William Petruzzo

Charles Spurgeon says in today’s evening of Morning & Evening Devotions:

How monstrous a thing is rebellion! How direful a doom is prepared for the ungodly! My soul, never laugh at sin’s fooleries, lest thou come to smile at sin itself. It is thine enemy, and thy Lord’s enemy—view it with detestation, for so only canst thou evidence the possession of holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.

“My soul, never laugh at sin’s fooleries, lest thou come to smile at sin itself.”  I find that to be an interesting statement. One worth consideration. How long do we laugh at sin’s “fooleries” before we come ourselves to it with affection?

How many movies about adultery do I enjoy before adultery seems not-so-bad to me? How much do I enjoy our many public idols going after a glorious self-vindication before I myself crave it?

Interesting question; it deserves my attention.

I went to church with a friend this morning. After a long time of worship, it was followed by an (extremely) long set of announcements and then a guest speaker taught from Romans 8:15-30 on the necessity of hope in a life of suffering.

He was careful to explain suffering, so that his hearers would understand that suffering is promised, this side of death. Not just righteous-persecution type suffering, but really all afflictions that come forth as a direct or indirect result of sin. We all experience suffering, almost all the time.

He was also careful not to trivialize the profound sufferings of many Christians, persecuted and martyred for Christ.

The gist of the sermon was that the sufferings this life perpetually serves up calls for a constant and steadfast hope in the work of Christ. Not only that, but hope is not something we have to work to muster, but hope, even hope, is a gift given to us from God as a direct result of Christ’s finished work on the cross. He sure, complete, perfect and sufficient work on the cross.

The speaker ended with a quote from The Heidelberg Catechism:

Question 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death?

Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, (a) am not my own, (b) but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; (c) who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, (d) and delivered me from all the power of the devil; (e) and so preserves me (f) that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; (g) yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, (h) and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, (i) and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him. (j)

“That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ…” Dang. Seriously, dang.

I immediately thought of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:19-20:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Dang. Dang. Super dang.

Paul’s word’s are, in one sense abrasive. Something like, “don’t you get it? You belong to God. He bought you. You were very costly; Quit sinning! Do your job and honor him!” But when we look at Paul’s other words, namely those in Romans 8, he clearly has another tone which I often fail to recognize:

God made a very expensive purchase, and besides my own regular failure to protect his purchase He intends full well to do so.

This is the theme of Romans 8. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)… For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)”

Hope is an absolute necessity in finishing this “race”. But the good news is, God will be protecting his investments and proving all the hope necessary.

I finished Arthur W. Pink’s The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross yesterday. Insightful only barely begins to describe Pink’s work in this book.

I began reading Pink’s book as part of a Challies.com group reading, referred to as Reading Classics Together. Basically, bloggers and Internet folk get together and read one chapter a week, then get onto the Challies.com blog, or their own blog, and discuss what they found interesting, striking, thought provoking, encouraging, or discouraging, or whatever really. I believe this is the third book they’ve been through together and it’s my second.

For starters, I highly encourage everyone who can to get involved with the next reading, whenever it comes around. While the discussion is valuable, the sense of accountability is useful. Plus, it offers a sense of comradery over the Internet, which is somewhat unusual.

Arthur W. Pink’s The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross is more than a long title. It’s also a detailed and challenging look at the last things Jesus said. The dying savior expended precious breath on the cross and we ought to listen carefully to what he says there.

Pink uses one chapter, and a total of 139 pages, for each of the seven things Jesus said while dying: the word of Forgiveness (Luke 23:34), the word of Salvation (Luke 23:42-43), the word of Affection (John 19:25-27), the word of Anguish (Matthew 27:46), the word of Suffering (John 19:28), the word of Victory (John 19:30) and the word of Contentment (Luke 23:46). Each of the seven chapters is then broken down into seven profound insights (some more than others) on what Jesus said, why he said it, and the far reaching implications for us who hear it.

Pink is a classic writer. No where near as classic as some of our Puritan friends. He lived from the late 1800’s all the way through to the the 1950’s. But a classic writer none the less. Seven Sayings is among the easiest Christian books I’ve read. The words roll off the page into your mind and there’s no confusion about what he’s saying. However, unlike most modern Christian literature, this is worth reading. He doesn’t stay away from theologically important ideas and he never lets Jesus’ words just stay information bouncing around in our heads. He always tries to help guide these things down into our hearts and lives. He’s not always successful, but there’s much to be said for trying.

Pink adhered to a pretty rigid structure in this book. Seven chapters. Seven sub-sections, per chapter. Unfortunately, it seems that because of that there were points made that perhaps aren’t especially relevant. Although an irrelevant point can still be deeply impacting. However, in terms of his immediate goal, it may have been better to leave them out for the sake of staying on topic.

