Defunding Planned Parenthood Amendment Passes in the House

from American Life League Action Alert email:

"Just a few minutes ago, the House of Representatives voted 240-185 to add Amendment #11 to the Continuing Resolution bill. This amendment, introduced by Representative Mike Pence [R-Ind.], prohibits any federal government money going to Planned Parenthood until, at least, September 30, 2011.


It is a major victory and your prayers and actions made it happen.

The fight is not over. This amendment must also be passed in the Senate. It will be a major struggle and Planned Parenthood is already saying it will put all of its emphasis on defeating it in the Senate. Planned Parenthood has over $1 billion to throw at this."

from American Family Association's OneNewsNow [view the C-SPAN video of Representative Pence's speech]: Abortion funding - 'Offensive to every American'

The Inviolability of an Oath

"Any system of law requires certain basics to make it operative. One is a penalty for violations. Another, equally essential, is the inviolability* of an oath. It is utterly impossible to adminster justice, either in the punishment of wickedness and vice or the adjudication of civil disputes, unless men can be required to tell the truth on pain of heavy penalty. The requirement is met by an appeal to what men regard as sacred and inviolable. For Christians, it means an appeal to God. To appeal is to call upon. To call upon the name of God is to take a solemn oath or to swear. To do that in anything but the utmost adherence to the full truth is to split asunder the whole structure of administration of law in all its forms."

--T. Robert Ingram, from The World Under God's Law (St. Thomas Press, 1962, p.43)

* Secure from violation or profanation; unbreakability

You Cannot Avoid Some Reference to God in Any Vow

"However hard you try, Jesus said, you cannot avoid some reference to God, for the whole world is God's world and you cannot eliminate Him from any of it. If you vow by 'heaven', it is God's throne; if by 'earth' it is his footstool; if by 'Jerusalem' it is his city, THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. If you swear by your head, it is indeed yours in the sense that it is nobody else's, and yet it is God's creation and under God's control. You cannot even change the natural colour of a single hair, black in youth and white in old age."

--John R. W. Stott, from The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Inter-Varsity Press, 1978, p. 101)

When a Man Puts His Own Moral Worth Low, Men Will Take Him at His Own Valuation

"Besides exciting the disapproval and disgust of all good men, the person who habitually supports his assertions by an oath seems thereby to obtrude an acknowledgement that he considers his bare word unlikely, and indeed unworthy, to be believed, and when a person thus puts his own moral worth low, men will naturally take him at his own valuation."

--Robert Johnstone [1871], from Lectures on the Epistle of James (Klock and Klock, 1976, p. 398)

Aesop's fables: The Daw in Borrowed Plumes

An Unlawful Oath Is Not Binding

"An oath cannot bind to that which is in itself unlawful, because the obligation of the law is imposed upon us by the will of God, and therefore takes precedence of all obligations imposed upon us by the will of men or by ourselves; and the lesser obligation cannot relieve from the greater. The sin is in taking the oath to do the unlawful thing, not in breaking it. Therefore Luther was right in breaking his monastic vows."

--A. A. Hodge [1869], from The Westminster Confession: A Commentary (Banner of Truth, 2002, p. 289)

Then What Is It to Swear by Allah with One's Hand on the Koran (Qur'an)?

"Swearing by the name of God implies a belief and acknowledgment of His omniscience, omnipotence, and justice; it follows, therefore, that to swear by any other besides Him, must be utterly unlawful, and no less than idolatry."

--Robert Shaw [1845], from An Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith (Christian Focus Publications, 1992, p.237)



Question: Hmmm, then is it unlawful and idolatrous to take an oath with one's hand on the Koran?
Answer: YES

"In reaction to the news, conservative media pundit Dennis Prager criticized the decision in his November 28, 2006 column entitled 'America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a Congressman takes his oath on.'" [Very interesting account of different books used in oath ceremonies in the United States. What a cacophanous mish-mash of gods and their law-standards.]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur'an_oath_controversy_of_the_110th_United_States_Congress

Is it "America" which decides "what book" a Congressman takes his oath on?

