A Tour of the Office/Study (in pictures)

I've been wanting to give you a tour of my study for a few years now. For the 2 of you who care, here you go:

This is what you will see when you walk in the door. I've got a great window that allows plenty of sunlight and access to all sorts of birds and creatures that don't know I'm watching them.

I always put the commentaries of the book I'm preaching through right on my desk for easy access. We are doing a summer series through Psalms right now.

I've turned my closet into a prayer closet. This is a custom prayer bench I had made about 5 years ago. I have a copy of our church prayer directory there and try to pray through it twice a month.

I have my books arranged in categories. The left shelf is biographies, preaching, bible study, theology, marriage, etc. The other left shelves are arranged alpha by author. The 2 right shelves are all my commentaries arranged by book of the Bible.

A closer view of one of the shelves. Works of Owen and Bunyan.

The commentary shelves are directly across from my desk.

These pictures are the most popular aspect of my office. They are clearly visible when you walk in and everyone wants to guess who they are. Top: Calvin and Luther. Bottom: Edwards and Tyndale.

The Piper shelf (that is no longer able to hold all my Piper books).

Books on the Cross, the church, and Piper overflow.

Our church covenant signed by the first members of Christ Baptist.

And no office is complete without a "snack drawer." This is my kids' favorite part of my office.


So, what do you think? What am I missing?

Study the Gospel

Everyone is an expert in something. I challenge you to become a gospel expert. Wherever you are, whatever you know, why not pursue from this day forward to become an expert in the gospel?

Martin Luther said the gospel cannot be grasped well enough.

So, no matter how much gospel knowledge and affection you have, admit today that you have not arrived. You do not have a firm enough grasp on the gospel (and neither do I).

So, study the gospel, friends, study the gospel. Develop and enlarge your knowledge of and affection for the fact that Christ died for our sins.

One of the ways you can seek to strengthen your grip on the gospel is to read Bible-saturated books that seek to explain the gospel.

Here are some basic recommendations to get you started:

Beginners who are just beginning:

1. Living the Cross-Centered Life by CJ Mahaney

2. A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent

3. Outrageous Mercy by William Farley

4. The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges

5. Fifity Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper

Beginners who have already begun:

1. The Cross of Christ by John Stott

2. Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

3. God is the Gospel by John Piper

4. The Great Exchange by Jerry Bridges

5. In My Place Condemned He Stood by Packer and Dever

(This final book will then serve to point you to hundreds of other resources on the Gospel.)

Strategy for Seeing the Savior in Scripture

We all have times where our Bible reading becomes dull and boring. This is sin. We should repent for not having hearts that are enthralled with God's Word.

After repenting and appropriating the gospel, we should then fight to see wonderful things in God's Word.

Here is one practical suggestion for fighting through stagnant Bible reading:
Get some paper and start copying what you are reading on that paper. Just write God's Word slowly and carefully. Writing is a way of intentionally meditating on Scripture. Writing forces you to think about each word and forces you to ponder how verses relate to each other.

So, give it a shot. Can you carve out 30 minutes sometime today to just write a paragraph of Scripture and meditate on it (maybe during your lunch break)?

Of course, don't forget to look for Jesus. All Scripture points to Him.

Piper gives this same advice about writing in When I Don't Desire God, pp. 123-124.

4 Ways to Study The Bible

Christians should love to study God’s Word. It is a sad testimony to our remaining sin that we are often bored with the Bible and resistant to study it. One of the means and effects of pursuing maturity is a deeper desire to study God’s Word. Here are four practical helps to assist you in studying the most precious book on earth:

1. Study the Bible repentantly.
James 1:21 says, “Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The reason we aren’t transformed by Scripture as we should be is mainly because our own wickedness keeps us from receiving and applying the Bible to our lives. This is the point of the parable Jesus told about the different kinds of soils. The seed is the same for each type of soil. In the first three types of soil, the Word is kept from thriving because of thorns, weeds, and rocks. So, when you come to God’s Word, spend some time confessing and forsaking your sin and freshly embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. As you read, identify specific ways in which you have rebelled and find yourself rejoicing in Christ.

2. Study the Bible prayerfully.
Ephesians 4:18 says that, apart from Christ, we are darkened in our understanding. On our own, we will never be able to understand and apply God’s Word. We need God’s help to open our eyes and allow us to see His glory. Thus, the Psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in Your word” (Psalm 119:18). The Psalmist understood that he needed God’s help and so he asked God for supernatural assistance. Our constant plea should be, “Help” as we read God’s Word. Charles Spurgeon said, “If you would understand the Word of God in its difficult points, if you would comprehend the mystery of the gospel of Christ, remember, Christ’s scholars must study upon their knees.”

3. Study the Bible constantly.
Psalm 1 encourages us to meditate on God’s Word “day and night.” We are to not just study the Bible every now and then. We are to study the Bible all the time. This makes sense doesn’t it? Maximum exposure to God’s Word will lead to maximum transformation in our lives. Donald Whitney wrote, “Little Bible intake will result in little resemblance to God’s Son.” Let’s figure out ways to maximize our intake of Scripture.

4. Study the Bible purposefully.
What should be our purpose in studying the Bible? I propose that we should not study Scripture merely to gain information (although that will certainly happen), but to study the Bible in order to encounter Jesus Christ. Every page, chapter, story, command, and event is meant to reveal the glory of the Savior. The Bible is not merely a manual for how to live successfully. The Bible reveals God’s sovereign purposes to center everything in the universe on Jesus Christ. John Calvin said, “The scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in them.” Whenever we lose sight of the hill of Calvary, we have lost our way.

Thankful for God’s Word,
Pastor Justin

Why Study Greek and Hebrew?

“I have firmly decided to study Greek, nobody except God can prevent it. It is not a matter of personal ambition but one of understanding the most Sacred Writings.” –Ulrich Zwingli

“It is a sin and shame not to know our own book or to understand the speech and words of our God; it is still greater sin and loss that we do not study languages, especially in these days when God is offering and giving us men and books and every facility and inducement to this study, and desires his Bible to be an open book. O how happy the dear fathers would have been if they had our opportunity to study the languages and come thus prepared to the Holy Scriptures! What great toil and effort it cost them to gather up a few crumbs, while we with half the labor—yes, almost without any labor at all—can acquire the whole loaf! O how their effort puts our indolence to shame!” – Martin Luther (1482-1546)

“Without languages we could not have received the gospel. Languages are the scabbard that contains the sword off the Spirit; they are the case which contains the priceless jewels of antique thought; they are the vessel that holds the wine; and as the gospel says, they are baskets in which the loaves and fishes are kept to feed the multitude. If we neglect the literature we shall eventually lose the gospel…No sooner did men cease to cultivate the languages than Christendom declined, even until it fell under the undisputed dominion of the pope…In former times the fathers were frequently mistaken, because they were ignorant of the languages and in our days there are some who, like the Waldenses, do not think the languages are any use; but although their doctrine is good, they have often erred in the real meaning of the sacred text; they are without arms against error, and I fear much that their faith will not remain pure.” –Martin Luther

“It is certain that unless the languages remain, the Gospel must finally perish.” – Martin Luther