Scolding Puritans? 

Opening Banter and Show Updates

Welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry. It's been a couple of weeks since I've been in the studio. I don't know, just not feeling that good. Slowly pulling out of it. It's the cough that never ends.

The eight-week cough.

Interesting. Has the word cough ever used in the Bible? That's a good question. Did Jesus cough? Of course he did.

Because.

Humans cough. I came in with No Compromise Radio Ministry. Enough of that. Sound like I was going slow motion. Let's speed it up a little bit.

The book,.

Law Gospel Primer, you can get online as well as the mini version of Cancer's Not Your Shepherd. It's entitled Jesus and Cancer. And I'm working on another little booklet right now and trying to figure out the parenting book we shall see.

Those are my two projects for the year. I have a full-time job.

So.

We'll see when I get around to them. At nighttime, I usually try to write or on weekends, but then sometimes I just get tired. And then I watch on YouTube. This is what I typically watch. If I just need something on the background.

I'm kind of just paying bills online or something.

I watch.

Cops,.

Jail,.

Fridays with Frank, and those kind of cop shows. I'm a little tired today because my wife got into the Logan Airport, Boston Airport last night. I picked her up at 10 to midnight. So that means I got home around 1.

And then my daughter's flight from Phoenix was delayed and she got in at 2 .50 a .m. But I sent my daughter.

To go.

On that one because she doesn't have to work until later today. In front of me, I have a book called The Book of Useless Information. Thousands of Things You Didn't Think You Needed to Know and Probably Don't by Neil, or excuse me, Noelle Botham and the Useless Information Society.

I'm just going to randomly open this up. No wonder we're fat. A can of SPAM is opened every four seconds. The word SPAM is an acronym formed by.

What?

What's SPAM mean? Spiced ham. So the first two letters of spiced, the last two letters of ham,.

SPAM.

Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day. I like pizza, but I just have to scrape the top off now because it's not really keto. And SPAM, I haven't had SPAM for a long time. If you go to Hawaii, of course, I don't know if we have any Hawaiian listeners or listeners who live in Hawaii.

But anyway, they have tons of SPAM there. Jalapeno SPAM, pineapple SPAM. I mean the SKUs are many when it comes to grocery stores and SPAM.

There.

Mike Ebenroth again. This is No Compromise Radio Ministry.

Katrina’s Question About Puritan Scolding and the Practice of Piety

Today,.

I have something from a listener that we're going to talk about. Can you imagine? Yes, in fact, that's true. Something from a listener. Katrina. Katrina writes, Dear Mike, so far so good. It's not hate mail yet.

I listened to your Almost a Christian episode and enjoyed it.

Wow.

Recently, I was browsing the Monergism e-library and came across the Puritan Louis Bailey's book, The Practice of Piety. I began to read and saw many solid things mentioned at first like Christ imputed righteousness.

I'd say that's pretty solid. However, the more I read, the more I came across that scolding spirit that you refer to often instead of the balm of the gospel. I included some screenshots of things I came across and I wanted to know, am I correct in thinking he is in error?

Question mark. One quote that I thought was over the top.

Quote,.

Live as though there were no gospel. Die as though there were no law.

End quote.

Okay, let's think about that. Live like there's no gospel.

Okay,.

Walking around with no hope. To me, that's as dumb as saying, you know, evangelize like an Arminian or pray like an Arminian. Right? Pray like everything, you know, is on you. Die as though there were no law.

Like, you know, die like you're not going to be judged by the law. She says, talk about being suffocated. Living as though there's no gospel sounds so depressing. Well, you said depressing, Katrina. I just said dumb.

Anyway, you asked for show topic. So I thought I would suggest this one. So today, Mike Ebenroth, No Compromise Radio, Puritan Louis Bailey, B-A-Y-L-Y's book, The Practice of Piety.

Now,.