"Instead of 'So Help me God,' Ellison, an African American and of Islamic faith, will pledge to uphold the Constitution of the United States ending with the phrase 'Allahhu Akbar' meaning God is Great in Arabic."
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/3587

Which god was declared to be great by this "representative" of the people? The Christian God? or the Muslim god?

"Before that time [1985], the law was called 'Administration of oath upon the Gospels'"
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,275266,00.html

Why was the oath law called that?

"The whole concept of having someone take an oath with his hand on a book is to have him swear against something he or she considers sacred. To a Christian or a Jew, that would be the Bible - to a Muslim, the Koran. Forcing a Muslim to take an oath with his or her hand on a Bible would make it meaningless, IMHO."
http://dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-15512.html

Is "swearing against something he or she considers sacred" the whole concept of having someone take an oath with his hand on "a book"?


It's almost like one's standard reveals who or what one's god is. The history of this nation has been marked by political polytheism (adulterous idolatry). What does the future hold for this nation in God's providence, I wonder?

Hindu temple

One of the Great Scandals of Life Today

"One of the great scandals of life today is the appalling increase in divorce and infidelity. To what is it due? It is that men have forgotten the teaching of Christ with regard to vows and oaths, and common veracity and truth and honesty in speech. How like these Pharisees and scribes we are."

--D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, from Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Eerdmans, 1959, p.269)

Divorce

An Excellent Way to Prevent Swearing

"...an excellent way to prevent swearing is to use a constant truth in our speeches, then we need not interpose an oath; the credit of our communication will be enough. Oaths give suspicion of men's falseness and lightness. If men were serious and sincere in their discourses, their word would be equivalent to an oath, and their very affirming would be swearing; whereas others in a doubtful case are hardly credited, though they swear never so deeply, because they swear so commonly; for having prostituted the highest and most solemn way of assurance to every trifle, they have nothing left wherewith to establish a controverted truth."
--Thomas Manton [1693],  from The Works of Thomas Manton Vol IV, James 5:12 (Banner of Truth, 1962, p. 438)

Vows

"Vows are as they are made, like unto scents: If they be of ill composition, nothing offends more; if well-tempered, nothing is more pleasant. Either certainty of evil, or uncertainty of good, or impossibility of performance, makes vows of no service to God or man...An unlawful vow is ill made, but worse performed." --Joseph Hall (1574-1656, n.d.)

***

A vow, which is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone, is to be made and performed with all religious care and faithfulness;8 but popish monastical vows of perpetual single life,9 professed poverty,10 and regular obedience, are so far from being degrees of higher perfection, that they are superstitious and sinful snares, in which no Christian may entangle himself.11

8 Psalm 76:11; Genesis 28:20-22 [I would have added Deut. 23:21]
9 1 Corinthians 7:2,9 [I would have added 1 Tim. 4:2-4]
10 Ephesians 4:28 [I would have added Prov. 28:19 and Prov. 30:8]
11 Matthew 19:11 [This one would have been good for note 9 above; for this one, I would have chosen Is. 55:9; Matt. 15:9; Rom. 10:6-7]

--The London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 23, Paragraph 5, GD's notes in brackets

Defund Planned Parenthood

Let's keep the pressure on! Our "lawmakers" need this issue brought before their quieted consciences again and again, until their consciences are in an uproar. Thank God for those men in the Congress willing to introduce legislation that would pull the hands of thieving murderers out of the pockets of Christians. Whatever God may have in store for us, let us clamor for the protection of the life of the unborn whenever He gives us opportunity. Christian dollars should not be going to fund Planned Parenthood!

from an AFA Action Alert:

Last year, Planned Parenthood received over $363 million in taxpayer funds, lifted from your wallet and mine, and performed 324,00 abortions along the way.


