Westminster Conference 2017

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10 Ancient Testimonies to Limited Atonement

These ten ancient testimonies are given in an appendix at the end of John Owen's The death of death in the death of Christ

I. The confession of the holy Church of Smyrna, a little after the commendation given it by the Holy Ghost, Rev. ii. 9, upon the martyrdom of Polycarpus:

“Neither can we ever forsake Christ, him who suffered for the salvation of the world of them that are saved, nor worship any other.” [It is an extract from a letter of the church of Smyrna to the churches of Pontus, giving an account of the martyrdom of Polycarp.]

II. The witness of holy Ignatius, as he was carrying to Rome from Antioch, to be cast to beasts for the testimony of Jesus:

“This is the way leading to the Father, this the rock, the fold, the key; he is the shepherd, the sacrifice; the door of knowledge, by which entered Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the whole company of prophets, and the pillars of the world, the apostles, and the spouse of Christ; for whom, instead of a dowry, he poured out his own blood, that he might redeem her.” [AD 107]

Surely Jesus Christ gives not a dowry for any but his own spouse.

III. Clemens, “whose name is in the book of life,” Phil. iv. 3, with the whole church at Rome in his days, in the epistle to the church of Corinth

“For the love which he had unto us, he gave his blood for us, according to his purpose, and his flesh for our flesh, and his life for our lives.”

Where you have assigned, 1. The cause of Christ’s death, — his love to us; 2. The object of it, — us, or believers; 3. The manner how he redeemed us, even by commutation. This triple testimony is taken from the very prime of undoubted antiquity.

IV. Cyprian, to Cæcilius, a holy, learned, and famous martyr, AD 250:

“He bare all us, who bare our sins;”

That is, he sustained their persons on the cross for whom he died.

The same to Demetrian

“This grace hath Christ communicated, subduing death in the trophy of his cross, redeeming believers with the price of his blood.”

The same, or some other ancient and pious writer of the cardinal works of Christ. The same author also, in express terms, mentions the sufficiency of the ransom paid by Christ, arising from the dignity of his person “Of so great dignity was the oblation of our Redeemer, that it alone was sufficient to take away the sins of the world.”

V. Cyril of Jerusalem, [AD 350]

“Wonder not if the whole world be redeemed; for he was not a mere man, but the only-begotten Son of God that died. If, then, through the eating of the tree” (forbidden) “they were cast out of paradise, certainly now by the tree” (or cross) “of Jesus shall not believers more easily enter into paradise?” So also doth another of them make it manifest in what sense they use the word all..

VI. Athanasius, of the incarnation of the Word of God [AD. 350]:

“He is the life of all, and as a sheep he delivered his body a price for the souls of all, that they might be saved.” All in both places can be none but the elect; as,

VII. Ambrose or rather, Prosper,  [AD 370]

 “The people of God hath its own fulness. In the elect and foreknown, distinguished from the generality of all, there is accounted a certain special universality; so that the whole world seems to be delivered from the whole world, and all men to be taken out of all men.”

In which place he proceedeth at large to declare the reasons why, in this business, “all” and “the world” are so often used for “some of all sorts.”

These that follow wrote after the rising of the Pelagian heresy, which gave occasion to more diligence of search and wariness of expression than had formerly been used by some.

IX. Augustine, [AD. 420]:

“By him the Mediator, the Lord declareth himself to make those whom he hath redeemed with his blood, of evil, good to eternity.”

“Christ will possess what he bought; he bought it with such a price that he might possess it.”

“He that bought us with such a price will have none perish whom he hath bought.”

“He often calleth the church itself by the name of the world; as in that, ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself;’ and that, ‘The Son of man came not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ And John in his epistle saith, ‘We have an Advocate, and he is the propitiation for [our sins, and not for ours only, but also for] the sins of the whole world.’ The whole world, therefore, is the church, and the world hateth the church. The world, then, hateth the world; that which is at enmity, the reconciled; the condemned, the saved; the polluted, the cleansed world. And that world which God in Christ reconcileth to himself, and which is saved by Christ, is chosen out of the opposite, condemned, defiled world.” Much more to this purpose might be easily cited out of Augustine, but his judgment in these things is known to all.

IX. Prosper [AD. 440]:

“He is not crucified with Christ who is not a member of the body of Christ. When, therefore, our Saviour is said to be crucified for the redemption of the whole world, because of his true assumption of the human nature, yet may he be said to be crucified only for them unto whom his death was profitable. Diverse from these is their lot who are reckoned amongst them of whom it is said, ‘The world knew him not.’ ”

“Doubtless the propriety of redemption is theirs from whom the prince of this world is cast out. The death of Christ is not to be so laid out for human-kind, that they also should belong unto his redemption who were not to be regenerated.”

“If there be none whom God would not have redeemed, why are not all saved?”

X. Council held at Valence [AD 855]

“The price of the death of Christ is given for them alone of whom the Lord himself said, ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish.’ ”

10 More Tennis Terms

I should say I'm relying again on info found here.

1. ATP

Association of Tennis Professionals. The ATP are the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuit. (The women have the WTA).

2. Baseline Tennis

Lleyton Hewitt is the perfect example, as he is a Baseliner. It simply means that players remain on the baseline (at the rear of the court) during a rally. This method of trying to win points can be tiring, but a good Baseliner will either wear down an opponent or set them up for passing shot.

3. Double Fault

If the server fails to serve correctly on both 1st and 2nd serves this is called a Double Fault. The server then loses this point.

4. Foot Fault

Where the server puts his foot onto or over the Baseline before hitting the ball. If performed on a 1st serve, you will only have your 2nd serve remaining. If performed on your 2nd serve you lose the point.

5. Golden Set

A set of tennis which is won 6-0 without dropping a single point. Only one player in the history of professional tennis has ever achieved this, Bill Scanlon (USA). It was against Marcos Hocevar (Brazil) in the first round of the WCT Gold Coast Classic at Del Ray (Florida, USA) on 22 February 1983. Bill Scanlon won the match 6-2, 6-0.

6. Grand Slam

To win all 4 of major tennis tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) in one season you are said to have won the Grand Slam. Therefore, the 4 major tournaments are also known as Grand Slam events.

7. Let (or Net)

Called to announce that a point is to be replayed. A common example is when a serve clips the top of the net but still lands correctly in the court.

8. Rubber

A term used in the Davis Cup, which essentially means a "heat" or a "leg". The Davis Cup consists of one Doubles Rubber and four Singles Rubbers. As an example, if you win the first Singles match, you have won a Rubber or a Singles Rubber.

9. Show Court (Showcourt)

A tennis court which is the one of the most prized of all to play on or to spectate on. For example, at Wimbledon the show courts are Centre Court, No.1 Court, and No.2 Court.

10. Tie break

This method is used to determine the winner of a Set once the score in Games is 6-6. See Rules Of Tennis (Brief) for full details. There is a Champions Tie Break variant that is sometimes used.

Midweek Meeting Wednesday July 6 2016

It was hard to shut out thoughts of the game last night and get along to prayer meeting. I found it more difficult than I expected, This after all is uncharted territory. We did our best. We were fairly low in numbers as it turned out (nine again I think) but just as much to pray for as ever. First, we looked at 2 Timothy 3:14, 15. I thought I'd keep 3:16, 17 for another time. I did consult John Piper's recent book on Scripture A peculiar glory and found it helpful though little of it could easily be used with these verses. By the time we got back home it was all over for Wales, 2-0 down. I'm not sure if I'm sorry to have missed it or not. Being in the final would have been great but unlikely.

Wales heading home at last

I didn't see most of the game. It was more or less over by the time I got home. Portugal 2 Wales 0. We seem to have given them a game. Da iawn Cymru!

10 Tennis shot terms

I'm not watching Wimbledon but it's all around me. You've got to know the terminology.

 

1. Ace

A serve where the receiver fails to return or even touch the ball. The point is won by the server.

2. Approach Shot

Usually occurs when a ball is hit short of the baseline. The receiving player then moves forward to the ball and places it deep in his/her opponents court, while continue moving forward to the net in order to kill off the point with a volley.

3. Drive

A powerful shot using a bit of Topspin. Common as a passing shot down the line to leave your opponent scrambling for the ball.

4. Drop Shot

You need to use a lot of Backspin to perform this shot. It is a more severe version of a Slice, in that the idea is to get the ball just over the net and stop almost immediately just after the net without much bounce.

5. Ground Strokes

Any type of shot (Forehand and Backhand) across the net where the ball bounces.

6. Half-volley

To hit the tennis ball immediately after it has come off the ground, so you're hitting the ball on it's upward bounce.

7. Lob

To hit the ball over your opponents head using a lot of Topspin. Best played when your opponent is at the net.

8. Overhead Smash

A shot played above the head, hitting the ball downwards, hard and fast into your opponents side of the court

9. Passing Shot

A shot played down the line while your opponent is close to the net, but is unable to return.

10. Slice

You use Backspin to perform this type of shot. Often used as a defensive shot to return fast served ball deep into your opponents court and slow the game down. Similar in execution to the Drop Shot.

10 Songs Welshed

1. Llanvair Discoed Inferno
2. You've really got a Mold on me
3. Too much Monknash business
4. A taste of Rhymney
5. Bodelwyddan Rhapsody
6. Pontyclun Pam (or Why Pontyclun?)
7. Hotel Caledrhydiau
8. Rolling in the sheep
9. Glanamman Style
10. By'ere, By there, Everywhere

(As seen on twitter)

Lord's Day July 3 2016

I knew there would be lots of people away yesterday. As it turned out there were more away than I thought but visitors morning and evening made up for that a little. We began with communion, looking at Psalm 22. In the morning service I preached on Nehemiah 3. It wasn't until I actually read it in public that I realised that it must be one of the most difficult chapters in Scripture. At least I'd printed out a map showing all the gates with a reference to each one so there was some hope of following progress. The sermon, I hope was much easier to follow. I was conscious of a lady in the congregation who rarely comes, there with her family who come form time to time. In the evening two different younger women had looked us up on the internet and decided to come. I was a little anxious but we seemed to be what they were looking for so I hope we see them again soon. I preached from Matthew 9 and on fasting and more. I was a little brief perhaps. As ever, there were lots of others missing for various reasons, some not always apparent.