I have not read the book in its entirety. By the way, that's a good thing to do if you're going to critique things on the radio. But I don't have time. So in the old days, I would get books from publishers and I would have Wednesday interviews, right?

Every Wednesday, I'd have an interview. But I pretty much had to read the book. Sometimes I just scanned the book if I was conversant with it. But most of the time, I read it. And I just got tired of reading other books.

By the way, it's hard to write books if you're reading a lot of books. And that's one of the downsides of writing a book. Writing books is then you don't have time to read books. I've ramped up my reading.

These days.

So that's good.

So inversely, my writing has ramped it down.

I will say.

And Scott Clark is helpful in this area that just because you say Puritan doesn't really help so many kinds of Puritans. If you want to say an Anglican from the 1500s, that's maybe more helpful. If you want to say a gnomist in the 1600s at Kidderminster, Richard Baxter,.

That helps.

Some Puritans are really good. And some Puritans aren't so good. Some Puritans are really big on navel-gazing like the Matthew Mead book. Maybe he's written other books that aren't so much so. Some of the Puritans would not be good when it comes to bruised reeds.

And other ones would. So if you'd like to read Thomas Watson, I just was rereading his Body of Divinity. Not the whole thing, but the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. You know, it took me a long time to figure out that the mediator Jesus is prophet, priest, and king.

For the longest time in my mind,.

I just had.

Mediator, then next chapter, prophet, next chapter, priest, next chapter, king, next chapter, Lord, whatever those things might be. And it never really dawned on me that it was the mediator who is the prophet, priest, and king.

Reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1 .30. The wisdom from God that is, etc. So today on No Compromise Radio, I want to talk a little bit about scolding and prosecuting congregants. That's easy for me to say.

Spencer, if you want to take that out, that's fine. Today, I want to talk about prosecuting congregants or encouraging them through the lens of this email from Katrina on the practice of piety by Louis Bailey.

Matthew 7, Matthew 19, and Luke 13 on the Narrow Way

So what we're going to do, she gave me a couple screenshots, and I'm going to read them and then we'll talk about them. And again, only having these screenshots, not reading the whole book. Do not imagine that you can enter heaven by any shorter or easier way than Christ has shown in his word.

Good.

The way to heaven is neither easy nor common, but straight and narrow, Matthew 7 .14. Yes, so narrow that Christ declares that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 19. That those who enter are but few, Matthew 7 and Matthew 22.

That even those few cannot get in without striving, Luke 13. He further warns that some of those who are, who strive to enter will not be able. All God's saints, while they lived here, knew this well, which is why with so many fastings, such earnest prayers, such frequent hearing of the word and receiving of the sacraments, and with such abundance of tears, they devoutly begged at the hands of God for Christ's sake to be received into his kingdom.

End quote.

What do you think of that? What do you think of that section?

You want answers?

I do.

I want your answers.

I want the truth. You can't handle the truth.

Well,.

The first part of this paragraph that I read, obviously, he's just quoting certain Bible verses. But then it says, basically Christians living on earth, knowing these striving few to make it, etc. Is that's the reason why they had many fastings, earnest prayers, frequent hearing of the word and receiving of the sacraments and a bunch of tears, begging God to be received.

Do you think that's good? I don't like that at all. I don't think that's what we do. If you want to fast for whatever reason, you have the bridegroom, the Spirit of God dwells in you. You can fast if you want, but you don't need to fast.

We might talk about some things in Acts or choosing elders or something like that, but you're under no law to fast. Is it a sin not to fast? Of course not. If you'd like to fast,.

Fine.

I didn't eat today till noon. It had no religious significance. My stomach was growling. I probably was complaining that I was hungry. Earnest prayers. Am I against earnest prayers?

No.

It's been hard for me to pray lately. And so I've just been trying anyway. Does that resonate with some of you? It's been hard to pray. It's been hard to have a good attitude about prayer. I mean, not that I have a theologically bad idea of prayer.