Of that total, $57 million came through a federal program known as Title X.

Rep. Mike Pence has crafted legislation that will end Title X funding of Planned Parenthood, as well as all other abortion providers.

Live Action films has released seven undercover videos in the last two weeks alone showing the eagerness of Planned Parenthood clinics in Virginia, New York and New Jersey to help sex traffickers get birth control and illegal abortions for 14-year-old illegal alien prostitutes. They offered to help them avoid legally mandated reporting and parental consent requirements.

Rep. Pence's bill is entitled the "Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act" (H.R. 217), and will deny Title X taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood and any other abortion provider.

This is the best opportunity the pro-family community has had in decades to substantially end subsidies for the largest abortion provider in the United States.

 Click here to send an email to your representative.

"Not To Be Loved, But To Love" by Maltbie D. Babcock

O Lord, I pray
That for this day
   I may not swerve
By foot or hand
From Thy command
   Not to be served, but to serve.

This, too, I pray,
That from this day
   No love of ease
Nor pride prevent
My good intent
   Not to be pleased, but to please.

And if I may
I'd have this day
   Strength from above
To set my heart
In heavenly art
   Not to be loved, but to love.

--from The Family Album, 8th Edition, edited and published by Arthur and Nancy DeMoss, Valley Forge, PA, in the 1960's (I guess)

Dead in the Pit - Arminianism Refuted

"A man that is fallen into a pit cannot be supposed to help himself out of it, but by one of two ways; either by doing all himself alone, or taking hold of, and improving, the help offered him by others. Likewise an unconverted man cannot be supposed to help himself out of his natural state, but either in the way of the law, or covenant of works, by doing all himself without Christ; or else in the way of the Gospel, or covenant of grace, by exerting his own strength to lay hold upon, and to make use of the help offered him by a Saviour.

But, alas! the unconverted man is dead in the pit, and cannot help himself either of these ways; not the first way, for the first text (Rom 5:6) tells us, that when our Lord came to help us, 'we were without strength,' unable to recover ourselves. We were ungodly, therefore under a burden of guilt and wrath, yet 'without strength,' unable to stand under it; and unable to throw it off, or get from under it: so that all mankind would have undoubtedly perished, had not 'Christ died for the ungodly,' and brought help to those who could never have recovered themselves. But when Christ comes and offers help to sinners, cannot they take it? Cannot they improve help when it comes to their hands?

No, the second text (John 6:44) tells us, they cannot; 'No man can come unto me,' that is, believe in me, 'except the Father draw him.' This is a drawing which enables them to come, who till then could not come; and therefore could not help themselves by improving the help offered.

It is a drawing which is always effectual; for it can be no less than 'hearing and learning of the Father,' which, whoever partakes of, come to Christ (verse 45). Therefore it is not drawing in the way of mere moral suasion, which may be, yea, and always is ineffectual. But it is drawing by mighty power (Eph 1:9), absolutely necessary for those who have no power in themselves to come and take hold of the offered help." --Thomas Boston, from Human Nature in its Fourfold State (Banner of Truth, 1964, pp. 183-184)

Christ Is Exercising All Authority and Power

"Christ has exercised and is exercising all authority and power. 'He must reign till all his enemies shall be made his footstool.'

'Christianity is Christ.' It is not a philosophy, indeed not even a religion. It is the good news that 'God hath visited and hath redeemed his people' and that He has done so by sending His only begotten Son into this world to live, and die, and rise again. Our Lord Jesus Christ is 'the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last'. In other words, He is the one Authority!" --D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, from Authority (Banner of Truth [Sept 1957] 1985, p. 29)

A Highly Objectionable Word

"It is a word that is now regarded as highly objectionable, a word that Paul, if he had been what modern men would have desired him to be, never would have used. It is the small but weighty word 'not.' That word 'not,' we are today constantly being told ought to be put out of the Christian's vocabulary. Our preaching, we are told, ought to be positive and not negative; we ought to present truth, but ought not to attack error; we ought to avoid controversy and always seek peace...With regard to such a program, it may be said at least that if w e hold to it we might just as well close up our New Testaments; for the New Testament is a controversial book almost from beginning to end...The church of our day needs above all else men who can say 'No;' for it is only men who can say 'No,' men who are brave enough to take a stand against sin and error in the church--it is only such men who can really say 'Yea and amen' to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."

