Good Ole Days Do you ever get a bit of nostalgia about those good ole days of yesteryear? I sometimes feel that way. It is maybe more common to me as I am growing older. We gaze around our lives seeing the problems and insanity that would have been unthinkable when we were children or when our parents and grandparents were young. We tend to have a robust sense of pessimism about our current situation and an inordinate optimism about the way things used to be. Maybe we could use the term “Mayberry syndrome" to refer to this particular kind of melancholy. The question we must ultimately ask is, was the past really the golden era that we think? And is getting back to the way things were really the goal for us? Days Gone By Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong time? Like you should have lived among the Greeks learning philosophy? Or among the Bible characters in the Old or New Testaments? Or sailing the high seas in the days of discovery? Or exploring the west with Lewis and Clark and those real mountain men? Or driving cattle on those real old west cattle drives? Well let me just say one word –- dentistry, or transportation, or indoor plumbing, or electricity, or modern medicine, or air conditioning, or communication. I know we can often feel overwhelmed with the pace of modern society, but we have many advantages that those folks didn’t have and the opportunity to use this for the good of other people and God’s glory. My point is that we should not idolize the current like we have nothing to learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before, but neither should we idolize the past trying to go back to the way things used to be. Church Age I am not a dispensationalist, so I do not mean church age in the sense of the present time. Rather, I believe that the problem I outlined above can also be prevalent in the church. For example, I’ll work my way from the past to the present. First, we know that we base everything that we believe as Christians not on the word of any man but the revelation of God in the Bible. So, many Christians want to get back to the Bible, which I’m all for, however this should not mean acting like this is the first century. We live in the twenty-first century and our goal should be to make application of the principles, patterns, and promises of the text of Scripture to where we live today. New Testament Christianity does not have to mean robes and sandals and no indoor plumbing. But it should mean seeking to apply the same kind of faith, worship, holiness, and godliness of those days to our day. Next, we ought to desire to understand the complex path of the history of the church through the history of the world including the early church fathers, the ecumenical councils, the early creeds, and the notable theological influences, leading all the way to the protestant reformation. But none of these should be the context in which we are striving to get back to in. We must value the wisdom and the instruction passed down to us by these saints who have gone on to be with the Lord (Hebrews 12:1). But we must not view them or even their documents as the pinnacle of Christian practice or expression. For example, the Apostle’s creed, the didache, the Nicene creed, and the other literature from the first four centuries of the church’s history are extraordinarily important, but they are not the inspired word of God. This also means that historic confessions such as the Westminster or the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, while of immense value for our study and consideration, are not a standard on all Christians. If you belong to a church that subscribes to one of these documents then you have bound yourself to that doctrinal position but only the Scripture is breathed out by God and binding on all believers. Finally, we must not be trying to get back to the Christianity of fifty or one hundred years ago among the folks from which we have descended. Again we should value and appreciate how the Lord used them, but they are not our stand the Bible is!
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Easy As I reflect on many, if not most, of the brethren that I have known in my life that seemed to exhibit genuine holiness and godliness, I am struck with how easy it seemed for them. I do not mean that their lives were easy, for each one faced many hardships just as faithful saints always have. But these blessed believers seemed to patiently move through life with a peace that was self-evidently beyond understanding (Philippians 4:7). They were filled with joy that you could see and even experience to some degree when in their presence, that was inexpressible and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8). Maybe the best way to describe these brothers and sisters is that their lives seemed graceful. These ones who had experientially received such grace from God were full of grace which overflowed into every part of their lives. Most of these folks were older and so their growth in Christian maturity is also clearly a factor in their godly lives. What knowing these saints has made tangible for me is that we as believers need to be holy people. Necessity However, this realization of the need to be holy as believers is clear from reading the Scripture. If someone claims to read the Bible or know the Bible but does not believe in the necessity of striving for holiness then there are only a couple of explanations. The simplest one is that they really don't read or know the Bible as well as they claim. The other possibility is that they don’t really believe it. In the book of Hebrews we are told that there is a “holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). If this is the first time that you have ever really considered this passage then maybe your sovereign grace loving heart begins to recoil because you know that we are accepted and welcomed into God’s family by grace not by our own personal holiness. This is true, but in the verse mentioned above we are also told to strive for this holiness. I believe that the instruction here is to those who are justified by faith to know that God promises to produce in them real holiness. Also there is here a warning for those who would use the message of free and sovereign grace as an excuse for sinful, luscious living. Believers must not use their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh (Galatians 5:13). Rather we are free to live in the Spirit! Mandatory In Dr. Donald Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life he says, “Holiness is not optional for those who claim to be children of the Holy One.” His point is taken from the Apostle Peter’s call to holiness in his first epistle (1 Peter 1:15-16). Peter is instructing us that our genuine and precious faith must result in real advancement in holy living. If we have been born of God then over time we should take on that family resemblance. This is not an option but a simple reality of saving faith. No true Christian can opt out of being transformed because the reason and purpose of our salvation is to conform us into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). Logic Peter later concludes his second epistle by calling us to consider the promises of God for our eternal future and His judgment of sin. Peter insists that the only logical way to live for those who truly have believed God and trusted in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit is in lives of holiness and godliness.