Scott Estes

Christian, Husband to Susanne, Father of two, 1689 Baptist. @AuburnU grad. War Eagle!

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

@TomHicks2LCF Brother, this is so very good!

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

There are two distinct but inseparable blessings in Christ. The first is substitution; the second is participation. The first is Christ for us; the second is Christ in us. The first is the ground of assurance; the second confirms our assurance. The first is being adopted as sons; the second is being made son-like. The first is imputation; the second is transformation. The first gives us the right to life; the second gives us the experience of life. The first is outside of us; the second is inside of us. Healthy Christianity does not prefer one of these over the other, but loves and prefers both in the right order.

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

“The essence of evangelism is to start by preaching the law; and is because the law has not been preached that we have had so much superficial evangelism…”—Martyn Lloyd-Jones

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

Regarding union with Christ: “Our sense of communion with Christ may vary, but the reality of our union with Him never does.”—Sinclair Ferguson

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

@sola_chad 💯

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

@JeffreyPWiesner As a man who will be 60 later this year this is an encouraging word, brother!

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

“Union with Christ, which we experience through faith, is not first of all grounded in our faith but is rooted in God’s gracious choice…Our faith falters, but this does not mean our union with Christ falters, because it is grounded in God's eternal purpose.”—Sinclair Ferguson

[Whitney Mathis @Whit179]

“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” (John 5:22-23)

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

“…the dominant emphasis in Apostolic preaching and teaching is not that we let Christ into our hearts but that we get out of ourselves and into Him.” —Sinclair Ferguson

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

Psalm 16:11:

“You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”—John the Baptist.

Lord, may my own heart and the hearts of all my brothers and sisters in Christ more fully embrace this truth as a necessity for our lives!

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

I have no words. But Ben Sasse does have words and while heart-wrenching they are also hopeful and God-glorifying.

[Ben Sasse @BenSasse]

Friends-

This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.

Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.

I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.” Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all.

Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. I can’t begin to describe how great my people are. During the past year, as we’d temporarily stepped back from public life and built new family rhythms, Melissa and I have grown even closer — and that on top of three decades of the best friend a man could ever have. Seven months ago, Corrie was commissioned into the Air Force and she’s off at instrument and multi-engine rounds of flight school. Last week, Alex kicked butt graduating from college a semester early even while teaching gen chem, organic, and physics (she’s a freak). This summer, 14-year-old Breck started learning to drive. (Okay, we’ve been driving off-book for six years — but now we’ve got paper to make it street-legal.) I couldn’t be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints.

There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.

Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say “hope” when what we mean is “optimism.” To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son.

A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears.

Such is the calling of the pilgrim. Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city — with foundations and without cancer — is not yet.

Remembering Isaiah’s prophecies of what’s to come doesn’t dull the pain of current sufferings. But it does put it in eternity’s perspective:
“When we've been there 10,000 years…We've no less days to sing God's praise.”

I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape.

But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatments, but more importantly as we celebrate Christmas, we wish you peace: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned….For to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9).

With great gratitude, and with gravelly-but-hopeful voices,
Ben — and the Sasses

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

I need to pray more about rejoicing in my sufferings because doing so glorifies God.

[Tom Hicks @TomHicks2LCF]

The cross of Christ involves both law and gospel in all three modes.

1. Law: Our horrible sins mean that only the painful and shameful death of God the Son, under the curse of the law, could reconcile us to God. This is how wicked our sins are.

2. Gospel: Christ’s willing and loving death for our sins graciously purchased for us complete forgiveness, justification, assurance, peace with God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, sanctification, and eternal life.

3. Gospel obedience: Christ’s taking up the cross is an example for us to follow by faith. He forgave His murderers, so must we. He loved others and honored God as He hung on the cross. So must we, not for life but from life.

Therefore the true preaching of the cross involves preaching both law and gospel in all its fullness.

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

@lukestamps I only listened a little but enough to know you are actually being kind in your assessment.

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

@TomHicks2LCF Thanks for sharing, brother. I’m thankful for Pastor Fred Malone’s impact on so many, including you. For I am forever grateful to the Lord for how He has used you in my life!

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

@RedeemedRags It’s a song by the band Bread from 1972: “Baby I’m-A Want You.” It was driving me crazy because I know the song so I googled lyrics 😁. Kind of a strange title!

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

Thomas Boston on God raising people from the grave: 

“It is absurd for men to deny that God can do a thing , because they see not how it may be done. How small a portion do we know of his ways!”

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

Note: The requirement of God’s law is perfection. Only Christ has met this requirement so it is only in our union with Him that we are enabled to truly do good. Therefore, only in Christ may we receive “the resurrection of life”!

[Scott Estes @sscottestes]

“Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”—John 5:28-29