--J. Gresham Machen, from Notes on Galatians (SGCP, 2006, pp. 6-7)

 

God Does Not Have a Double Standard of Morality and Justice

"The stipulations of God's moral law, whether known through Mosaic (written) ordinances or by general (unwritten) revelation, carry a universal and "natural" obligation that is appropriate to the Creator-creature relationship, apart from any question of redemption. Their validity is by no means restricted to the Jews in a particular time period...At the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, when Moses exhorted the Israelites to observe God's commandments, he clearly taught that the laws divinely revealed to Israel were meant by the Lawgiver as a model to be emulated by all the surrounding Gentile nations, Deut. 4:5-8. All the nations, not just the Israelites, should follow the manifestly righteous requirements of God's law. In this respect, the justice of God's law made Israel to be "a light to the nations" (Isa. 51:4).

Unlike many modern Christian writers on ethics, God did not have a double standard of morality, one for Israel and one for the Gentiles ( cf.* Lev. 24:22). Accordingly, God made it clear that the reason why the heathen tribes were ejected from the promised land was precisely because they had violated the provisions of His holy law (Lev. 18:24-27). This fact presupposes that the Gentiles were antecedently obligated to obey those provisions. Accordingly, the psalmist condemned "all the wicked of the earth" for departing from God's statutes (Ps. 119:118-119). Similarly, the book of Proverbs, intended as international wisdom literature, directs all nations to obey the laws of God: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Prov. 14:34, see also Isa. 24:5)."

--Greg Bahnsen, Five Views on Law and Gospel (Zondervan, 1993, pp.110-111)


* cf. is the abbreviation for the Latin "confer," meaning "compare" or "consult."

A Theatre of Vanity

"The world is a sea of glass: a pageant of fond delight, a theatre of vanity, a labyrinth of error, a gulf of grief, a sty of filthiness, a vale of misery, a spectacle of woe, a river of tears, a stage of deceit, a cage full of devils, a den of scorpions, a wilderness of wolves, a cabin of bears, a whirlwind of passions, a fained comedy, a delectable frenzy; where is false delight, assured grief; certain sorrow, uncertain pleasure; lasting woe, fickle wealth; long heaviness, short joy." Arthur Dent, The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven, (Soli Deo Gloria, [1599] 1994, pp. 69-70)

Wow! What does Mr. Dent have against the world? Didn't "God so love the world"? Of course, God made all the world, all of creation.

The sense of phrase "the world" that Mr. Dent intended in the above quote is used in the Bible to mean that part of God's creation--physical and spiritual--that remains in fallen rebellion to Him, still in spiritual darkness, death and wilderness, and which still stands under the condemnation of God. God intends the world to be reconciled to Himself and given life by His Word and Spirit through the preaching entrusted to His redeemed people (the Church).

Therefore, Christians must reject "the world" (used in this sense) and resist its deceptive and vain attractions and see all rebellion and sin against God for the evil it really is; yet be in the world, as lights, discipling the nations teaching them all things whatsoever Christ has commanded, making--by the grace of God alone--condemned outlaws into lawful subjects and sons and heirs of His kingdom.

worldly woman with snake choker

Have We Bartered the Gospel for a Substitute Product?