(2 Peter 3:11-13) Given the fate of this world and the hope of eternal life it’s obvious and simple to conclude that Christians must be holy people! Resolutions One of the things that many resolve to do in the new year is to finally get into shape. We maybe want to lose a few pounds so our clothes fit better or to regain our health or to get more active than we were in the previous year. Whatever the motivation, the idea is to get our bodies into better condition. All of us know that if we are in better shape we will feel better and be healthier. But what about our spiritual health? Sometimes people think that once we are saved and heaven assured we need not attend to our spiritual growth and health. But the Lord loves us and He intends to use us as He wills for His glory and this will be for our ultimate good. This being the cause I want us to consider areas that we need to get into shape spiritually to serve the Lord well. Sharp Minds First, we need to have sharp minds, so that we are ready to think wisely and act with discernment. Our ability, both to serve the Lord well and bless others, could come down to having our minds prepared by God’s word (Romans 12:2). For this kind of preparation and renewal to be in full effect we must think about the things of God, those things which are lofty and holy (Colossians 3:1-2). The Scripture is replete with instructions about the state of our minds and thinking. For us to be the sort of spiritual health where we will be most useful to Christ we must have our intellects sharped through scripture, study, and brotherly conversation (Proverbs 27:17). Soft Hearts The heart of the lost person is compared to a stone in Scripture (Ezekiel 11:19). It is a mark of being far from God to have a hard and impenetrable heart. Many people are afraid to have hearts that are soft and receptive because they fear that they may be harmed by this king of vulnerability. But the truest sign that we have really been born again is that we have new hearts made alive by the love of Christ and overflowing with love for God, His people and others so that they might believe. God is gracious and merciful abounding in steadfast love and these same attributes of compassion need to be a part of faithful following and glorifying the true and living God (Exodus 34:6). Steady Feet When Paul is giving instructions about the armor of God meant to ready us for service to our King Jesus. He tells us that our feet should be shod with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15). Likewise, in Romans 10, he quotes Isaiah saying how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news. Christians are to be spiritual sure footed. Because as we are going out into the world we are carrying the message of the good news that sinners now have a Savior. We are going to people who are desperately in need and we dare not stumble in sin or get entangled in the affairs of this world so that we fail to deliver this urgent and ultimate message (Hebrews 12:1). Strong Hands The Lord Jesus warns us that the person who would put their hand to the plow and then turn back is not worthy of Him (Luke 9:62). In reality none of us is strong in and of ourselves but, for the sake of His kingdom, Christ has been strong for us. It is by the mighty right arm of Yahweh that we have been delivered, and only He is able to save (Ephesians 1:19). All of our strength must be derived from Him (2 Corinthians 4:7). For we must always remember that we are His workmanship so that all the glory and accomplishment belongs to Him! (Ephesians 2:10) Evangelism As we enter this new year I’m sure that we all have people that we want to see come to know the Lord. We also anticipate that God will save numbers of people that we do not now know and bring them into His covenant people, the church. We know that only God can save people but He has given us the crucial task of taking the gospel to them. As the Apostle Paul rhetorically reminds us, how will people believe if they haven’t heard the message (Romans 10:14-15). So we must be spreading the good news by actually opening our mouths and telling people about Christ! But what then? How will we know if people have truly believed and been born again? Of course, we don’t want to discourage anyone professing faith, but just because a person says they believe does not make them a genuine believer. Rather, real repentant faith will result in the production of such fruit that the validity of the person’s trust in God will be seen in the change in their lives. In The Sword and The Trowel publication of 1865, Charles Spurgeon records what the elders of his church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, looked for in candidates for baptism and church membership. In this post I would like to consider each of those things. 1) Tenderness of Conscience When people are coming to know the Lord, they all are under conviction. Without conviction of sin a person cannot repent and believe the gospel. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction that is necessary for the lost to be savingly converted (John 16:7-14). I have watched so many people respond to appeals to be saved by raising a hand or going forward or praying a spoon fed prayer. But the reality is that conversion is not just a transaction where you can simply get the formalities out of the way. Rather conversion happens when God brings the sinner, by the labor pains of spiritual conviction, to the point of new birth (Titus 3:5). This event calls for a time of recovery and rejoicing. In genuine converts this should be evident in the tenderness of the individual's conscience in areas of both sin and righteousness. 2) Attachment to the Means of Grace Not everyone means the same thing when they talk about the means of grace. I want to admit that I could be misunderstanding or not rightly conveying what these elders in 1865 were observing. But I think of the “means of grace” as referring to those practical means by which God gives His children, who are saved by grace, tools to practice living in the grace they already have in Christ. Todd Friel refers to these as means of growth. The point is that the elders noticed if the prospective convert had a new found desire for prayer, or an increased appetite for God’s word, or an eagerness to gather with the Lord’s church. While the means of grace do certainly include the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper these must not be considered in this context because what is being evaluated is whether or not these candidates are ready for baptism and then the supper. 3) Desire to Come out of the World Those who have been truly saved by the Holy God have a desire to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Holiness is separateness. If you believe that you can come to Christ and remain as you were in the world, you have misunderstood the nature of union with Christ. If you are now in Christ then you are necessarily separated and holy because Christ is holy (Ephesians 1:1-14). 4) Deep Interest in the Unconverted Those who have so freshly experienced the rescue of God from the path of destruction are moved immediately to concern for those still traveling this broad and easy road (Matthew 7:13-14). Consider the fact that the most recent convert usually has the most ties to those still lost in the world. The new Christian also has the new experience of joy that is unexplainable and glorious. If a new Christian or any Christian does not desire for others to be saved then to quote C. H. Spurgeon “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!” |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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