel in the church and outside the church. The puritans along with many in Reformed Theology looked at preaching a means of grace for the believers to grow and be edify as they walk with Jesus in this life. 

As stated earlier, there are many books on the Puritans that have been written over the years. They have been recommended by many theologians and pastors, yet I do not hear Packer's book in many of those conversations. I am delighted to tell you that A Quest for Godliness should be on everyone's to-read list on the Puritans.

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.

A Conversation About Not Compromising to Share the Stage with False Teachers

I have listened to the music of Michael O'Brien in the past and have enjoyed it. I like a lot of his current music which some are hymns for his listeners to engage with. He has gone on record that he will not share a stage with those who are not of sound doctrine which included a time to sing at the White House because one of the spiritual advisors for President Trump is Paula White.

In this video, Michael speaks with Doreen Virtue about what God has done in his life especially in the area of taking a stand against false teachers. This video also has a couple of clips of Michael leading worship at the 2025 Resolute Women's Conference which took place at the Ark Encounter.

Jon Benzinger: Addressing The Local Church

Gary Gilley on Lent

Lent is the word used to denote the forty-day fast preceding Easter. In modern times it is usually observed from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday (approximately six weeks). Its traditional purpose is to prepare believers for Easter through various forms of prayer and sacrifice. During Lent, many will participate in selective fasts or abstinence from luxuries or some types of food. (Joan) Chittister covers Lent in her chapter (from the book, "The Liturgical Year") entitled "Asceticism" and says, "Lent revolves around sacrifice.... We must be prepared to give up some things if we intend to get things that even are more important. Lent draws from the asceticism of early monasticism:

Ardent Christians, monastics, left the cities where narcissism held full sway to live as solitaries in the desert in order to do battle with the enemies of the soul. They practiced harsh penances and purged themselves completely of all worldly pleasures in order to witness to a life beyond this life, a life beyond the gratification of the body to the single-minded development of the soul.

Chittister is happy that the extremes of asceticism are a thing of the past; nevertheless, she applauds the goal of the ascetics which is to conquer themselves and develop their souls.". Asceticism is the idea that by putting our physical bodies through deliberate suffering and hardship we will master our inward passions. It is "through acts of asceticism, we learn the most difficult thing in life: we master the gift of self-conquest. We are no longer prey to our own excesses. Now we are in control of the most difficult material we'll ever confront—ourselves." The problem with asceticism is both that it doesn't work and more importantly, it is unbiblical. Paul clearly torpedoed the whole ascetic movement when he wrote in Colossians 2:20-23:

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Deliberate asceticism, harsh treatment of the body and abstinence from acceptable activities, actions, and food, may have the appearance of spiritual activity but have no effect on our souls, nor do they enhance our spiritual development. Lent is a hold-over from ascetic practices of the past that have no direct spiritual value.

Adapted from Out of Formation: The Infiltration of the Spiritual Formation Movement and Its Impact on Evangelicalism by Gary E. Gilley

Jonny Ardavanis on Purgatory

The New Album from Redeeming Truth Music: The Highest Praise of All

This album is now available on all streaming and digital platforms as well as Vinyl. 

Peter Goeman on Common Grace

It’s easy to fall into a “believers-only” view of God’s goodness, meaning that the Lord reserves every kindness for His people and treats unbelievers only with judgment. But Scripture tells a different story. Again and again, God shows real, tangible kindness to people who do not love Him, honor Him, or even acknowledge Him. Theologians have often called this overflow of divine kindness common grace.

Wayne Grudem defines common grace as “the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation. Common refers to something that is common to all people and is not restricted to believers or the elect only” (Grudem, 657). This definition is helpful because it keeps two truths together: (1) these blessings are genuinely from God, and (2) they are distinct from saving grace. Common grace does not forgive sin or regenerate the heart, but it does display God’s benevolence, patience, and generosity in the world.

This category is worth exploring because it trains our spiritual eyesight. It helps believers interpret the world accurately. God is not only holy and just; He is also kind, even to those who reject Him. And when we see that clearly, it produces humility, gratitude, and a more compassionate posture toward the lost.

Read the entire post here.

Suffering Does Not Make You a Super Christian

Suffering is inevitable in this life. We have been told that for a long time. Suffering comes in various forms and at unexpected times. It can happen to anyone. 

A Christian we are expected to suffer whether it is physical, spiritual, or even in relationships. Suffering does cause us to grow as a Christian. One thing it does not do is make you a Super Christian.

You do not become one who is invulnerable to suffering or never to sin again in this life. You do not get some revelation that no one else does. Your suffering did not come because God knew you could handle it or because you are a special kind of person to take it.

Suffering makes you depend on the Father. It conforms you in the image of Christ. Suffering makes you lean on the body of Christ more than ever. Suffering brings to you to prayer and worship. It brings you back to the Word of God. 

The one thing suffering does not do is not transform you into some super saint because we will all suffer in this life till the day we depart from this life to the next or when the Lord returns. 

The Foolishness of Preaching

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:20).

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher...So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:14, 17).

God has chosen the foolishness of preaching as His method of saving His people, and He has invested His power in the Word. The power is not in the preacher. The power is not in the program. The power is not in the liturgy. The power is in the Word because it is attended by the Holy Spirit. The Word can cut through our minds and hardened hearts; it can pierce our souls and bring us to Christ. There is much advantage where the Word of God is preached, just as there was advantage to the Israelites in possessing the oracles of God - R.C. Sproul, The Power of the Gospel: A Year in Romans 

Phil Johnson: The Pilgrim’s Battle with Indwelling Sin

The message was delivered at the Truth in Love Conference at Founders Baptist Church in Spring, Tx: