Another Quotable

"I don't know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?"

Quotable

"If a church wants a better preacher, it only needs to pray for the one it has."

When I Doubt

Amongst those who bear the name Christian, I know that there are two classes of men. One finds it extremely easy to believe all that is said to them in matters of religion. For the other it is extremely difficult. It appears to me that the facility of belief in the first group comes from superstition and superficial thought, while the difficulty in the other comes from excessive reflection. The one never exercises prudence, while the other finds it hard to believe anything at all. So the one will believe many things that are false, perhaps giving more credit to the false than to the true. While the other never believes in the false, but also hesitates to ever accept the truth.

Pondering on this matter, I find that only the Holy Spirit can help both classes of men...While both of them struggle, I believe that they who find it hard to believe anything are in a better position to receive God's Spirit. First, this is because it is easier to recognize the truth than falsehood. Second, whoever believes readily is the more easily deceived. Third, he who easily believes may also live much longer under delusions, such as those in the early church who were converted from Judaism. I am also convinced that he who believes without being taught by the Spirit of God will rely more upon human opinion than upon a personal faith.

However, Christian faith is not based upon hearsay, but upon divine revelation alone. It is this that blesses us and brings us now hope and love. It is this that purifies the heart and it is this that in every way pleases God. May we be enriched with this by God Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord! A man who is tempted to doubt experiences a work of Christian progress. I believe that such temptation originates in a man's desire to believe and to stand firm in his Christian faith. The ungodly are not tempted to doubt, because they neither with nor desire to believe...But Christians have renounced unbelief and they have begun by the grace of the Holy Spirit to accept the pardon which the gospel announces in Christ.

Such are those who have renounced self-justification and have embraced the righteousness of Christ which the gospel offers. But at the same time, they do not yet see clearly all that Christ offers. When such a person begins to doubt, let him counteract such a temptation in the following ways.

In the first place, let one who doubts regard this temptation as evidence of his progress in the Christian life. Let him recognize that had he not wished a desire to believe, he would not be so tempted to doubt. His very distress is indicative of the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life.

In the second place, let him argue like this: If this Christian faith that I have were not something spiritual and divine, it would not find me the contradiction that it does find. Let this comfort me.

In the third place, let him also argue thusly: If this Christian faith were not the gift of God, I would not feel such inward new desires to be united with Christ. But these are the very desires I have since embracing Him in faith.

In the fourth place, let him also think like this: If a Christian's faith was not spiritual and divine, it would not give rise to that very tension I experience between faith and doubt.

Finally, let him think like this: If I knew of any alternative that is better than this, or even equal to this, in getting me to appear before the judgment of God, I might have good cause to doubt the truth to which I know cling. But since I see no alternative that is better or equal to it, I have no cause to doubt.

And so in this way, let him be assured that he is on the side to win and not to lose; by persevering in this Christian faith he cannot lose but win. Let him realize that he knows himself to be pardoned through Christ. Since he realizes himself to be dead with Christ, raised again with Christ, and expecting his fullment with Christ, and let these things assure him.

The Christian who desires to accept the righteousness of Christ will be disturbed with suggestions that tempt him to doubt. But let him take a stand here and close the door to those who threaten to assail him. Let him commend himself to God, saying with Hezekiah, "Oh Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me" (Is. 38:14). Let him be sure that God will help him and fulfill what He promised David. "I will deliver him and bring him to honor" (Ps. 91:15).


Juan de Valdes (1498-1541) fled the Spanish Inquisition in 1531 and led a reform movement in Italy. The following is a short extract from his larger work titled, "The Benefit of Christ", and was made available by Shane Rosenthal for Reformation Ink.

Spiritual obesity and logging on to church

The following is a post by Matt Finn (see credit below) that I felt helpful and may help others.

Two posts I read recently helped me crystallize some thoughts I'd been having about Church and the Internet.


1. Thabiti Anyabwile was interviewed about his latest book "What Is a Healthy Church Member?" and answered this question: What would you say to a twenty something (or thirty, or forty, or fifty...ed.) who is convinced that her routine of watching online sermons and occasionally attending area church bible studies is her "church"?


2. Martin Downes (www.against-heresies.blogspot.com) wrote about the interplay of Global ministries and the local church particularly when it comes to listening to sermons from churches and conferences.

As someone who listens to his fair share of sermons from the web as one part of my spiritual diet I've been seeking to reflect on how I've benefitted from this and also to think about if there are ways in which is it actually unhelpful, even harmful. Of course, one thing to say up front is the issue of content and discernment. Are those preaching those who "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints"? Of course, for all of the rubbish there is some great stuff out there too. Let's focus on that for now.

Laid out for us is a fine feast of biblical exposition from across the globe. (Let's not forget as Downes reminds us that this isn't new - for example people distributed Spurgeon's sermons all over the place.) Yet, reading sermons and hearing them preached is to my mind genuinely different in that the medium is significant and listening to one preacher on the Internet invites a direct comparison with the preaching in the local church. Three points come to mind:


1. Loving the local church and its leaders

There is a danger of pride, frustration and criticism that comes from a false expectation that the person preaching should be like the person I listen to on mp3. The danger to sin is that I look down on, am unmoved by the Spirit's work through and am not thankful to God for the gifts He has given his people. It's a bit like the "conference effect" where people come back from participating in sung worship with large numbers of people with music lead by highly skilled musicians and the experience back at home is simply not the same. Will I love the local church in its weakness and strength, immaturity and maturity and keep in mind God plan for the church (check out Ephesians!)?


2. The danger of spiritual obesity

There is a danger that I hear but do not obey, especially if it is related to a command which is corporate in its perspective. Jesus tells the story of two people both of whom build houses. One of them builds on the rock and one on the sand. Some have wrongly assumed that this is talking about building our lives on Jesus the rock but look again. Both of the two are said to be like those who hear the words of Jesus. The difference is that one put them into practice and the other did not. We might have a great spiritual diet but if we do not exercise our spiritual muscles we will become spiritual obese: full but flabby!


3. Hearing together

Finally in hearing together we come under the preaching of those God calls to care for us. Knowing that one day we will give an account to God we practice accountability to one another for our thinking, feeling, acting and more. We seek to be wise in what we watch and recognize that isolated and independent consumption of sermons (about which - in being immature - we might be highly undiscerning) we can genuinely fall subject to false teachings. Church community is not about controlling our input and cutting off all other sources of knowledge but a matter of wisdom in that we are not to be ignorant of the Satan's schemes and recognize that "the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1). This is not to provoke fear but to recognize the value of God-given fellowship.


Downes says it this way:


Preaching is a corporate act. Going to church is not like a trip to the movie theater where I can listen in as an individual with no meaningful connection to the people around me…

There is an obligation to hear the Word, respond to the Word, and to apply the Word together, that downloadable preaching cannot even begin to touch. It actually fails miserably at this point, because it can never do what the ministry of the local church, ordained by God, is designed to do.

Am I making downloadable sermons the primary means of my growth to the neglect of listening to, believing and obeying, God's Word together with his assembled people? Am I dishonoring God and his church through bypassing the ministry of the local church in my pursuit of maturity?

Posted on blogsite www.undercovertheologian.wordpress.com by Matt on August 24, 2008.

John Newton on Handling Controversy

"As you are likely to be joined in controversy, and your love of truth is joined with a natural warmth of temper, my friendship makes me solicitous on your behalf. You are of the strongest side, for truth is great, and must prevail; so that a person of abilities inferior to yours, might take the field with a confidence of victory. I am not, therefore anxious for the event of the battle; but I would have you more than a conqueror, and to triumph not only over your adversary, but over yourself.

If you cannot be vanquished, you may be wounded. To preserve you from such wounds as might give you cause of weeping over your conquests, I would present you with some considerations, which, if duly attended to, will do you the service of a coat of mail; such armor, that you need not complain, as David did of Saul's, that it will be more cumbersome than useful; for you will easily perceive that it is taken from that great magazine provided for the Christian soldier, the Word of God....

As to your opponent, I wish that before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him to earnest prayer to the Lord's teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him; and such a disposition will have a good influence upon every page you write. If you account him a believer, though greatly mistaken in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab, concerning Absalom, are very applicable: "Deal gently with him for my sake."

The Lord loves him and bears with him, therefore you must not despise him, or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise and expects that you should show tenderness to others, from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself....And though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever.

But if you look upon him as an unconverted person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace (a supposition which, without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit ), he is a more proper subject of your compassion than of your anger. Alas!" he knows not what he does." But you know who has made you to differ. If God, in his sovereign pleasure had so appointed, you might have been as he is now; and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the Gospel. You were both equally blind by nature. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes and not his. Of all people who engage in controversy, we . . . . are most expressly bound by our own principles to the exercise of gentleness and moderation.

If, indeed, they who differ from us have a power of changing themselves, if they can open their own eyes, and soften their own hearts, then we might with less inconsistency be offended at their obstinacy; but if we believe the very contrary to this, our part is not to strive, but in meekness to instruct those who oppose, "if peradventure, God will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth." (2 Tim. 2:25) If you write with a desire of correcting mistakes, you will of course, be cautious of laying stumbling blocks in the way of the blind, or of using any expressions that may exasperate their passions, confirm them in their prejudices, and thereby make their conviction, humanly speaking, more impracticable".

Effectual Prayer

This short story makes a good point.

There is a story about a businessman in a small community who changed the whole character of a section of town by opening a tavern. A local church group became concerned and conducted an all-night prayer vigil, asking God to close the tavern. Shortly before morning, a thunder storm came through the area and a lightning bolt struck the tavern and it burned to the ground.

The owner of the tavern sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the group were responsible for the destruction of his tavern. The church hired a defense attorney to argue in court that they were not responsible.

The presiding judge, after an initial review of the case, stated that "No matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the church group does not."

Posted by Robert Hayes at Uganda Short Term Mission Guide website www.ugandamission.net/