Aside from that one very minor complaint, Seven Sayings was an excellent read. A great companion for meditating on the Work of Christ and its impact on our lives. I recommend anyone and everyone read it.

So, this week concludes the journey through Arthur W. Pink’s The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross. I’ll put up a short review tomorrow when I have more time. But to follow suit, today I’d like to quickly point out some of the thoughts Pink laid out this week that really struck me.

First, this week focused on Jesus’ “Word of Contentment”. Namely, Luke 23:46:

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

One of the most striking things that I noticed this week was an uncanny correlation. While Jesus’ was on the cross, there are seven things recorded of him. Seven is a holy number. It was the day when God rested after having finished creating; he labored for six days, then on the seventh rested. Likewise, Jesus throughout six utterances labored and toiled in pain, and on the seventh rested with his Father.

Pink says it much better than I:

“ ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ This was the last utterance of the Saviour ere he expired. While he hung upon the cross, seven times his lips moved in speech. Seven is the number of completeness or perfection. At Calvary then, as everywhere, the perfections of the Blessed One were displayed. Seven is also the number of rest in a finished work: in six days God made heaven and earth and in the seventh he rested, contemplating with satisfaction that which he had pronounced “very good”. So here with Christ: a work had been given him to do, and that work was now done. Just as the sixth day brought the work of creation and reconstruction to a completion, so the sixth utterance of the Saviour was “It is finished.” And just as the seventh day was the day of rest and satisfaction, so the seventh utterance of the Saviour brings him to the place of rest - the Father’s hands.”

Pink also pointed out how this underscores what Jesus had said earlier, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:18). Not only was Jesus setting an example of Love and proving that it was His choice, but also dying a totally unique death. No one could rob Jesus of life, but he freely gave it up. After everything was finished and completed, Jesus ‘yielded’ up his spirit.

Well worth the meditation.

For more information on this edition of Reading Classics Together, swing by Challies.com or pick up the book, The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross by Arthur W. Pink.

This week Pink discussed Jesus’ “Word of Victory”. Namely, John 19:30.

“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

One of the most profound things that Pink said, toward the end of this chapter, was the crushing defeat that Satan suffered, indicated by these words, “it is finished”. While once Satan had a legal claim on us, as sinners with unpaid debt, he no longer does. Believers have been purchased outright and there is nothing more to be done to make satisfaction. It is finished. In fact, if indeed we did want to add something to Jesus’ work, not only would it be foolish and arrogant, it would also muddy up and defile so already perfect a work.

To that effect, Pink shares an excellent illustration:

Some years ago a Christian farmer was deeply concerned over an unsaved carpenter. The farmer sought to set before his neighbour the gospel of God’s grace, and to explain how that the finished work of Christ was sufficient for his soul to rest upon. But the carpenter persisted in the belief that he must do something himself. One day the farmer asked the carpenter to make for him a gate, and when the gate was ready he carried it away to his wagon. He arranged for the carpenter to call on him the next morning and see the gate as it hung in the field. At the appointed hour the carpenter arrived and was surprised to find the farmer standing by with a sharp axe in his hand. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “I am going to add a few cuts and strokes to your work,” was the response. “But there is no need for it,” replied the carpenter, “the gate is all right as it is. I did all that was necessary to it.” The farmer took no notice, but lifting his axe he slashed and hacked at the gate until it was completely spoiled. “Look what you have done!” cried the carpenter. “You have ruined my work!“ “Yes,” said the farmer, “and that is exactly what you are trying to do. You are seeking to nullify the finished work of Christ by your own miserable additions to it!” God used this forceful object lesson to show the carpenter his mistake, and he was led to cast himself by faith upon what Christ had done for sinners. Reader, will you do the same?

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

This movie gets four diamonds. Whatever that means.

I guess today’s post is going to be a very early one. I just got home from seeing the first possible showing of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Well of course, what else could one expect? I’m a Christian and I guess I do things like that. That’s exactly what Disney and Walden Media are banking on. Literally.

I will say up front that Narnia is an obvious, shameless attempt to capitalize on the growing population of Americans who proactively call themselves Christians. I’m certain that many fans of the original C.S. Lewis works will have grievances with the film adaptation of this installment in the series, but there’s something important to note here. Between C.S. Lewis and Disney/Walden Media, there is a very important difference. C.S. Lewis was a writer to the glory of God, with the end hope that those who didn’t know Jesus would, and those who did know Jesus would fall more deeply in love with him. His articulate and inspiring allegories and non-fiction works have done this for a vast number of people. Walden Media and Disney, on the other hand, have one thing in mind. Money. They are businesses and it’s what they do, it’s what they exist for and it would be silly for us to expect otherwise.

However more shallow the purpose in producing this series may be, it does not change that an excellent job was done.

For those who are unfamiliar with this installment of the Narnia series, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan have been back in the real world for a year since they’re first trip to Narnia when suddenly they are whisked back. In Narnia times, somewhere around 1000 years have passed and the whimsical creatures of the ancient land have been forced into hiding by a line of corrupt kings of the “son’s of Adam”. When the gang arrives on the scene, they discover things to be quite different than they remember and a lot rougher (also a quality of the film, clearly contrasting the last installment). Alongside Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne, the crew must lead the Narnians in a fight against the army’s of men.

When compared to the story’s close relative The Lord of the Rings, Narnia is child’s play. In the whole film there is next to no graphic violence at all. In fact, the only blood shown is when one character cuts his hand. But let’s remember, this is a family film. And even being such, the lack of graphic violence didn’t take away from the intensity of the action or the story. Unlike the first film, which ultimately felt a bit anticlimactic, this installment pushed the audience’s limits at pretty much every turn. The fight sequences were intense enough to be believed and the characters deep enough to be cared about. The combination made for an extremely enjoyable viewing experience.

The movie’s pacing should also be noted. While nearly everything in the first installment of Narnia felt rushed and crowded, the second installment clearly resolved this problem for the most part. Although the opening sequence involving the children did feel a bit hasty, the rest of the story unfolded with grace and clarity. A friend appropriately described it saying that they fully committed to nearly every sequence. No fight was rushed, no argument skimmed over, no dialogue irrationally assumed. They took their time on every opportunity and it paid off well.

The visual effects in this installment were stellar. One particular sequence involving a water creature stands out as possibly being the best visual effects I have ever seen to date. The music score was also excellent. It never distracted from the movie; in fact, I rarely explicitly noticed it at all.

While it seems that much of the movie stayed true to the book, there are a number of events in the movie which I know for sure were added; likely for commercial appeal. Those who have read the book will probably grumble at them because the additions added little and often threatened what was already there; one quite notably so. I agree that the additions were frivolous and ultimately useless, but let’s remember, Disney and Walden aren’t trying to make disciples here, they’re trying to make money. Once again, this installment also closed with an extremely poor choice in soundtrack. However, the error is easily forgiven, and who can blame them for wanting to sell a few extra copies of the soundtrack album?

One thing that should be noted and praised in this movie adaptation is that glory in this movie is not relinquished to our heroes. They are consistently shown to be failures and incapable of fighting the fight before them. The glory is consistently shifted to Aslan; no doubt Lewis’ original intention.

From an entertainment standpoint, I highly enjoyed this installment; much more than the first one—for sure. But on a personal level, there were many nuggets of C.S. Lewis insight for us to consider. But I don’t want to say too much. For me personally, even some prospects that challenge my own heart and mind when evaluating myself and my desires. One such occasion, Peter has run valiantly into a noble and stubborn fight which he cannot win; in the midst of his stubbornness, Susan rebukes him saying:

“Who are you fighting this for?” Good question, Susan.

For more information on this edition of Reading Classics Together, swing by Challies.com or pick up the book, The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross by Arthur W. Pink.

This week in Arthur Pink’s Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross Pink talked about Jesus’ “word of affection”. Namely John 19:25-27.

“but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

The very first segment of this chapter was so powerful in its discussion of Mary standing by silently as Jesus was crucified. I shared that piece of the text earlier this week on Mother’s Day, so I won’t say too much today about the chapter. But there are a few things that I wanted to remark on.

Pink noted that in this picture, as throughout the rest of Jesus’ ministry leading up to this event, Joseph, Jesus’ legal father, is nowhere to be found. It can safely be speculated that he must have died some time before his ministry began. Mary was very much in the care of her son and that’s where the remarkable thing lies. Here’s Jesus, in the midst of doing the very thing that the whole world was created for. All of created history was in the midst of discovering its whole reason for being, its point, and Jesus sees fit to arrange temporal provisions for his mother.

Pink makes the point that we see the importance of honoring our parents in Jesus’ actions here. Regardless of how old we become, or how important our work is, there is always honor due to our parents and Jesus exemplifies that here.

To me, that is a remarkable thing—although I’m not yet sure what to actually do with it.

20 years ago, people were taking some weird things seriously. Music I mean. Like, I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight, by the Cutting Crew, The Boys of Summer by Don Henley or Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. By today’s standards these all rest as lame relics from a lame period in music history. For me though, these and many, many others from their period are juicy treats of melodious cheese. Seriously, I can’t get enough of the stuff. People make fun of me all the time. Sometimes I might be driving with a new friend or something and my ipod’s shuffling will land on something like How Am I Supposed to Live Without You by Michael Bolton and I happily let it play through enjoying each and every synthesized note. Usually my passenger gaze at me in disbelief. But I can’t help it. I just think the era produced so much cool music. I know it’s cheesy, I know. But I’m alright with that.

