This classical theology (and its historic creeds and confessions) of Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Hodge, B. B. Warfield, Francis Schaeffer, John Gertsner, J. I. Packer, James Montgomery Boice, R. C. Sproul, John Piper, Michael Horton and so many others is what the Church today must reaffirm under the conviction and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our joy, our satisfaction, our delight and our very lives are to be in God and for Him alone. Augustine put it this way,"He loves Thee too little, who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake." This site is dedicated to sharing some resources on this great theological framework with hope it will encourage serious reflection on the awesome truth, beauty, goodness, power and majesty of Jesus Christ.
The Essential George Whitefield Page
Some Great Quotations About Faith and Life
God's righteous passion and delight are to display and uphold His infinitely valuable glory for the enjoyment of the redeemed in all the nations. Drawing upon the work of John Piper, here explore the remarkably abundant and deep Scriptural foundation for God being radically God-centered. Text upon text in the Bible describe God's relentless pursuit of His praise and glory from creation to consummation.
Many older hymns of the Church speak of our sin and God's wrath. They also praise God's character and attributes. They bring conviction and repentance as they invoke a sense of awe and wonder at God's majesty, excellency and beauty. Many of these hymns follow a practical systematic theology of Guilt, Grace and Gratitude. Traditional hymns, like those of Martin Luther, Augustus Toplady, John Newton and William Cowper, are rich with theological content and depth. Yet the "ole ones" seemingly aren't much in vogue these days. Much contemporary Christian music appeals to sensual experience at the expense of loving God with our minds. Praise and worship music laden with saccharine sentimentality is a serious reflection of theological anemia among our assemblies. Michael Horton has characterized some of this as "Jesus, my boy friend music". Just as not all prayer is pleasing to God, not all music we sing is either. Amos 5:23 says, "Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps." Subjective, inane experience comes often at the expense of rightly dividing the Word.
As disheartening as this is, there are some modern Christian songs that appeal to contemporary musical tastes, carry sound doctrinal messages and are truly God-centered worship and praise. Jonathan Edwards, who knew God's reality with his head and passionately felt God's reality in the love of his heart, is right when he says, "God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1. By appearing to . . . their understanding. 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying, the manifestations which He makes of Himself. . . God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart." Christian music, therefore, should be an expression of what John Piper calls thinking truly and feeling duly. Such music I believe can be found in the work of such contemporary writer/performers as Reformed troubadour Steve Camp, Reformed rocker Wes King, balladeerDon Francisco, evangelicals Michael Card and Dennis Jernigan, and British charismatic Graham Kendrick, take seriously the whole counsel of God and convey a sense of God's holy character and sovereignty. This Page seeks to explore lyrics of the music of yesteryear and today that convey Scriptural integrity and sound doctrine, irrespective of musical style and genre.
