Heaven and Hell: the only difference is a mediator

Ligon Duncan has recently written:

It is a surprising thing to note, because so often we speak of hell as a place where God is not. Let me, however, say something provocative. Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God, with a mediator. Hell is eternity in the presence of God, being fully conscious of the just, holy, righteous, good, kind, and loving Father’s disapproval of your rebellion and wickedness. Heaven, on the other hand, is dwelling in the conscious awareness of your holy and righteous Father, but doing so through a mediator who died in your place, the One who absorbed the fullness of the penalty of your sin. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with the One who totally eradicated sin from your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with a mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

HT: Dave Bish, Tim Challies.

Narnia Code

Hugely enjoyed watching the Narnia Code last night on BBC1. Not only was it great to see Spud (Michael Ward) on TV in something other than a Bond Movie, but more importantly fantastic to have a programme on TV that was so unapologetically God-glorifying.
As well as the thesis of Planet Narnia being fascinating and compelling (that Lewis structured the plots of the seven Narnia books and the depiction of Aslan within those books around the characteristics of the seven planets of medieval cosmology) but more importantly it opened up a very useful line of dialogue with the New Atheism.
Whereas Atheism starts its understanding of the world from the "basic building blocks" of matter, energy and time, and then somehow asks how on earth these things randomly generated something as extraordinary as consciousness, Lewis starts at the other end. The fundamental thing is consciousness (cogito ergo sum). Everything else must be explained in terms of its relation to consciousness.

In fact, what is science apart from an experiment of the imagination, trying to see how this world relates to particular ideas? The study of the world may be dependent upon science, but the existence of science is entirely dependent upon the existence of imaginative beings.

I consider this a far more fruitful line of conversation than the (still useful and compelling) intelligent design arguments, that seem to give away the premise that we must start with the same toolbox as the atheistic materialists.

Great Counselling Resources

CCEF (The Christian Counselling and Education Foundation) is an extremely helpful ministry trying to encourage gospel-centered biblical counselling. With David Powlison, Ed Welch, Timothy Lane on faculty and both Tedd Tripp and Paul David Tripp having close associations with the ministry, some of the best thinkers and writers in counselling are involved there.

Here are some of the great resources they put out.

1. Brief introductory booklets on many different pastoral issues (at the moment 45 and counting). These are SO helful for:

• giving someone struggling with an issue something brief to read, particularly those for whom a whole book might be too daunting.
• having something brief to read as a pastor before a counselling session with someone struggling with a particular issue.
  

2. The Journal of Biblical Counselling

• Subscription
• 29 years of back issues on one CD

3. Other books

4. Online and onsight training

5. Podcast with great interviews.

All equal, but some are more equal than others....

The last few days have seen an incredible number of news stories that look to me like religious persecution in the guise of religious tolerance. I fear this will not get any better in the coming days...

A nurse lost her job (and due to the public outcry has had it reinstated) for offering to pray with a patient.

A mother who works in a primary school faces possible discipline because her five year old daughter was told not to talk about Jesus in class, and she sent a private email to friends asking for prayer.

A foster parent who was fostering a 16 year old Muslim girl had her and their other foster children removed from their care when she became a Christian and got baptised. She has been struck off the list after 10 years of fostering over 80 children.

A headteacher resigns after a row erupts with parents when she tries to stop separate Muslim assemblies in her school.

Comment here and here

A better bus campaign from our deacon of all things techno...

Dont waste your church attendance

HT: Jonathan Leeman

Great post on receiving criticism as part of what it means to be a Christian

Alfred Poirier writes an excellent article, The Cross and Criticism.

Particularly helpful are his two lessons on dealing with Criticism that flow straight from the cross.

First, in Christ's Cross I Agree With God's Judgment of Me

Second, In Christ's Cross I Agree With God's Justification of Me

HT: Mike McKinley.

Great post on the urgency of the gospel

What will you do before the window closes?

Blogging my way through Total Church

Over at the 9marks blog, I've just begun blogging my way through Steve Timmis and Tim Chester's "Total Church".

Religious affections: on being like little children

Another Great quote from Edwards...

The tenderness of the heart of a true Christian, is elegantly signified by our Savior, in his comparing such a one to a little child. The flesh of a little child is very tender; so is the heart of one that is new born. This is represented in what we are told of Naaman's cure of his leprosy, by his washing in Jordan; which was undoubtedly a type of the renewing of the soul, by washing in the laver of regeneration. We are told, 2 Kings 5:14, "That he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child." Not only is the flesh of a little child tender, but his mind is tender. A little child has his heart easily moved, wrought upon and bowed: so is a Christian in spiritual things. A little child is apt to be affected with sympathy, to weep with them that weep, and cannot well bear to see others in distress: so it is with a Christian, John 11:25, Rom. 12:15, 1 Cor. 12:26. A little child is easily won by kindness: so is a Christian. A little child is easily affected with grief at temporal evils, and has his heart melted, and falls a weeping: thus tender is the heart of a Christian, with regard to the evil of sin. A little child is easily affrighted at the appearance of outward evils, or anything that threatens its hurt: so is a Christian apt to be alarmed at the appearance of moral evil, and anything that threatens the hurt of the soul. A little child, when it meets enemies, or fierce beasts, is not apt to trust its own strength, but flies to its parents for refuge: so a saint is not self-confident in engaging spiritual enemies, but flies to Christ. A little child is apt to be suspicious of evil in places of danger, afraid in the dark, afraid when left alone, or far from home: so is a saint apt to be sensible of his spiritual dangers, jealous of himself, full of fear when he cannot see his way plain before him, afraid to be left alone, and to be at a distance from God: Prov. 28:14, "Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief." A little child is apt to be afraid of superiors, and to dread their anger, and tremble at their frowns and threatenings: so is a true saint with respect to God: Psal. 119:120, "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments." Isa. 66:2, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and trembleth at my word." ver. 5, "Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word." Ezra. 9:4, "Then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel." Chap. 10:3; "According to the counsel of my Lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God." A little child approaches superiors with awe: so do the saints approach God with holy awe and reverence: Job 13:2, "Shall not his excellency make you afraid? And his dread fall upon you?" Holy fear is so much the nature of true godliness, that it is called in Scripture by no other name more frequently, than the fear of God.

Hence gracious affections do not tend to make men bold, forward, noisy, and boisterous; but rather to speak trembling: Hos. 13:1, "When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died;" and to clothe with a kind of holy fear in all their behavior towards God and man; agreeably to Psal. 2:11, 1 Pet. 3:15, 2 Cor. 7:15, Eph. 6:5, 1 Pet. 3:2, Rom. 11:20.