Beeke, Joel R.
How Should We Consider Christ in Affliction? - Cultivating Biblical Godliness Series (Beeke)
Description
Hebrews 3:1 and 12:3 tell us that the most effective means for enduring affliction is to consider Christ, the fountainhead of all vital Christianity. But how, you ask, and in what ways must I consider Him?
In this booklet, Joel R. Beeke shows how our consideration of the passion, power, presence, patience and perseverance, prayers, plenitude, preciousness, promises, purposes, and plan of Christ provide strength for living through and profiting from the deepest sorrows of this world. Seek grace to live Christianly today in and through your afflictions, and you will soon discover with the apostle, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
Contents
The Passion of Christ
The Power of Christ
The Presence of Christ
The Patience and Perseverance of Christ
The Prayers of Christ
The Plentitude of Christ
The Preciousness of Christ
The Promises of Christ
The Purposes of Christ
The Plan of Christ
Conclusion: Keep Your Eye on Christ
Series Description
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that what the church needs to do most all is “to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings. They would say, ‘What is the secret of this?’” As Christians, one of our greatest needs is for the Spirit of God to cultivate biblical godliness in us in order to put the beauty of Christ on display through us, all to the glory of the triune God. With this goal in mind, this series of booklets treats matters vital to Christian experience at a basic level. Each booklet addresses a specific question in order to inform the mind, warm the affections, and transform the whole person by the Spirit’s grace, so that the church may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
Endorsement
“This world is ever filled with storms and affliction. No one can pass through it without experiencing the challenges of both. But as a storm can sometimes clear a path as well as create disruption, so affliction, when sanctified by the Holy Spirit, brings blessings more precious than gold. Specifically, as Dr. Beeke powerfully demonstrates from Scripture, afflictions drive the Christian to the ultimate true balm in this world of woe, the Lord Jesus. Afflictions can thus be a means of grace, highlighting for us and reminding us of the saving sufficiency of the Lord Jesus in all our circumstances. Enormously helpful!” — Michael A. G. Haykin, chair and professor of church history and director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky
About the Author
Joel R. Beeke is president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and a pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan.