Dr Paul Allen

St. Louis de Montfort taught that the goal of Marian consecration is "holiness": the gradual sanctification of the soul, so focus turns away from self-love and towards the love of God through Mary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Sanctification is a fundamentally internal and supernatural work. And so true holiness of heart is not something that we can accomplish directly in ourselves. Instead we learned, secondly, that sanctification is a sovereign work of the Spirit of God . The Scriptures everywhere attribute that work to Him. But while it’s unmistakable that the Spirit is the sovereign agent of sanctification, that fact in no way contradicts the reality that He effects this transformation through the use of means which the believer must appropriate. God has ordained that the Spirit accomplish this glorious work through means. So when Scripture commands us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, it is commanding us to make diligent use of the means the Spir...

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” ( Ephesians 1:5-6 ) Predestination involves the eternal, inscrutable counsels of the infinite Creator , it is evidently impossible for finite humans to comprehend its full meaning. But we don’t have to understand it before we can rejoice in its truth. The Scriptures (especially our text) teach that the purpose of God ’s predestinating work is that we might glorify Him and His amazing grace! We have been predestinated to become adopted sons of God, “to the praise of the glory of his grace.” Then it is said that we have been predestinated to a great inheritance, in order “that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ ” (v. 12). We have been “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” and, again, this is all “unto the praise of his glory” (vv...

English: Saint Peter given the keys. Rubens. In the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. Print 3731. From “An Illustrated Commentary on the Gospel of Mark” by Phillip Medhurst. Section L. the Messiah revealed. Mark 8:27-38, 9:1-8. http://pdfcast.org/pdf/an-illustrated-commentary-by-phillip-medhurst-on-the-gospel-of-mark-section-k-to-m (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1. Pray for a Hunger for the Bible . If the goal of the church is Christlikeness , then the diet for the church must be the Bible. After all, it is the Bible that God uses to make the child of God more like the Son of God (John  17:17 ). Therefore, we can pray that the church would be filled with people who hunger for hearing from God in their private devotions, public gatherings, and conversations with other believers. Imagine the impact of a church full of people who wake up eager to come and hear the Word preached  on Sunday  morning. Imagine a church that longs to open the Bible each morning to disc...

Oil painting of a young John Calvin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Holiness consists in conformity to Christ . Calvin writes, "Because the Father has reconciled us to Himself in Christ, therefore He commands us to be conformed to Christ as to our pattern." Indeed, he continues, "Unless we ardently and prayerfully devote ourselves to Christ's righteousness we do not only faithlessly revolt from our Creator, but we also abjure Him as our Savior." This is strong language. The word  ardently  conveys the idea of eager zealousness, or as we might say today, "going all out" or "giving 100 percent." The word  abjure  means "to renounce strongly," as in Peter's third denial of the Lord when "he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, 'I do not know the man'" ( Matt. 26:74). Calvin leaves no room for a middle ground. Either we ardently pursue the example of Christ or else we strongly renounce Him by o...

Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, alabaster, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) If there be therefore any consolation in Christ , if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." ( Philippians 2:1-2 ) Churches haven't changed much in 2,000 years. The call to unity in these verses is as needed now as it has always been. Let us examine the prerequisites for unity found here. Consolation in Christ: The Greek word translated "consolation" is frequently translated "exhortation," and that seems appropriate here. The "exhortation in Christ" immediately follows this passage where His beautiful life of humility becomes the exhortation to unity among believers, since disunity ultimately comes from pride ( v. 3 ). Comfort of love: Comfort could be rendered "enco...

Horatius Bonar (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Is there a silver bullet for increasing Christlikeness ? It’s doubtful that speaking like that will bring more clarity than confusion. But there is biblical precedent for talk about finding “the secret.” In Philippians 4:11–13, the apostle Paul , having thanked his friends for their generous provision of his needs, concedes, Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. There it is, “the secret.” Paul says he’s learned “the secret” for contentment in any situation: Jesus, the one who gives his soul strength. If there’s a secret for contentment, might there be any help in talking similarly about “the secret” to sanctification? It’s a risk, but one that may be worth taking, i...