Divide by Kathleen Dolmatch

I saw this in my newspaper today

(see here)



Two lovely folk songs

I heard these two songs on my ipod earlier today. Worth sharing I reckon.

Yes, it has really happened

SEMI-FINALS!!!

Wales 3 Belgium 1!! Not just a win but an amazing win. Da iawn Cymru! Portugal next!
Does this win make us the best team in the world?

Three Short Novels

I have recently read three short novels. The first I found on my book shelves, one I bought in an independent bookshop (Daunt's in Hampstead) and the most recent I got from a charity shop in Golders Green for a pound.

A kestrel for a knave by Barry Hines was published in 1968. Set in a mining area (only ever referred to as "the City") it tells of Billy Casper, a young working class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he finds and trains a kestrel whom he names "Kes". The book was made into a film Kes which I have never seen and is a favourite for often used in Key Stage 4 kids doing GCSE English. The book is so named because of a poem found in the Boke of St Albans. In medieval England, the only bird a knave was legally allowed to keep was a kestrel. Someone told me the main character is based in part on his own brother, by now an expert on birds of prey. It was nice to be taken back to my own childhood in much of the description. The book is fairly well written but smacks of a writing class approach that describes everything in careful detail, leaving nothing to the imagination and striking similes and metaphors that pall in the end. (One kid perceptively wrote "Everything are just so hard to understand esp with the fact that the book is overflows with similes and metaphors. Too much of something is never too good.)
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald was written ten years later and deals with a much more middle class setting in East Anglia in 1959. A much less sad book, it was an easier read and a much more mature literary approach. Some witty little phrases lurk such as this - "She was in appearance small, wispy, and wiry, somewhat insignificant from the front view, and totally so from behind". It was Booker shortlisted. Good stuff and worth the money.
If I had to rank these three I would put the Isaac Bashevis Singer first. This was published in 1983. The Penitent was originally published in instalments in The Jewish Daily Forward (1973) with the Yiddish title of Der Baal Tshuve. The English translation was made by Joseph Singer for Farrar Straus & Giroux. It tells the story of Joseph Shapiro, emigrating from Poland in 1939 and from USSR in 1945 to the USA in 1947, where he becomes rich and involved with consumerism and lust. He decides to leave everything, including his job, his wife and his lover, and finally expatriate to Israel, where he wonders about the traditional values of Jewish culture. For any serious Christian, it is  a fascinating way to consider worldliness and related subjects. It is full of interesting quotations. For example “A soldier who serves an emperor has to have a uniform, and this also applies to a soldier who serves the Almighty."
All three novelists are no longer living.

Battle of the Somme

As most will be aware, today is the one hundredth anniversary of the first day of The Battle of the Somme or the Somme Offensive, a First World War battle between the British and French empires and the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of upper reaches of the River Somme in France. It was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front; more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

Initial plans called for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive, supported on the northern flank by the Fourth Army of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). When the Imperial German Army began the Battle of Verdun on the Meuse on 21 February 1916, French commanders diverted many of the divisions intended for the Somme and the "supporting" attack by the British became the principal effort.

The first day on the Somme was the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470 casualties, mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line.

The British troops on the Somme comprised a mixture of the remains of the pre-war regular army, the Territorial Force and the Kitchener Army, which was composed of Pals battalions, recruited from the same places and occupations. Among these latter conscripts was my grandfather, William Brady, born in Bilston but by then living in Newport, South Wales.  He was of Irish ancestry and a Roman Catholic. There is a photograph somewhere from 1914 of my grandfather in a ragtime band. In 1916, aged 21, he was conscripted to the life guards and soon found himself at the Somme. I have no details of what happened, although I believe he was injured and may well have been gassed at this time.

Debate continues over the necessity, significance and effect of the battle. I am simply glad my grandfather survived. Following the war he looked for a job. Apparently, he was spotted in an unemployment queue by an officer (my grandfather was 6' 4" and not easy to miss) and efforts were made to secure him a job in the steel industry. He spent the rest of his working life in Lysaght's as a steel checker. Remembrance Day was always an important day and he was very involved in the local British Legion. Nine years after the Somme he married my Bristol born, Newport based Protestant grandmother. They soon had my father, who was followed by four other children. He died in 1978, aged 83.

(The 119th Brigade, originally the Welsh Bantam Brigade, was an infantry brigade formation, part of Kitchener's New Armies. It served in the 40th Division on the Western Front. It was formed in Newport and may well have been my grandfather's brigade.)

Free John Owen ebook

If you are quick you can get this John Owen ebook from Crossway for free. Link here.