Yesterday, I was driving, listening to the radio. That’s not something I normally do. I’m usually listening to a CD, or the ipod or nothing at all. The radio and I just usually don’t really get along. Well, on this occasion, I’d left the ipod at home, the only CD I had was a sermon from church I’d already listened to and frankly, I was getting tired of listening to my own thoughts. That really only leaves one option: the radio.

On the radio, through a poor reception, came Blink 182’s First Date. Easily a high school favorite of mine, although by today’s standards its already starting to show heavy signs of wear and tear. The aging of one of my favorites got me thinking, 20 years from now what will be the morsels of lame music history that I hold on to as nostalgic gems? So, I decided today to present my hypothesized list of 10 songs, in no particular order, that I believe will age well. The songs that will become the 80’s of tomorrow.

1. All the Small Things by Blink 182
2. How to Save a Life by The Fray
3. You’re Beautiful by James Blunt
4. California by Phantom Planet
5. At Your Funeral by Saves the Day
6. Hotel Yorba by the White Stripes
7. My Love by Justin Timberlake
8. Somebody Told Me by The Killers
9. Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
10. Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional

I have to admit, that was more difficult list to compile that I thought it would be and there were some really near misses. I probably could have made that a much longer list, but in the interest of brevity, it’ll stay at 10 for right now. So what are your 80’s songs of tomorrow?

A few months back I decided to read The Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen, along with Challies.com. I eventually trailed off from the group, but regardless, the structure offered some sense of stability in helping me get through a very difficult text. In addition to that, it was also encouraging to read other’s thoughts as they were going through the same piece of intense literature. Well, the folks over at Challies are doing it again, this time with Arthur W. Pink’s classic, The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross. I’ve decided to join them again.

If you’d like to join the party, I encourage you to do so. Just snag a copy of the book from Amazon, they’re pretty cheap, less than 10 bucks. Then, read one chapter a week and post your thoughts either on the Challies.com Thursday posts, or on your own blog. I can say from experience, that it’s a beneficial process.

I started Seven Sayings this morning with Pink’s quick introduction to the rest of his text. He hasn’t even said anything yet and he’s already packing a punch. He explains that Jesus’ death was natural, in that he was a real person who really died, it was unnatural, in that it wasn’t at all ordinary, it was preter-natural, in that it was decided long before the foundations of the world and finally it was super-natural, in that it was different from all other deaths that had ever happened and would ever happen again.

Pink spread out an extremely interesting expose, especially concerning Christ’s death as supernatural. But something that really jumped off the page to me as I read it was the preternatural nature of his death. I’m not a stranger to the idea of Christ’s work on the cross having been long predetermined. But what I found especially interesting was how beautifully this aspect of Christ’s work knit God’s righteousness and love into all created history. God was perfectly just in forgiving David’s sin because of the impending, unshakable, unstoppable, work of Christ. God was perfectly just in forgiving all of the true Old Testament saints their sins, in the same manner as he is just in forgiving ours. While now, Christ’s work is finished and we look back at it in hope of our future glory, the saints of before Christ looked foreword, in faith, to the promise of that same one. It was in this way, as Pink points out, that God justly “passed over former sins.” (Romans 3:25).

The repetition of that truth offers strength to my spirit, knowing that even before Christ’s work was done, the effect was so sure and the action so decided, that God could safely and justly forgive sins in light of that work. If it was so sure then, how about now? Mind blowing. Praise Jesus!

I decided today to remain in brief and share a thought from William Bridge on the topic of Christ’s atonement for our sins and our sometimes failure to relinquish the guilt that has already seen payment.

“If the Lord Jesus Christ made full satisfaction unto God the Father, how is it that believers, many of them have their consciences so perplexed in regard of sin, as if there were no satisfaction at all made? The reason is, because that men do not study this truth, but are ignorant of it. As, suppose that a man do owe three or four hundred pounds to a shopkeeper for wares that he hath taken up there; a friend comes, pays the debt , and crosses the book; but the debtor when he comes and looks upon the book is able to read all the particulars; and not being acquainted with the nature of crossing the book, he is able to read all the particulars, and he charges it still upon himself. , because he does not understand the nature of crossing the book… So now it is here: the Lord Jesus Christ hath come and crossed our book with his own blood; the sins are to be read in your own consciences, but we, being not acquainted with the nature of Christ’s satisfaction, we charge ourselves, as if no sin at all were satisfied for.”

William Bridge is right, that rather than forgetting, or not understanding with our heart, the satisfaction that Christ’s has made, we should study his Word and let it sink into our hearts and mind and so we can rest in the peace of the satisfaction he has already made.