There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Charles Gregg Singer was born in Philadelphia on June 3, 1910. His parents were Arthur Gregg and Edith Elizabeth Singer. He graduated magna cum laude from Haverford College in 1933 and received his Masters (1935) and Doctorate (1940) from the University of Pennsylvania. At one point during his years at the University, he served as chauffeur for Dr. J. Gresham Machen, when Machen was speaking on campus.
During World War II, Dr. Singer was the director of the War Manpower Commission in Illinois, and later was appointed to serve on the staff of the US Senate Commission investigating the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Dr. Singer was a highly skilled historian and an excellent teacher. His academic career included posts at Wheaton College, Salem College, the University of Pennsylvania, Belhaven College, Montreat-Anderson, Catawba College, Furman University, and the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies. He was also among the founding faculty at the Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and he was teaching there at the time of his death, on March 22, 1999.
Dr. Singer knew the value of history for the Christian. The Christian faith is historically based, being particularly founded on the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is eternally the Second Person of the one Triune God. History matters, as it is the unveiling of God’s redemptive and providential plan.
John Calvin – (1509-1564) French reformer and theologian
Born July 10, 1509 in Noyon, France, Jean Calvin was raised in a staunch Roman Catholic family. The local bishop employed Calvin’s father as an administrator in the town’s cathedral. The father, in turn, wanted John to become a priest. Because of close ties with the bishop and his noble family, John’s playmates and classmates in Noyon (and later in Paris) were aristocratic and culturally influential in his early life
However, by 1527 Calvin had developed friendships with individuals who were reform-minded. These contacts set the stage for Calvin’s eventual switch to the Reformed faith. Also, at this time Calvin’s father advised him to study law rather than theology.
By 1528 Calvin moved to Orleans to study civil law. The following years found Calvin studying in various places and under various scholars, as he received a humanist education. By 1532 Calvin finished his law studies and also published his first book, a commentary on De Clementia by the Roman philosopher, Seneca. The following year Calvin fled Paris because of contacts with individuals who through lectures and writings opposed the Roman Catholic Church. It is thought that in 1533 Calvin experienced the sudden and unexpected conversion that he writes about in his foreword to his commentary on the Psalms.
For the next three years, Calvin lived in various places outside of France under various names. He studied on his own, preached, and began work on his first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, an instant best seller. By 1536 Calvin had disengaged himself from the Roman Catholic Church and made plans to permanently leave France and go to Strasbourg. However, war had broken out between Francis I and Charles V, so Calvin decided to make a one-night detour to Geneva.
But Calvin’s fame in Geneva preceded him. Farel, a local reformer, invited him to stay in Geneva and threatened him with God’s anger if he did not. Thus began a long, difficult, yet ultimately fruitful relationship with that city. He began as a lecturer and preacher, but by 1538 was asked to leave because of theological conflicts. He went to Strasbourg until 1541. His stay there as a pastor to French refugees was so peaceful and happy that when in 1541 the Council of Geneva requested that he return to Geneva, he was emotionally torn. He wanted to stay in Strasbourg but felt a responsibility to return to Geneva. He did so and remained in Geneva until his death May 27, 1564. Those years were filled with lecturing, preaching, and the writing of commentaries, treatises, and various editions of the Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Chris Martin used to write at his blog Millennial/Evangelical, which is now defunct. FYI, Hardcover or paperback books never go defunct, but online essays come and go like milkweed seeds in the wind. OK, old lady rant over, lol.
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In 2015 he wrote a piece called 3 Bad Reasons to Leave Your Church which is in archive mode now. The link works. Mr Martin is currently content director for Moody Radio and keeps a substack instead of a blog now.
I had not read a great quantity of articles at his site, but I did enjoy this piece. At the bottom of it, he has a link to a companion piece called 3 Good Reasons to Leave Your Church. Here is his archived essay ‘3 Bad Reasons’ opening paragraph:
“Stop treating your local church like your high school girlfriend, and start treating it like the bride of Christ.”
“You don’t leave the church when it doesn’t share the same musical interests, when it hurts your feelings, or when a newer, more popular one catches your eye.“
“The people of God, the Church around the world, is the bride of Christ, and the bride of Christ deserves the faithfulness of a bride, not the summer crush you bailed on when you were a jerk in college.“
And in like manner Mr Martin did indeed write about 3 ‘good’ reasons to leave your church. In the former (the bad reasons) they were trivial and self-serving. But sometimes there arises an issue in one’s church which violate one’s conscience, harms the sheep, or otherwise provide a basis for a holy reason to leave. Here are his opening paragraphs about ‘good’ reasons to leave:
On Wednesday I shared “3 Bad Reasons to Leave Your Church.” That sort of piece is common, almost a rite of passage for Christian bloggers these days. As I was brainstorming some blog posts the other day, I realized that I’ve read a bunch of posts on why not to leave your church, but I’ve read very few on reasons why you should leave your church. Allow me a bit of disclaimer as well: even among these “good” reasons to leave your church—it is my hope, as one who deeply cares about the local church, that even these problems wouldn’t cause you to leave. My hope is that somehow you could work through the problems listed below, stay at your church, and see them through to health and new life. However, not everyone is in a position to enact major change in their churches, so leaving may be the best option, unfortunately. Here are three good reasons to leave your church…
I recently left my church. I left in good standing and with recommendations from my elders to the church I’m currently a member of now. It was a plant to which I’d been a member since before the first service when we were praying and organizing. One of the elders who planted it had been my Sunday School teacher for 5 years prior to that. It was very hard to leave. I miss him so much to this day.
EPrata photo. Leaving your church is hard. It SHOULD be hard, anyway.
I left for 3 reasons. I’d had an issue since 2 years into the plant, then another issue cropped up 5 years later, then a final issue which cemented my decision to depart. I’d prayed for the elders and been a submitted member the entire time I was wrestling with my issues, but eventually, the Spirit in me made it clear in the way He makes it clear, that it was acceptable to depart. My first and longest-lasting issue was my church’s eschatology.
This week on Twitter/X I saw a poll and a discussion about eschatology which brought to mind this issue of whether to leave a church over its eschatology. The question was, “If your church required a specific end-times view to become a member, would you agree with that policy, though you held that same view of the end-times?“
I haven’t thought through the part about a membership requirement, but it brought to mind the issue of a church member believing differently on Last Things than their church teaches.
I noticed two things about the replies. Everyone called Eschatology (Doctrine of Last Things) a ‘secondary doctrine’. In purely theological terms a secondary doctrine is one that isn’t salvific, that is, requires a person to believe in if they are to be considered saved. The Deity of Christ is an Essential Doctrine. In addition, most of the Essential Doctrines contain a biblically stated penalty for NOT believing. CARM.org calls them Essential Doctrines and outlines them here.
Then there are Secondary Doctrines, AKA Non-Essential Doctrines that don’t touch on one’s salvation. Believing in the timing of Jesus’ return or the specific sequence of end-time events, isn’t a doctrine that illustrates that a person is unsaved. It’s not that the doctrine isn’t important when we call it ‘Secondary’ or ‘Non-essential’, but that it isn’t a biblical mandate to believe.
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CARM asked this question about secondary doctrines: Women pastors is not an essential doctrine, so why worry about it?Shouldn’t we just let those with whom we disagree go ahead and believe what they do about women pastors and not worry about it? The answer is that we should be concerned – very concerned. The reason is that in order to justify having women pastors and elders, several Scriptures need to be reinterpreted.”
If you’re interested, CARM has a Doctrine Grid here. Last Things is classified on CARM’s page as a secondary non-essential, “Any of them can be denied or affirmed, and regeneration is not questioned.”
But that does not mean these secondary non-essentials are insignificant. They are significant. All doctrines in the Bible are tied together with a thread, all of them touch on all the others. In order to believe certain stances, the interpreter needs to change his interpretive method and/or blatantly discount other clearly stated verses. So though a Last Things doctrine isn’t salvific, it comprises a third of the Bible and are a hinge point for many other interpretations and doctrines. It informs the preacher’s hermeneutic, that is, the WAY they interpret all the scriptures. And the way your pastor interprets the scriptures touches every person under his authority.
The second thing I noticed about the Twitter discussion of Last Things and membership was that though most people said ‘nah, do not require a specific eschatological stance for membership, don’t divide over non-essentials…EXCEPT…’ and then the person would state his exception. ‘Except if they believe preterism…except if they want to become a leader…except if they become divisive over it…’
I agree that Eschatology isn’t salvific, but it’s more important than one would think. The Prophets taught on it. It’s taught in the Gospels, referenced in Corinthians, Thessalonians, 2 Peter, and of course Revelation, among other mentions.
Eschatology informs us as to what to think and how to act when certain things come to pass. Eschatology makes certain demands and commands of us, as in Matthew 24, 2 Peter 3, and 1 Thessalonians.
Also, believing alternately from your elders and your church friends creates difficulties and temptations for the member. Several of the Twitter comments referenced this. When one signs on the dotted line to become a member of a church, often there is a clause with asks the prospective member to submit to the church’s teaching.
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In my case, as some of my friends studied and came to eschatological conclusions different from the teaching of our church, they came to me to ask about it. I always referred them to the elders if they had questions. We had open and approachable elders, a blessing. If they insisted to know my stance, I told them in general, but again strongly referred to the elders. If a member goes around teaching something different behind the Elders’ backs, it is divisive and causes confusion and a stumbling block.
This caused me a temptation to teach differently. My conscience was caught between needing to be a submitted member, which the Bible tells us to be, and my conscience in referring people to a teaching I honestly believe is error. A hard go.
Another issue is that the member who believes alternately from his or her church’s teaching on Last Things is muzzled. I wanted to joyfully shout the doctrines and exult in the Lord’s plan. I could not. Eschatology is a third of the Bible that I could not speak to, proclaim, or even encourage. After a while, this hurt my conscience so much.
Why did I join such a church, you ask? It was a plant by a then-young minister who had not completely cemented his personal reconciliation about the Doctrines of Last Things. Two years into it, he had, coming down on an opposite side of what I believed from my own 10 year study of the Old Testament first then the New Testament. What did I do? I was disappointed, but I focused on all the positive things my church did well, and there was a lot to be joyful about.
Until some other issues piled up. Until my conscience issue about the three issues I was having made it impossible and it as clear that I needed to go, not just for myself but for my church family. Let them be joyful in their interpretation, and I’ll go somewhere else and be joyful in mine.
Our church family is family. I know that blood ties feel strong, but they are only fleshly ties. Emotional, yes. Long lasting, yes. But the church family is eternal. It’s a family that is united not by our blood but by the infinitely holy blood of Jesus. Our union is with Him, through Him, and with Him. Leaving one’s church should not be a trivial matter, nor should it be casual.
Here are a few ‘church search’ sites that help you find a church according to the search directory.
TMS church search lists churches led by or planted by The Master’s Seminary Graduates. If you know the doctrinal stances of TMS then you fairly well know the doctrinal stances of these churches. Plug in your zip code or city info and a radius and it brings up a map and a listing. There are links for each search result that bring you to their website with contacts so you can check further:
There are good reasons for leaving a church and there are good reasons for staying. Pray it through, don’t be hasty, honor the Head of the Church and the under-shepherds (your pastors), and may the Lord bless your decision.
Can you convince someone of the truth if they believe that it’s relative? Todd Friel gives you helpful tips on how to witness to a postmodern through his own interactions at the Minnesota State Fair. Discover how to show someone that truth is objective and not subjective.
Rushing children to urgent care for stitches is not a fun aspect of parenting. Even when the blood has been running down their face, they fight the doctor coming at them with needle and thread. Not once has my child sat still and stayed quiet during the procedure, then turned with a smile to thank me. That wouldn’t be human nature. My children thank me for things that they perceive as pleasant, not things that hurt.
Perhaps that is part of the reason that 1 Thessalonians 5:18 commands us to “give thanks in all circumstances.” If it weren’t commanded, we wouldn’t do it. It’s not human nature to give thanks in all circumstances. But for believers, this practice should be a growing facet of our regenerate nature.
Just as my children cannot understand how stitches will help a cut, so we often cannot see the effects of our circumstances. Perhaps they are for our good; perhaps they are for the good of those around us. Maybe they simply, somehow, bring glory to God. As Job found out, God doesn’t owe us an explanation. He does, though, kindly assure us that He will work it all for good, even as He commands thanksgiving.
Matthew Henry, after somebody stole his wallet, wrote down several thanksgivings in that circumstance: “1) I am thankful that he never robbed me before. 2) I am thankful that although he took my wallet, he did not take my life. 3) Although he took all I had, it was not much. 4) I am glad that it was I who was robbed, not I who did the robbing.” Though he didn’t give thanks for the robbing itself—for the act of robbing itself was sin—he gave thanks in this hard situation. The reality of God’s protection and ultimate kindness was bigger than the reality of the theft.