I'm going to preach on prayer here in a couple weeks. And so now it's just kind of the struggle of prayer to have a good attitude, to cry like a son to a father for help and for his kingdom, for my obedience, a variety of those things.

And so I'm not against earnest prayers. Frequent hearing of the Word. Am I against that? Of course not. Sunday mornings, the most important thing that you can do, that is to attend. I mean, you go there and you attend, but then you are receiving good news.

You're receiving both law and gospel. Receiving of the sacraments. I couldn't be against that. And with such abundant tears, devoutly begging to be received in his kingdom. Now, if you'd like to cry and mourn over sins, James chapter 4 talks about people that are Christians, I think, who struggle with worldliness and spiritual adultery, where he says, you adulteresses.

And he gives 10 commands in verses 7 through 10, kind of short rapid-fire commands and cleanse your hands, you sinners, and draw near to God and he'll draw near to you. And one of those commands is to weep.

Is there anything wrong with being convicted and crying.

About.

How you've dishonored your father? Of course not. I'm not against any of those things, but I don't think you need to beg as Christians to be received into his kingdom. That's the point. Now, let's use the illustration of a father and a daughter, a father and a son, a mother and a son, a mother and a daughter.

Do they want to obey?

Yes.

And should they do what their parents say? Should they hear the parents? Should they talk to the parents? Let's talk about hearing the word in prayer. Those would be kind of good equivalents or close to it.

Cry when they disobey their parents or dishonor their.

Parents.

After all, one of the commandments is to honor your father and mother. I believe that's commandment. Number. What?

Five.

Can you name all the 10 commandments? Can you name the 10 commandments? Let's see if I can just give you the shortened version. 10 commandments are the most important thing about the commandments being the intro.

I'm the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of slavery, out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of.

Slavery.

Then one, no other gods. Two, no images. Three, don't take God's name in vain. Four, Sabbath. Five, honor your parents. Six, don't murder. Seven, don't commit adultery.

Eight,.

Don't steal. Nine, no false witness. Ten, don't covet. All right there.

I did it.

I did it.

I'm happy. Sometimes I have to get the order right. I kind of get, I almost think logically. Okay, don't steal. Sometimes I think that should precede adultery, like stealing somebody else's wife.

But it's specifically here.

Don't commit adultery and thou shalt not commit adultery and thou shalt not steal. But I don't have to beg, back to the point. I don't have to beg to get into God's kingdom. I believe and then when it comes to assurance, I can focus on the love of God, the promises of God, the person of God, the person of the Son of God, promises.

I already said that, promises.

All right, love.

I already said that, objective things. And then there's certainly subjective fruit and evidence of God's work in me, Spirit of God's work in my life, love, joy, and peace, etc. We've talked a lot about assurance.

But I'm not begging God to get in. Now, if you think maybe your faith isn't real, it's not really knowledge, assent, and trust. And so you say, God, you know, please. The begging part is on the front side, before salvation.

As God draws you, this is one of your responses. You're mourning over sin and you're begging God. But I don't think a child needs to beg a parent to stay in the family, to get in the family. They're already in the family.

So I really don't like that at all. And with Katrina, I think she's right. She gave me another screenshot of Louis Bailey. God spared the thief, but not his companion, Luke 23. God spared one that no man might despair, but God spared only one that no man should presume.

This is joyful assurance to the sinner who repents, but no comfort to him who remains impenitent. Okay, no problem. Think of Spurgeon, who said there's only one deathbed conversion in the Bible, so that A, you might have hope and B, you might not be presumptuous.

Same thing here. Spurgeon wrote after Louis Bailey. God is infinite in mercy, but only to those who turn from their sins to serve him in holiness without which man, no man shall see the Lord. Well, we could do a whole show on Hebrews 12, 14.

I suggest you.

Listen to Steve Baugh on Office Hours or go to Heidelblog and pull up Steve Baugh, Stephen Baugh,. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14. She's highlighted, live therefore as though there were no gospel, die as though there was no law.