"There is no doubt that Evangelicalism today is in a state of perplexity and unsettlement. In such matters as the practice of evangelism, the teaching of holiness, the building up of local church life, the pastor's dealing with souls and the exercise of discipline, there is evidence of widespread dissatisfaction with things as they are and of equally widespread uncertainty as to the road ahead. This is a complex phenomenon, to which many factors have contributed; but, if we go to the root of the matter, we shall find that these perplexities are all ultimately due to our having lost our grip on the biblical gospel. Without realizing it, we have during the past century bartered that gospel for a substitute product which, though it looks similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing. Hence our troubles; for the substitute product does not answer the ends for which the authentic gospel has in past days proved itself so mighty.

The new gospel conspicuously fails to produce deep reverence, deep humility, a spirit of worship, a concern for the church, Why? We would suggest that the reason lies in its own character and content. It fails to make men God-centered in their thoughts and God-fearing in their hearts because this is not primarily what it is trying to do. One way of stating the difference between it and the old gospel is to say that it is too exclusively concerned to be "helpful" to man--to bring peace, comfort, happiness, satisfaction--and too little concerned to glorify God.

The old gospel was "helpful" too--more so, indeed, than is the new--but (so to speak) incidentally, for its first concern was always to give glory to God. It was always and essentially a proclamation of Divine sovereignty in mercy and judgment, a summons to bow down and worship the mighty Lord on whom man depends for all good. Its center of reference was unambiguouly God. But in the new gospel the center of reference is man. This is just to say that the old gospel was religious in a way that the new gospel is not. Whereas the chief aim of the old was to teach men to worship God, the concern of the new seems limited to making them feel better. The subject of the old gospel was God and His ways with men; the subject of the new is man and the help God gives him. There is a world of difference."

--J.I Packer, from The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (Banner of Truth, 1967, pp. 1-2)

The Perfect Law of God, Our Failure and Sin, and the Good News of the Mercy of God in Christ Jesus

To love God is to obey Him, to keep His commandments. Love is fulfilled in the law obeyed from the heart in love. Psalm 119 extols the psalmist's love for God's holy commandments.

Friends, if we find we have antinomian (anti = against; nomos = law) tendencies, if we hate certain commandments of God, if we are rebellious and hostile at the thought of obeying God out of love for Him, then the problem is NOT with the law. Rather, WE are the problem.

Our sin is the problem.

The ONLY solution is to run to Jesus the Christ in repentence and ask for His forgiveness for our sin, in faith in Him, His perfect righteousness and mercy. Mercy and truth have kissed in Christ Jesus. That means that He is the righteousness of His people, and He--though sinless--endured upon the cross the eternal God-forsaken suffering, death, and shed blood that His people deserved to receive in God's righteous wrath. He took their punishment upon Himself as their propitiation, their substitute before a righteously wrathful God, in order that God can righteously extend mercy, the deliverance from the curse of our sin, to His people in Christ Jesus, that is, through faith in Christ Jesus.

God's promise of salvation and eternal life for whosoever believes in Jesus is for all people from every tribe, tongue, and nation in all the earth, and for all times, eras, and future generations.

And once a Christian is saved, what to do? Study and meditate in the word of God (the Holy Bible); pray the words of Scripture to God; obey the commandments of God, walking in the Spirit of God; and thus love God and your neighbor (your fellow man). To love God is to obey Him.

***

Lyrics: Matthias Loy, 1863

Music: ERHALT UNS, HERR L.M.
           Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1543


--from Trinity Hymnal, Baptist Edition


The law of God is good and wise
And sets his will before our eyes,
Shows us the way of righteousness,
And dooms to death when we transgress.

Its light of holiness imparts
The knowlege of our sinful hearts
That we may see our lost estate
And seek deliv'rance ere too late.

To those who help in Christ have found
And would in works of love abound
It shows what deeds are his delight
And should be done as good and right.

When men the offered help disdain
And willfully in sin remain,
Its terror in their ear resounds
And keeps their wickedness in bounds.

The law is good; but since the fall
Its holiness condemns us all;
It dooms us for our sin to die
And has no pow'r to justify.

To Jesus we for refuge flee,
Who from the curse has set us free,
And humbly worship at his throne,
Saved by his grace through faith alone.