The text gives us solid reason for cultivating such a perspective: “This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). The will of God, which is our sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3), includes persistent thanksgiving to God. But here, the will qualified: it is God’s will “in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). God’s will for us is undivided from our Savior, just like His covenant love (Rom. 8:39). The New Testament often uses the phrase “in Christ” to describe believers. The term “Christian” is rare. Instead, Scripture often calls God’s elect those who are “in Christ” (e.g., Rom. 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 2:17; Gal. 1:22; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:2). Just as we who believe the gospel are in Christ, so God’s will for us is in Him. The grace that brought us into union with Jesus is also the grace that wills us home to Him, dangers, toils, and snares notwithstanding.
And perhaps that last little phrase—“for you”—contains similar sweetness. When we are in Christ, circumstances don’t happen to us. Because the will of God in Christ Jesus is for us, so our circumstances will be for us. Of all people, only those who are in Christ have this grounding assurance: anything we go through happens for us, not to us. Surely this is something for which we can give thanks, in spite of grief or pain. It moves us from the stance of victim to beloved child. It lets us see things such as stitches not as torture but as medical care. It allows us to see that the difficulties of this life, though real and hard, are not ultimate. If the Father is for us, then everything else must be subservient to that reality. When the Spirit creates a Godward orientation in us, thankfulness will be able to flow, even in hard times.
This article was originally published November 25, 2020.
To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice – Pastor Patrick Hines Sermon
▶️Pastor Patrick Hines has recently had a brand new book published, called, “Earth’s Foundational History – Part 1: Genesis Chapters 1 Through 5.” (Paperback – May 4, 2023) https://cutt.ly/16RCeZ0
These two books are also available on Amazon. All proceeds go directly to Pastor Hines:
▶️Am I Right With God?: The Gospel, Justification, Saving Faith, Repentance, Assurance, & The New Birth https://cutt.ly/S6RCbuM
▶️Redrawing the Battle Lines: 23 Sermons on Critical Issues Facing the Church https://cutt.ly/m6RCTi0
We subscribe to the Westminster Standards as our doctrinal statement. It consists of the following documents:
The Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Larger Catechism The Westminster Shorter Catechism
We also believe that Christian Worship is to be regulated and defined by God’s Word, the Bible.
Our worship services are designed to please and honor the Triune God of the Bible. We place Scripture reading and the preaching of the word of God at the center of worship along with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are God’s gifts to His church and ought to always be at the center of Christian worship. We are a congregation that loves to sing God’s praises, recite His Word back to Him, and actively engage in hearing and learning from God’s Word.
We embrace and promote a comprehensive Christian world and life view.
There is no area of life which is not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is to God and His law which all people, including governments and civil rulers, will answer. The Word of God embraces and informs the way we view marriage, the family, children, education, politics, worship, law, government, war, the church, missions, evangelism, and worship. In the world today there is a battle of opposing worldviews. There are basically only two positions: God’s Word and man’s ideas. We stand positively for Biblical truth and negatively against man’s ideas which are opposed to Biblical truth.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind.
Because all men fall short of obeying God’s law, all men everywhere are in need of divine grace and salvation from God. This salvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for sinners, was buried, rose again, and is alive today seated at God the Father’s right hand.
We Worship God Together as Families.
We offer nursery during the morning worship service for newborns and infants but encourage people to keep as many of their children as they can with them for morning worship. The audio of the service is in the nursery via speakers.
All who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are members of an evangelical church are cordially invited to participate with us in the Lord’s Supper.
I’ve been walking with a group of men through the book of James on Tuesday mornings and it’s been revealing. What it revealed the most for me is the disconnect that often occurs between our mind and our hearts. On an intelligent level it’s easy to “hear the word” as James puts it, but it’s a completely different animal when it comes to that truth dripping down into our hearts, taking root, and then spreading throughout our daily lives. If this wasn’t challenging enough, what really matters goes to an even deeper level, not to just hearing then doing, but how we do what we do. I know, it can feel like a lot because it is. Right motivation is one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian life, at least it is for me. It doesn’t help that we live in a post-Christian culture that promotes me over we and encourages boasting as a means of expressing strength and individuality. If I serve, I snap off a selfie and share it. If I give, I make sure to do it in a way that others take notice. If I sacrifice something, I’ll let you know how hard it was for me and how much it cost. Even when I’m doing the right thing, I feel this internal tension and pressure to be praised at every turn, and it disgusts me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Jesus but what I’ve come to realize is I’m also a pharisee. James understood this tension as he writes to a church that also struggled with a disconnect between the mind, heart, and hands. They knew the truth, looked the part, but their motivation was off. As our group was discussing this week, we got the first part of James 1:27. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” The question I asked was, “Is James trying to say this is what Christianity is all about or is he getting at something deeper?” One of the men chimed up as you could almost see the light bulb come on above his head, “It’s deeper…these are people that couldn’t give you anything in return.” Bingo. The point isn’t that James is narrowing Christian service and following Jesus down to orphan and widow care; what He’s doing is taking a scalpel, cutting away at all of the junk, and getting down to the motivation of our heart.
Why do you do what you do? How do you do what you do? Every action the pharisees took was to ensure that others took notice and would see them as supremely righteous. Don’t be so quick to think we don’t do the same. Even if our motivation isn’t to be seen as righteous, there is a motivation to everything we do. Some of us think if we do the right thing, God will love us more. For others we’ve bought into this false idea that doing good works means getting more good things from God, and the list goes on. So where do those of us who love Jesus but regularly find ourselves in this same boat go from here? Here are a few thoughts:
STEP BACK & BE HONEST – We move at such a fast pace that we often don’t take time to reflect. Mark out 15-30 minutes this week and actually reflect on motivation when it comes to serving, giving, sacrificing, etc. Be honest with yourself and before God. Ask Him to bring to the surface selfish desires, wrong motivation, and the root cause to all of it. For me, it’s usually respect. I want people to see me in a certain way.
INVITE OTHERS IN – Christian community is so important here. Think of a few people in your closest Christian community and invite them to speak in now and in the future. Ask them if they see anything that’s off when it comes to motivation and living out God’s word. This requires vulnerability and teachability, but is incredibly helpful and freeing.
REGULARLY CONFESS & MOVE FORWARD – This is where the beauty of God’s grace comes in. Every single day of our lives we have the opportunity to confess where we fall short, accept God’s kindness and grace, and move forward. Sanctification isn’t a straight line up, it’s a roller coaster of twists and turns as we learn, grow, and seek to become more like Jesus.
Here is a part of the Thanksgiving story you may not know!
Thanksgiving: A Story of Persistence This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:12-14
Here is a part of the Thanksgiving story you may not know. While the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in October of 1621, it was not until October of 1777 that all 13 colonies celebrated Thanksgiving, for the first time. At one point, our first president, George Washington, proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving, but conflict and difficulties among the colonies put an end to its observance.
It was a magazine editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, whose work led to the celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday we observe today. Hale wrote letters to governors and presidents, and editorials in magazines, books and newspapers, promoting the observance of Thanksgiving. In 1863, after 40 years of letter writing and campaigning (that’s not a typo, she really wrote letters for 40 years), Hale’s persistence paid off and President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving. Since then, every president has supported Thanksgiving. Forty years of dedication, persistence and passion, all to make sure that this country would celebrate a National Day of Thanksgiving each year. Impressive.
We can learn from Hale’s perseverance. It took her 40 years to accomplish what she set out to do. Just like her story, the Christian faith is often described as a marathon, not a sprint. Each day of our life is another day to choose between right and wrong, to help someone in need, to read our Bible and pray. As Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:12-14, Christians are called to persevere, to press on. Sometimes it can feel like an unrewarding task. It is hard, but important, to look to God for the BIGGER plan. What if Hale had chosen to give up after one year or ten years? Her goal would have been left unfinished. Press on towards the call of Christ! Endure! But be forewarned, just like Sara Josepha Hale, it may take 40 years to see the fruit of your labor!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What are some areas in your life that require perseverance? 2. Why is it important we don’t base our faith on feelings?
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (November 5, 1851 February 16, 1921) was the principal of Princeton Seminary from 1887 to 1921. Some conservative Presbyterians consider him to be the last of the great Princeton theologians before the split in 1929 that formed Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
Warfield was born near Lexington, Kentucky on November 5, 1851. His parents were William and Mary Cabell (Breckinridge) Warfield, originally from Virginia and quite wealthy. His maternal grandfather was the Presbyterian preacher Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1800-1871) the son of John Breckinridge a former United States Senator and Attorney General. Warfield’s uncle was John C. Breckinridge, the fourteenth Vice President of the United States and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.
For a short time in 1876 he preached in Presbyterian churches in Concord, Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio as a “supply pastor” — the latter church calling him to be their ordained minister (which he refused). In late 1876 Warfield and his new wife moved to Germany where he studied under Ernst Luthardt and Franz Delitzsch. Then he became an instructor at Western Theological Seminary, which is now called Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
In 1881 Warfield wrote a joint article with A. A. Hodge on the inspiration of the Bible. It drew attention because of its scholarly and forceful defense of the inerrancy of the Bible. In many of his writings, Warfield attempted to demonstrate that the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy was simply orthodox Christian teaching and not merely a concept invented in the nineteenth century. His passion was to refute the liberal element within Presbyterianism and within Christianity at large.
“If such be the value and use of doctrine the systematic theologian is preeminently a preacher of the gospel; and the end of his work is obviously not merely the logical arrangement of the truths which come under his hand, but the moving of men, through their power, to love God with all their hearts and their neighbors as themselves; to choose their portion with the Savior of their souls; to find and hold Him precious; and to recognize and yield to the sweet influences of the Holy Spirit whom He has sent. . .For this he needs to be suffused at all times with a sense of the unspeakable worth of the revelation which lies before him as the source of his material and with the personal bearings of its separate truths on his own heart and life; he needs to have had and to be having a full, rich and deep religious experience of the great doctrines with which he deals; he needs to be living close to his God to be resting always on the bosom of his Redeemer, to be filled at all times with the manifest influences of the Holy Spirit. The student of systematic theology needs a very sensitive religious nature, a most thoroughly consecrated heart, and an outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon him such as will fill him with that spiritual discernment, without which all native intellect is in vain. He needs to be not merely a student, not merely a thinker, not merely a systematizer, not merely a teacher — he needs to be like the beloved disciple himself in the highest, truest and holiest sense a divine.”
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
One ominous sign in the social structure that surrounds us is the false attitude toward anything that can be called “ordinary.” There has grown up all around us an idea that the “commonplace” is old-fashioned and strictly for the birds!
This existing mania for glamour and contempt for the ordinary are signs and portents in American society. Even religion has gone glamorous!
In case you do not know what glamour is, I might explain that it is a compound of sex, paint, padding and artificial lights. It came to America by way of the honky-tonk and the movie lot; got accepted by the world first, and then strutted into the Church—vain, self-admiring and contemptuous. Instead of the Spirit of God in our midst, we now have the spirit of glamour, as artificial as painted death!
Say what you will, it is a new kind of Christianity, with new concepts that face us brazenly wherever we turn within the confines of evangelical Christianity. The new Christian no longer wants to be good or saintly or virtuous!
Lord, I pray that the pastor and other leaders in my church will so humble themselves before You that nothing but the sweetness of the Lord Jesus will attract people to worship You each week.1
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
—Leviticus 9:24
We of the nonliturgical churches tend to look with some disdain upon those churches that follow a carefully prescribed form of service, and certainly there must be a good deal in such services that has little or no meaning for the average participant—this not because it is carefully prescribed but because the average participant is what he is. But I have observed that our familiar impromptu service, planned by the leader twenty minutes before, often tends to follow a ragged and tired order almost as standardized as the Mass. The liturgical service is at least beautiful; ours is often ugly. Theirs has been carefully worked out through the centuries to capture as much of beauty as possible and to preserve a spirit of reverence among the worshipers. Ours is often an off-the-cuff makeshift with nothing to recommend it. Its so-called liberty is often not liberty at all but sheer slovenliness….
In the majority of our meetings there is scarcely a trace of reverent thought, no recognition of the unity of the body, little sense of the divine Presence, no moment of stillness, no solemnity, no wonder, no holy fear. GTM004-005
We need, oh Lord, a renewed sense of the awe, the wonder and the beauty of worship. Grant that I might begin to sense Your awesome presence in my worship today. Amen.1
These were more noble–minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Acts 17:11
It’s frightening to realize our culture has more interest in emotion and pragmatism than in thinking. That’s evident when people more often ask, “How will it make me feel?” instead of “Is it true?” That wrong focus is also evident in today’s theology, where the predominant questions are “Will it divide?” and “Will it offend?” rather than “Is it right?” Not enough people are like the people of Berea, whom the Bible describes as being “noble–minded” because they were interested in finding truth, not good feelings or pleasant circumstances.
Too many people are going to church today not to think or reason about the truth, but to get a certain feeling. But living by emotions rather than right thinking will produce instability. In his book Your Mind Matters, John Stott explains this point: “Sin has more dangerous effects on our faculty of feeling than on our faculty of thinking, because our opinions are more easily checked and regulated by revealed truth than our experiences.”1
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:18
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Growing in wisdom means growing in Christlikeness.