Pass your life as though you were under the conduct of Moses, depart this life as though you knew none but Christ and him crucified. Presume not if you would not perish, repent if you would be.

Saved.

So here's the part I don't like, and even the title, The Practice of Piety. I mean, knowing some of these negative things makes me not.

Like the title.

I guess you could have a good title, The Practice of Piety, shorthand for something or other, living in light of Christ, union with Christ, something like.

That.

Here it says, depart this life as though you knew none but Christ. Okay. Fine. I'm dying in the hospital, COVID, pneumonia, 16 days there, thought I was a dead man walking, sending passwords to my wife.

Thinking about eternity, and you're thinking my only hope is Christ. Okay, that one's fine. But pass your life as though you were under the conduct of Moses. Again, I don't know the context here, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

How's that? Grandpa Mike, as Steve Meister calls me. Here's the benefit of the doubt. Pass your life as though you were under the conduct of Moses as the third use, rule, guide, normative, I don't mean norm.

Live your life under the law to guide you. The law in the hands of Christ.

Right?

Do good works, adorn the gospel, silence critics, increase your assurance, fruits and evidences, all stuff from Westminster, Savoy, and Second London. But if it's, you're under the law, like as a condemning first use, I don't think that's any way to live.

I mean, that seems like what he's saying here. If you live as though there was no gospel. Well, if there's no gospel, then there's no third use of.

The law.

There's condemning use. So what a bad way to live. Mike Avendroth, No Compromise Radio. Louis Bailey, Practice of Piety. Good news or not. Next screenshot from Katrina. Though no man can say as Christ did, which of you convicts me of sin?

John 8. Yet every regenerate Christian can say of himself, which of you can convict me of being an adulterer, fornicator, swearer, drunkard, thief,.

Usurer,.

An oppressor, proud, malicious, covetous, Sabbath-breaker, liar, and neglecter of God's public service? Are any such other gross sin?

Okay.

It's getting worse. And then he says, I mean, how'd you like to live with somebody like this? Otherwise, he's no true Christian. When a man cast off the duty of being ruled by God's law, God gives him over to be ruled by his own lust, the surest sign of a reprobate mind, Romans 1.

Dear Christian, with your body or your minds, since you're a Christian, have you ever thought adulterous thoughts, fornicating thoughts,.

Swear,.

Had too much to drink, a thief, a user, oppressor? How about the next one?

Proud,.

Malicious, covetous, a neglecter of God's public service? See, what people like this do is they make the law light. It's similar to what Rome does with, you know, I didn't really obey the law, but I wanted to, I was sincere about it.

Sin, sira, without wax. This is bad. You know, not that long ago, I heard Piper say, John Piper say that if you struggle with the same sins, if you're in Christ for 30 years, that you did at the beginning of your walk, you struggle with those same things at the end of your walk.

How can you be a Christian? I mean, I don't want to struggle with these sins,.

But let's just pick out.

Proud and covetous. Okay, I've never committed adultery, never cheated on my wife. I don't look at pornography. I've been married, 36 years. I don't think I've looked at pornography one time in 36 years.

Things have popped up on my screen when I used to have PCs and not Mac, that stuff. But I haven't, I haven't committed adultery. Now, if you ask me if I've looked at a woman with lust, have you? Well, maybe you're a woman, so looked at a man with lust.

I mean, the law is a law. It's unbendable. It's inflexible because God's righteousness and his holiness and his justice are the same. Inflexible, unbendable, unchangeable. So, he's basically saying, if you can convict somebody of being proud or covetous, then he's not a true Christian.

Newsflash, Christian sin,.

Sadly,.

Newsflash, Jesus died for the sins of Christians too. See Rod Rosenblatt's great article, In Christ the Lord, edited by Michael Horton, a must read. Bad, this is bad news. Katrina's right. Next little excerpt from Lewis Bailey.

Bailey,.

