West London Alliance Church

The Blog of Pastor Jude St. John

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First published October 11, 2009From Triumph over Temptation: Sin is universal in its enmity towards God. "If there were some attribute of act of God that was not enmity to sin, the soul could find shelter there. But there is none, for enmity lies against all of God and everything wherein or whereby we relate to God. Sin is enmity to God
One common struggle I see in believers, particularly believers of the North American kind, is in regards to the appreciation and enjoyment of earthly things. How should believers engage with entertainment? What should be our heart posture in regards to a brand new SUV with all the creature comforts one could imagine? How should we think about

TBT@ITT: John Owen on Sin as Aversion to God

Originally posted on October 12, 2009From Triumph Over Temptation by John Owen as edited by James M. Houston under the subtitle Sin Is Aversion of God: "The actions and operations of sin are twofold: first by aversion and second by opposition." (57)"Sin is first of all aversion of God. Sin is indisposed to duty whereby communion

Interpreting Parables

Having just preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan—Luke 10:29-37—I thought I would share a little bit about understanding and interpreting parables. There are many, many resources out there to help with understanding this particular Biblical genre. These resources are important, of course, because parables are part of
From October 14, 2009:The Deceit of Indwelling SinThese quotes have been gleaned from Triumph Over Temptation by John Owen as edited by James M. Houston. They come from the third chapter entitled The Deceit of Indwelling Sin.Every lust is deceitful-not inherently so, but because of what is communicated to it by this law of sin.
I’m still working the through The Works of John Newton as per my reading plan for 2019. Thanks to 24 hours of flight time in going to Iraq and returning home, I am back on pace to finish all 6 volumes by the end of the year. In Volume 5, which I am in now, you will find a collection of letters John Newton wrote to his wife while he was

TBT@ITT: John Frame on a Loving/Hating God

From October 23, 2009:This is interesting: "God is love," then, implies that from eternity past, God has had an implacable hatred of evil. That hatred is not separable from his perfect nature. It is a necessary and defining attribute, not a merely accidental or relational one. "God hates evil" gives us a profound description of his character.
We have been studying the Book of Ruth in our life group. In this season we have decided to simply study God’s Word. Not a book. Not a video series. Not even any Bible study resources. We just gather around God’s Word and, with the help of God’s Spirit, endeavour to engage with Scripture. It has been wonderful. One aspect of

TBT@ITT: Jonathan Edwards on God's Testing

From November 7, 2009:Jonathan Edwards explains that God does not test men so He can find evidence they are indeed sincere. Rather, He test them, already knowing their response to the test, so that He can show them where their hearts are. For when God is said by these things to try men, and prove them, to see what is in their hearts, and