Perhaps you’re asking, “Shouldn’t believers acquire more wisdom?” Yes, we should. No matter how much of God’s wisdom we have, we should always hunger for more. The Bible tells us that we have all the principles we need to walk in wisdom, and yet there’s much more available to us. We should “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), and we should be more and more conformed to the image of Christ by the transforming work of the Spirit of God. Our wisdom should increase, as should our godliness, but we are given the basic principles at salvation. Even though a person may not know all the truths in the Bible, God’s Spirit, who is resident in him from the moment of salvation, will convict and convince him of righteousness and sin.
What do you do if you want more wisdom? First, worship. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Make it your goal to have a worshipful heart throughout each day and to be faithful in attending the Lord’s house regularly (see Heb. 10:25). Second, pray. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Make it your continual prayer to ask God for more of His wisdom. Third, receive instruction. The apostle Paul encouraged “admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom” (Col. 1:28). If you want more wisdom, one good way to receive it is to be instructed by someone who is wise. Finally, study Scripture. In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” Set up a regular Bible study time, and let the Holy Spirit teach you.
What about you? Are you growing in wisdom? If not, make it your priority.
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Suggestions for Prayer: Ask God to help you grow in wisdom.
For Further Study: Make it your daily goal to implement the four ways mentioned in today’s lesson for growing in wisdom.1
Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.”
There is a catchy song that speaks of one being brave and courageous, but then collapsing in fear. Peter faced that scenario when he stepped out of the boat and began walking on water to Jesus.
For a moment, he had “spirit” legs. His eyes were set on Christ, and nothing had the power to stop him. Suddenly he caught sight of the brooding, angry sea around him, and down he went in fear. We might be tempted to think it was a shame that on one of his first attempts at being like Christ, he sank in terrible defeat, but God had a lesson in mind for His eager disciple.
Principle one: Keep your focus on Jesus. Had Peter refused to consider the natural elements surrounding him, he would have made spiritual history.
Principle two: Obey God. Jesus told Peter, “Come to Me.” Whenever God gives you a directive, don’t be swayed. Stay focused, and refuse to allow fear to entice you to stop or withdraw from what God has given as a mighty blessing.
Fear is a ruthless enemy. It is also one of Satan’s favorite tools. Stand firm by putting it into subjection to Christ, who has all authority over this very thing. In the Old Testament God told Joshua, “Be strong and very courageous.” God was with him, and he had no reason to fear.
The Lord is with you. Therefore, be courageous!
God, help me keep my focus on You. Help me to reject fear, and give me courage to obey You.1
1 Stanley, C. F. (2002). Seeking His face (p. 340). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
The things you have heard … commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Long before Martin Luther “discovered” Reformation-truth, John Hus was preaching it in Behemia (Czech Republic). Born about 1373 of peasant parentage, Hus became the most powerful preacher in Prague. He advocated reform in the church, which drew the displeasure of his fellow clergy. When he declared Scripture alone sufficient for Christian life and practice, he was summoned before the Council of Constance.
On July 6, 1415, Hus was found guilty of heresy, condemned, and taken to the outskirts of town to be burned. His last words were, “I have never thought nor preached except with the intention of winning men, if possible, from their sins. In the truth of the gospel I have written, taught, and preached; today I will gladly die.”
It’s dangerously easy to sit in church and yawn over the very truths for which earlier generations died. Our Bibles have been passed to us at great cost. Take a few moments today to thank God for the faithfulness of those who have handed down to us the gospel, and rededicate yourself to passing it along to someone else.1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
When many people hear the word surrender, images of conflict and overpowering forces come to mind. In contrast, the act of surrendering one’s life to God is a beautiful and peaceful experience.
Why then are we so afraid to hand over the reigns of our lives to God’s omnipotent leadership? The answer lies in our self-oriented nature. We live in a world that encourages us to take pride in what we have accomplished and accumulated. The concept of surrendering these things to God is unthinkable for most people.
As a believer, however, God has called you to a higher standard of living. He wants to help you reach the goals that He has set for your life. Yet, in order to fulfill His plan, we must choose to lay our selfish desires before Him.
Until you make this important step toward God, you will find yourself in a state of unrest and uncertainty. However, once you surrender your life to God, He will unleash the storehouse of blessings waiting for you.
In Romans 12, God specifically asks you to present yourself as a living sacrifice to Him (verses 1–2). God wants to guide, direct, and bless you. Do not let disobedience stand in the way of His plan for your life.
Lord, I present myself as a living sacrifice. Help me understand Your good and acceptable will.1
Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.