To be rich in good works is the surest foundation for assurance of obtaining eternal life. First Timothy 6. For good works are the true fruits of a true faith, which apprehends Christ in his obedience unto salvation.

That second part is awesome. True fruits, great. The surest foundation for assurance is not good works. That's the second. Surest is person work of Jesus, promises, love of God in.

Christ.

Get a book called Gospel Assurance on it. No other faith, Bailey says, avails in Christ except that which works through love. Galatians 5, 6. And except in the act of justification, that faith which alone justifies is never alone.

Okay, I believe faith which justifies alone is never alone.

Okay, we get that.

That's Luther. But always accompanied by good works is the tree by its fruit, the sun by its light, the fire by its heat, the water by its.

Moisture.

The faith which does not justify itself by good works before men is but dead faith.

Okay,.

That's vindication language there. Justify, we think of vindication. Which will never justify or vindicate a man's soul before God, James 2. But justifying faith purifies the heart and sanctifies the whole man, Acts 15, Acts 16, 1 Thessalonians 5.

So here the error is not as great because most evangelicals make this error and they think assurance is primarily and only, sadly, in many cases, fruits and evidences. They don't go back to the objective work of Jesus.

Mike Ebenroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry. Thinking about maybe Mondays, it's a sermon, Friday's a rerun, and Wednesday is the show. Thinking about that. I don't know how many people listen every single day.

If you listen every day, you should let me know. Maybe, you know, once a week is probably good, but then we play the sermon and then there's a rerun to just put up there.

We'll see.

Works, Assurance, and Judgment in the Final Excerpt

Last quote from Katrina, a listener and a very big giver. You know, for me to do a whole show, it should cost Katrina, don't you think?

JK.

Whoever, therefore, after reaching the age of discretion, I don't know what that is, does not bring forth good works after being called, cannot be saved. Neither was he ever predestined, or here it says predestinated, to eternal life.

Folk, Rames Testament, annotations on Ephesians 2. Now, that looks like it's the Catholic Bible, so I don't know the paragraph before here. So I have to give him a pass on this because I don't know what he's saying.

It almost sounds like there's, he's quoting this Rames Testament. If in fact it is Roman Catholic, that's my guess. Dewey Rames. Therefore, Scripture declares that Christ will reward every man according to his works.

Romans 2, 6. Found in Romans 6 and 7. Christ considers nothing but their works in the angels of the seven churches. Revelation 2. And on the last day, he will grant the heavenly inheritance only to those who have done good works, such as feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.

On that day, righteousness shall wear the crown. Matthew 25, 2nd Timothy 4. No righteousness, no crown, no good works. According to man's talent, no reward from God except vengeance. Romans 2, 8. I feel Katrina's pain.

I feel her pain. Remember Revelation 20. Your names are written in the book or your deeds are written in the book. If your deeds are written in the book, you'll be judged on your deeds. Those are unbelievers.

If your name is written in the book, where are the deeds? The deeds are all covered. Paid for by the Lord Jesus. Your name's in the book. You don't get judged based on your deeds. How could you? You have perfect righteousness.

Your sins been paid for perfectly. You're in Christ.

Sealed.

Paid in full are your sins. Perfect righteousness credited. He will grant the heavenly inheritance only to those who have done good works. Such as feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. By the way, have you ever clothed the naked?

I gave some money to Goodwill. Now, some might say, well, grant the heavenly inheritance. That's just like rewards. Nonetheless, I don't think so. I think on No Compromise Radio today, we've quite established that you ought not to be reading the practice of piety because it's going to be a noose around your neck.

It's what it's going to be to strangle you and to suffocate.

You.

And to use my language. Very dumb to use Katrina's language. Sounds depressing. Mike Ebenroth, No Compromise Radio. Read Jerry Bridges instead. Read the New Testament instead. Read Gospel Assurance instead.

Mike Ebenroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry. You can write me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com. Good job, Katrina.