***

"Thou Passest Through" by Annie Johnson Flint

"When thou passest through the waters"
   Deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge,
   And His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it,
   He, the faithful God and true:
"When thou comest to the waters
   Thou shalt not go down, but through."

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
   Bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation
   Sweeping over heart and brain--
They shall never overflow us
   For we know His Word is true;
All His waves and all His billows
   He will lead us safely through.

Threatening breakers of destruction,
   Doubts insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us
   Out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us,
   Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
We shall not go down, or under,
   For He saith, "Thou passest through."

--from The Family Album, 8th Edition, edited and published by Arthur and Nancy DeMoss, Valley Forge, PA, in the 1960's (I guess)

Life at Conception

from an AFA email Action Alert:

Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) is sponsoring the "Life at Conception Act" (S.91), which will define personhood from the moment of conception. Sen. Wicker has 13 co-sponsors thus far.

In Harry Blackmun's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, he wrote that "if personhood is established, the appellant's case (i.e., 'Roe'), of course collapses, for the fetus' right to life is then guaranteed specifically by the [14th] amendment."

Under S.91, a "human person" and a "human being" includes every individual "at all stages of life, including, but not limited to, the moment of fertilization, cloning and other moment at which an individual...comes into being."

If this bill is enacted into law, it thus will not only provide protection for unborn babies, it will follow the path Justice Blackmun laid out 38 years ago for overturning Roe v. Wade, an act of judicial activism that has led to the deaths of 53 million infants before they have drawn their first breath.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) has introduced a parallel bill in the House (H.R.374) which currently has 53 co-sponsors.

Email your senator and thank him for co-sponsoring the bill or urge him to give his support to S.91.


Some of God's wisdom:

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. (Psalm 1:10-16)

Let's do all we can lawfully, including prayer, to end abortion. For murder is never lawful in the eyes of God. We must not consent by silence. If the ungodly continue to murder, let it be at the public protest of Christians united in God's Word.

Don't consent to the anti-Christ idea that unborn babies are blobs of tissue, not really human, not really persons. They are fully human persons, being knit together by God, known to Him before He kindled the life in the mother's womb, just in an early stage of development. Is it more just or moral to kill a three-year-old than it is to kill a thirty-year-old? Of course not. The fact that one person is younger than the other is no justification for murder. In fact, the more helpless persons are all the more to be protected.

A generation that approves the murder of the unborn in the womb is vulnerable to murder by euthanasia when they are old and have no children to want them and take care of them. They've unwittingly paved the way for their own "legal" state-sanctioned murder.

Remember, Christ never turns away any sinner who runs to Him in sincere repentence from his sin and belief in Christ for the washing away of their sins by His shed blood. For Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. A sinnner who repents causes rejoicing in heaven. If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you.

The Spare-Tire Concept of God

I've found it helpful from time to time to stop and evaluate my thoughts about God and how I treat Him. Do I fly off the handle without thinking of God first and what He would have me do? Do I try to tackle tough decisions without praying to God for wisdom or without trying to discern His will for me from His Word? Do I rejoice or take pleasure in something without giving God gratitude and glory? Do I question Him over a circumstance in my life?

I have to admit that I've had to repent over and over and even today--several times--of putting God away from my thoughts when I would have been far better off to have remembered Him and His love and His words to me (in Scripture), and "use" Him in the normal course of life.

Here is a quote from R.J. Rushdoony on this wicked "spare-tire" concept of God:

"The spare-tire concept of God, as Otto Piper pointed out some years ago, is very prevalent. A spare-tire is not normally used; in fact, it is highly desirable if it is never necessary to use it. However, common sense requires that a man carry a spare-tire and always avoid being without one. For many people, God is a spare-tire, not to be used normally and an annoyance if required, but a good thing to have in case of trouble."

--Rousas John Rushdoony, from Salvation and Godly Rule, Ross House Books, 1983, p. 10