Theology

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ —2 Corinthians 5:17-21⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Praise the Lamb for this salvation we could never earn!

The world tells us to “listen to our hearts” and our feelings as the ever-changing, subjective fount of morality in which anything can be justified, uniform for no one. Instead, we rely on the Word of God as our source of truth and ultimate authority. His Word is sufficient for us!

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.” (Proverbs 14:12-13)

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” (Proverbs 28:26)

May we never tire of speaking about and sharing the goodness of God regardless of personality or disposition!

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” Psalm 34:1-3

“The whole goal of our salvation is to bring us to a place where we worship God and we honor Him as God. The great danger is that we make ourselves the center of concern, and we steal the glory of God. In all that we do, the driving passion of the Christian must always be Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be the glory. And the only way for this passion to be realized is to honor God as God, to understand Him as He has revealed Himself in His Word and not according to the mere opinions of fallen creatures.“⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ —RC Sproul⁣

A soft and comfy unisex hoodie that fits all your hoodie needs. The fleece fabric makes it a great partner all year round, be it a summer evening on the beach, or a Christmas dinner in a mountain cabin.

This design comes from a sweet man from the church I came to Christ in as a young teenager. Whenever anyone asked how he was doing, he’d reply “better than I deserve.” He (and his family) were used by the Lord in ways that have shaped me greatly.⁣⁣
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What do you think you deserve?⁣⁣
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We obviously tend to think very highly of ourselves and what we deserve often as we covet what others have (that should be ours, right?), become jealous of others (because people should think as good, if not better, of us) and the pride and frustration with which we interact with those around us (as we know better than they do and are clearly beneath our level of understanding). And that doesn’t even touch our inclination toward self-righteousness as believers—to glory in our good deeds and puff ourselves up.⁣⁣
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What do we really deserve in the eyes of a holy God in exchange for our rebellion against Him?⁣⁣
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Romans 6:23⁣⁣
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“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”⁣⁣
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“The reason why death is the result of sin is, that sin deserves death. Death is due to it in justice. There is the same obligation in justice, that sin should be followed by death, as that the laborer should receive his wages. As it would be unjust, and therefore wrong, to defraud the laborer of his stipulated reward, so it would be unjust to allow sin to go unpunished…But the gift of God, the free, unmerited gift of God, is eternal life…Sin deserves death; holiness is itself the gift of God, and is freely crowned with eternal life. The idea of merit is everywhere and in every way excluded from the gospel method of salvation. It is a system of grace, from the beginning to the consummation. It is in Christ, as united to him, that we are made partakers of eternal life. Jesus Christ and his gospel…effectually secure what the law never could never accomplish...”⁣⁣
-Charles Hodge⁣⁣
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Praise God for His mercy—may it lead us to repentance, humility and loving obedience.

“What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” -Westminster Shorter Catechism

This t-shirt is everything you've dreamed of and more. It feels soft and lightweight, with the right amount of stretch. It's comfortable and flattering for both men and women.

This was part of the answer RC Sproul gave to the question, “Since God is slow to anger and patient, then why when man first sinned was His wrath and punishment so severe and long lasting?”⁣⁣

“...what’s wrong with you people? This is what’s wrong with the Christian Church today. We don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are. The question is ‘why wasn’t it infinitely more severe?’”⁣ He explained prior to this how merciful God was to Adam and how much He provided and would provide...

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” ⁣—Lamentations 3:22-23

- Sola Gratia Co. design printed on acrylic

- 2" acrylic design

- Stainless steel keyring

“Theology enables God's people to think correctly and live rightly. What we do always flows from what we believe, and a sound theology helps us think clearly, rightly, and, most importantly, biblically about God. It is important that we love God with our heart, but it is also imperative that we love the Lord with our mind as well.”
—Danny Akin

When we think of these lyrics, “this is my Father’s world”, we often picture serene meadows and mountains, waterfalls and butterflies. After all, those are the times we are naturally drawn to remember God made and sustains the world as we gaze upon his creation (Ps. 19:1). We see His majesty and His dominion clearly in these times and places.