Imagine you are driving along a narrow two-lane road, and you come upon a warning sign. The sign warns of possible rock slides ahead, and a detour sign points to a good alternate route. Would you ignore the warning sign and drive on?
King David ignored many of God’s warning signs along his path, and he plunged deeper and deeper into sin. He knew that the Lord did not approve of lust, adultery, or murder. But one sin led to another as David deliberately ignored his conscience, which God uses to remind us of His truth.
David had done such a remarkable job of not listening to God that God had to use the bold voice of the prophet Nathan. Perhaps David was puzzled as Nathan began to tell him a story about a poor man’s pet lamb. At the end of the tale, David still did not hear God’s message. Nathan had to spell it out for him: “You are the man!” He then recounted everything David had done and how the Lord felt about his sin.
When David’s ears finally heard the truth, he repented immediately. David said, “ ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die’ ” (2 Sam. 12:13 nasb).
If you have been turning a deaf ear to what the Lord has been trying to tell you, it is never too late to ask forgiveness and travel on His road.
Dear heavenly Father, sometimes I have ignored warning signs along the way. Forgive me. Put my feet back on the right path.1
1 Stanley, C. F. (1999). On holy ground (p. 340). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
When I cry to You, Lord, You will hear, for You are gracious. You will not cast me away, nor shall You abhor me, to utterly destroy me and break Your covenant with me; for You are the Lord my God. You will remember Your covenant with me in the days of my youth, and You will establish an everlasting covenant with me.
Lord, You say, “Come now, and let us reason together.” Though my sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to You, Lord, and You will have mercy on him; and to our God, for You will abundantly pardon. The dying thief said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
A bruised reed You will not break, Almighty God, and smoking flax You will not quench.
Great are Your mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Thank You for Your abundant pardon and Your faithfulness to Your covenant promises.
John 6:37; Exodus 22:27; Leviticus 26:44; Ezekiel 16:60; Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 55:7; Luke 23:42–43; Isaiah 42:31
But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
In his book Making Sense Out of Suffering, Peter Kreeft asserts:
The most oft-repeated teaching of Jesus is the paradox that the poor are rich, the weak are strong, the lowly are exalted. It is the point of the Beatitudes, of the Sermon on the Mount, of most of his parables; it is illustrated by his whole life, by the incarnation, the kenosis, the emptying. “He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7–8).
This is the radical counter to the wisdom of our age, of any age. The fundamental dictum of nearly all modern psychologists is to love ourselves, to accept ourselves as we are, to feel good about ourselves. When we obey this wisdom of the world, God has two choices. He can either let us stay in that state and run the risk of becoming contented, respectable, self-righteous Pharisees; or else he can mercifully slap us out of it with a dose of suffering, frustration, and discontent with ourselves, and thus move us on to a new state …
Only when we are dissatisfied, only when we are weak, only when we are failures in ourselves, can God come in.
Adversity is God’s choice tool in molding you into a person of tremendous potential. In difficult times, He is at work.
You are at work in me, O Lord. I can rejoice in that today despite the circumstances of my life. I praise You!1
1 Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 340). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
All that the believer has must come from Christ, but it comes solely through the channel of the Spirit of grace. Moreover, as all blessings thus flow to you through the Holy Spirit, so also no good thing can come out of you in holy thought, devout worship, or gracious act, apart from the sanctifying operation of the same Spirit. Even if the good seed be sown in you, yet it lies dormant except he worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure. Do you desire to speak for Jesus—how can you unless the Holy Ghost touch your tongue? Do you desire to pray? Alas! what dull work it is unless the Spirit maketh intercession for you! Do you desire to subdue sin? Would you be holy? Would you imitate your Master? Do you desire to rise to superlative heights of spirituality? Are you wanting to be made like the angels of God, full of zeal and ardour for the Master’s cause? You cannot without the Spirit—“Without me ye can do nothing.” O branch of the vine, thou canst have no fruit without the sap! O child of God, thou hast no life within thee apart from the life which God gives thee through his Spirit! Then let us not grieve him or provoke him to anger by our sin. Let us not quench him in one of his faintest motions in our soul; let us foster every suggestion, and be ready to obey every prompting. If the Holy Spirit be indeed so mighty, let us attempt nothing without him; let us begin no project, and carry on no enterprise, and conclude no transaction, without imploring his blessing. Let us do him the due homage of feeling our entire weakness apart from him, and then depending alone upon him, having this for our prayer, “Open thou my heart and my whole being to thine incoming, and uphold me with thy free Spirit when I shall have received that Spirit in my inward parts.”1
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