Fred Zaspel was recently at DSC, preaching a wonderfully helpful message on suffering in the book of Job. His outline alone was, frankly, worth memorizing:

1. Suffering often comes as the result of an unseen conflict in the spiritual world.
2. The inadequacy of human reasoning in the presence of tragedy and suffering.
3. God is sovereign and supreme over Satan and our suffering.
4. We must read this book as Christians.

From an article on the same theme, Fred expounds this last point like this:

Throughout the book Job feels lost, lost in maze of unanswered questions. Chiefest of his concerns is his desire for God. This is why we hear him say things like, “O that I knew where I might find Him!” “O that I had someone to go to Him for me!” And so on.

And it is right here that we find ourselves giant steps ahead of him. He searched for a mediator, someone Who could speak for both parties. We have that mediator, and we know Him. He is Jesus Christ. Job wanted someone Who would not only plead his case, but sympathize with Him. We have Him, and He is the One who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He is “touched with the feelings of our infirmities,” and so He invites us to come boldly before His throne of grace and there find “grace to help in time of need.”

At this point there is a world of difference between us and Job. We have the revelation of Christ, Who has told us and shown us His great and undying love. He has told us that through Him we have direct access to the Father. And He has told us that we may and should come to Him with every problem we face, and there find Him not only sympathetic, but full of grace & mercy perfectly suited to our specific need.

With that advantage over Job, Job’s faith is all the more remarkable. And ours is all the more reasonable.

If you missed it, please take the time to listen to the whole of Fred’s message; or, even if you did hear it, read through the article version. I know how I need these truths impressed upon my remembrance and affections more and more. Lord, work in us such that we might suffer well!

For those of you who missed it, last Sunday night Fred Zaspel gave a very helpful exposition of Romans 9, which was followed by a Q&A.  As promised, we’re providing several suggested follow-up resources here for those wanting further study of Romans 9 and the related doctrines of election and predestination.

Entry-level Books on God’s Sovereignty in Salvation:

• Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, by J. I. Packer
• The Doctrines of Grace, by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken
• Putting Amazing Back in Grace, by Michael Horton
• Chosen by God, by R. C. Sproul
• Election and Free Will, by Robert Peterson
• Chosen for Life, by Sam Storms
• Willing to Believe, by R. C. Sproul

John Piper’s Sermons on Predestination and Romans 9:

• Those Whom He Predestined He also Called, Pt 1 and Pt 2
• The Absolute Sovereignty of God: What Is Romans Nine About?
• Unconditional Election and the Invincible Purpose of God
• The Fame of His Name and the Freedom of Mercy
• The Freedom and Justice of God in Unconditional Election
• How God Makes Known the Riches of His Glory to the Vessels of Mercy
• God’s Ultimate Purpose: Vessels of Mercy Knowing the Riches of His Glory

Mark Driscoll’s Sermon Romans 9:

• Sermon Video
• Q&A Video
• Notes

Tonight (6:30 PM) we meet for the Lord’s Supper. It is a mingling of song, Scripture, and symbol for the purpose of remembrance. We hope you plan to come.

But what if you had a bad week spiritually? Should you still come, knowing that examination is part of Supper? John Piper answers that question well.

Can I take the Lord’s Supper if I’ve had a bad week spiritually?

It depends on the transaction of the moment, not the quality of the week gone by.

Nobody brings a successful week to the Lord’s Table, period. Nobody. We all call into question—and rightly—the effectiveness of our devotions or the quality of our communication with our kids. It’s never been perfect. Therefore, we bring to the table our sin.

That’s the point of the table. It is a recognition of our sin.

However, what you do in preparation—when you take stock of yourself—is that you confess all known sin. You do Psalm 19: “Cleanse me of hidden faults, and hold back your servant from presumptuous sins.”

So you pray specific confession for the sins you know, you pray general confession for the sins you’re unaware of, and you receive afresh the cleansing, the application of the blood of Christ (1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”).

Now, after you’ve appropriated afresh the work of Christ and are enjoying that forgiveness, you eat. And you eat worthily, not because you had a good week, but because you have a great Savior and are united with him by faith and are renouncing all those sins.

That’s what I encourage our people to do. “Set it right with God now, in these next three minutes.” And then as the trays come we celebrate that, we remember the foundation of that forgiveness, by eating.

Dr. Fred Zaspel, who is teaching at DSC this weekend, is an expert on B. B. Warfield, the greatest theologian in the English-speaking world in the last century.  In a special session with the staff, elders, and deacons yesterday, Fred mentioned that the best place to start reading B. B. Warfield’s work is his book, Faith and Life, which is a collection of some of his sermons.  If you’ve never read anything from Warfield before, this is a great book and its easy to just pick out a sermon or two to read.  You can even download the whole book for free at Google books here or purchase it here.

In view of our Sunday evening talk and Q&A with Fred Zaspel on Romans 9, let me point you to an article Fred wrote on a similar passage — John 1:11-13.

He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

What does it mean to be born of God? How do we come to receive Him? Fred answers these and other similar questions in a methodical, progressive, and clear way. His conclusion is:

To believe in Christ unto salvation requires much more than anything human life can produce. It is not a matter of ridding ourselves of our worst habits. It is not a matter of moral improvement. It requires such a drastic, such a thorough-going transformation that it cannot be brought about by anything we do or will. It is not a matter of human excellence; it is a matter of divine grace.

And so the Biblical writers are careful to tell us not only that “it is not of him that wills or of him that runs,” but also that “it is of God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9:16). They tell us not only that we must believe, but that “God works within us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). They tell us not only that we cannot do anything to birth ourselves into God’s family but also that God in Christ and by His Spirit does for us what we would not and could not do ourselves. They tell us that those who savingly confess Christ do so only “by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). True confession of faith in Christ is something that is entirely beyond us until we are so enabled by God the Spirit.

In other words, all this comes down to that one big word which we find everywhere in the Bible, and that word is grace. Salvation comes to us entirely from God’s side. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). It is His doing for us not because of us or even with us. It is His doing for us and in us. It is all a work of His grace; it all stems from His loving kindness.

Read the whole article to see how he comes to these conclusions from the passage itself. Some great, helpful, grace-glorifying stuff!

And we hope to see you Sunday. Fred will be preaching from Job in our Sunday AM services and, again, on Romans 9 that evening.