But what about when the world is burning? When we listen to constant justification of the murder of precious babies, watch image bearers deny their God-given design for gender and sexuality, or receive persecution for upholding truth? When we are worn down and discouraged?

It seems those are the times we most need to remember this is our Father’s world. It is. No matter the ways and with what intensity the nations rage—the King is still on His throne. Nothing has changed in those times—the Lord is still sovereign.

From “The Call to Witness” by John Calvin:

“Let us not deceive Jesus Christ in the testimony we owe Him, by stopping our mouths, when it is needful to maintain His honor, and the authority of His gospel. Yea, and when we see our brethren afflicted for the cause of God, let us join with them, and assist them in their affliction. Let us not be shaken by the tempests that arise, but let us always remain constant in our purpose; and stand as witnesses for the Son of God, seeing He is so gracious as to use us in such a good cause…Therefore St. Paul adds, ‘Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel.’

There is no man but what would willingly escape affliction; this is according to human nature; and although we confess, without dissembling, that it is a singular grace which God bestows, when He enables men to bear affliction, and maintain His cause, yet there is not one of us, but what would willingly draw his neck out of persecution. For we look not at the lesson given by St. Paul, which saith, the gospel bringeth troubles. Jesus Christ was crucified in His own person, and His doctrine is joined with many miseries.”

Psalm 103:19

“The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

Lamentations 3:37-38

“Who has spoken and it came to pass,
    unless the Lord has commanded it?

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that good and bad come?”

“These are words attributed to Count Zinzendorf (1700-1760) a bishop of the Moravian Church. He said words like this to his missionaries, encouraging them to follow God's call and enter the mission field with no thought of obtaining honor for themselves. They must be satisfied with preaching Christ, dying, and being forgotten. Obviously, this is sound counsel. It reminds me of John the Baptist who said of Jesus, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (John 3:30 ESV).”

—Joe Thorn

“Knowing how to interpret Scripture correctly, therefore, is as important as knowing that the Bible is true. And since the Bible was written by authors with specific intents, the way to determine a text’s meaning is to discern the original author’s intent for it.”

-Ligonier

“Theology enables God's people to think correctly and live rightly. What we do always flows from what we believe, and a sound theology helps us think clearly, rightly, and, most importantly, biblically about God. It is important that we love God with our heart, but it is also imperative that we love the Lord with our mind as well.”

—Danny Akin

“Post tenebras lux” is a phrase in Latin from the Protestant Reformation that means “after darkness, light.”

“The phrase ‘post tenebras lux’, a rallying cry of Protestant Reformers, refers to the rediscovery of biblical truth in a time of spiritual darkness. Because the darkness of heresy and immorality constantly creeps in, the church must always be seeking to rediscover the light.”

           —Ligonier

We are in a what seems to be a corporate time of trial in the Church, a forfeiture of truth in exchange for comfort and unbiblically defined “love”. Though things appear bleak at times, Scripture tells us how the story ends and who the Victor is—we can fight the good fight knowing that.

Psalm 30:5b

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

“Weeping may endure for a night; but nights are not for ever. Even in the dreary winter the day star lights his lamp. It seems fit that in our nights the dews of grief should fall. When the Bridegroom's absence makes it dark within, it is meet that the widowed soul should pine for a renewed sight of the Well beloved.

But joy cometh in the morning. When the Sun of Righteousness comes, we wipe our eyes, and joy chases out intruding sorrow. Who would not be joyful that knows Jesus? The first beams of the morning brings us comfort when Jesus is the day dawn, and all believers know it to be so. Mourning only lasts to morning: when the night is gone the gloom shall vanish. This is adduced as a reason for saintly singing, and forcible reason it is; short nights and merry days call for the psaltery and harp.”

         —Spurgeon

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ball the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:23-25

“Theology enables God's people to think correctly and live rightly. What we do always flows from what we believe, and a sound theology helps us think clearly, rightly, and, most importantly, biblically about God. It is important that we love God with our heart, but it is also imperative that we love the Lord with our mind as well.”

—Danny Akin