Monday evening, July 21, 2008
Today, I enjoyed my annual physical, along with all the "blessings" that are typical for such an experience. If you haven't enjoyed one of these, I highly recommend that you schedule one ASAP! There are some things that you do NOT want to miss, and this is one of them—trust me.
Anyway, I really do like my doctor (internist), as he is not only personable, but also a very thorough physician (this is what I was referring to in the first paragraph)—far removed from the helter-skelter medical complexes downtown. Thankfully, he chose to move away from all the mass-confusion, sit-and-wait nonsense, that is so typical in most medical practices, into a small house he renovated on a rather quiet street far-removed from the hospital sites. He has a solo practice, and believe it or not, he actually takes the time to listen to whatever I have to say and to carefully and thoroughly do his exam. Listen to this: His wife works in his office!
Just for the record, I did pass the exam, with flying colors, or so he said. I do have to have my blood work done in the morning, so I am trusting that it will agree with his assessment! I will let you know, when I know.
Now to my point: A major part of our conversation centered in his disappointment and frustration with the direction the medical profession is taking. He is no longer able to do what he was trained to do because some insurance company(s), who has NO medical expertise, certainly none about my body, tells him what he can and cannot do and what they will pay him to do it. Then of course there is the ever-present dread of lawsuits that the greedy want to file and all-too-often win! Of course, this is the "biggie"—universal health care.
Folks, we have the finest medical system on this planet and, yet, it seems that politicians are determined to "fix what ain't broken" by providing medical insurance for everyone, with an even greater control over how the Doc practices and what he gets paid. Listen up: Universal health care will NOT work and you can take that to the bank. You will NOT like having to wait a year to have your appendix removed by a doctor that you do not know and, worse, does not know you. You will be happy to return to an hour's wait in YOUR Doc's reception room!
Before everyone jumps on this universal health care "freebee," let me remind you that there will be no doctors practicing medicine because there will be no students going to medical school and enduring THAT grind and expense, only to have the government and insurance companies tell them how to practice and what they can be paid.
Let me correct that: there will be doctors because foreigners will be flowing into our medical schools, filling all those vacant seats, attempting to get in on the American Dream. Dream on, dear one, while you throw the best-of-the best under the bus! In case you can't tell, I am NOT for universal health care—positively and absolutely NOT.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Free, Enslaved, or Both?
Sunday evening, July 20, 2008
As you can see, it is Sunday evening; what you can't see is just how tired I am. Preaching tires me out like NOTHING else (yet, I love doing it with a passion!) and when I have to add an afternoon of busyness to that, it really gets the best of these old bones (maybe it is just old age and there is no cure for it). Anyway, these old bones are too tired to be writing tonight but I am doing it anyway, so hold on for the ride.
As most of you know, I just finished reading Luther's book, "The Freedom of a Christian" and I must say that I loved it not only because he wrote it, but also because of what he said! In my opinion, modern-day Christians do not read nearly enough of these GIANTS of the church. This book was originally written in 1523 (that is close) but it is still relevant for today—very relevant! Sadly, far too many Christians have grown accustom to what amounts to pious pabulum and, consequently, never eat a meal of solid spiritual food, the kind that stretches one out of his comfort zone and makes him think—really think—about what he believes, the kind that oftentimes requires the casting aside of long-held beliefs in order to embrace the truth.
Just as an appetizer, maybe a heavy hors d'oeuvre, listen to this quote from his book [p.50]: "In order to make the way smoother for the average or common readers (for only them do I serve), I will put forth two themes concerning the freedom and bondage of the spirit: (1) A Christian is lord of all, completely free of everything; (2) A Christian is a servant, completely attentive to the needs of all."
How is that for an apparent contradiction? Sounds a lot like the apostle Paul, if I am not mistaken [See 1 Corinthians 9:19; Romans 13:8; and Philippians 2:6-7]. This should not be a surprise because Paul is the very man (with all of his "apparent" contradictions) that God used to open the eyes of Luther and allow him to taste of the graciousness of God, a taste that forever changed the course of his life!
If anyone ever believed that a Christian is free, Paul did and that without reservation; obviously, Luther was smitten with the very same truth. Even so, both of these men would be the first to tell us that because we are free, we have the privilege of serving those whom God places in our lives. The truth is they [Paul & Luther] would tell us that you cannot have one without the other and in my opinion they would be correct.
You see, it works kinda' like this: God does NOT need any of us; in fact, He can carry on quite handily without our help. The truth is He doesn't even need our help to win the world to Jesus; actually, He doesn't even want it! However, our neighbor DOES need us and God has sent us on a mission to be salt and light to him or her or them (for that matter).
If you are free (and you are, whether or not you know it), then you have the time to be on His mission! If you don't, then you are probably like most freed slaves—afraid to be free! Go ahead and taste of the graciousness of the Lord! You will not regret it!
Have a wonderful night's sleep!
-Mac
As you can see, it is Sunday evening; what you can't see is just how tired I am. Preaching tires me out like NOTHING else (yet, I love doing it with a passion!) and when I have to add an afternoon of busyness to that, it really gets the best of these old bones (maybe it is just old age and there is no cure for it). Anyway, these old bones are too tired to be writing tonight but I am doing it anyway, so hold on for the ride.
As most of you know, I just finished reading Luther's book, "The Freedom of a Christian" and I must say that I loved it not only because he wrote it, but also because of what he said! In my opinion, modern-day Christians do not read nearly enough of these GIANTS of the church. This book was originally written in 1523 (that is close) but it is still relevant for today—very relevant! Sadly, far too many Christians have grown accustom to what amounts to pious pabulum and, consequently, never eat a meal of solid spiritual food, the kind that stretches one out of his comfort zone and makes him think—really think—about what he believes, the kind that oftentimes requires the casting aside of long-held beliefs in order to embrace the truth.
Just as an appetizer, maybe a heavy hors d'oeuvre, listen to this quote from his book [p.50]: "In order to make the way smoother for the average or common readers (for only them do I serve), I will put forth two themes concerning the freedom and bondage of the spirit: (1) A Christian is lord of all, completely free of everything; (2) A Christian is a servant, completely attentive to the needs of all."
How is that for an apparent contradiction? Sounds a lot like the apostle Paul, if I am not mistaken [See 1 Corinthians 9:19; Romans 13:8; and Philippians 2:6-7]. This should not be a surprise because Paul is the very man (with all of his "apparent" contradictions) that God used to open the eyes of Luther and allow him to taste of the graciousness of God, a taste that forever changed the course of his life!
If anyone ever believed that a Christian is free, Paul did and that without reservation; obviously, Luther was smitten with the very same truth. Even so, both of these men would be the first to tell us that because we are free, we have the privilege of serving those whom God places in our lives. The truth is they [Paul & Luther] would tell us that you cannot have one without the other and in my opinion they would be correct.
You see, it works kinda' like this: God does NOT need any of us; in fact, He can carry on quite handily without our help. The truth is He doesn't even need our help to win the world to Jesus; actually, He doesn't even want it! However, our neighbor DOES need us and God has sent us on a mission to be salt and light to him or her or them (for that matter).
If you are free (and you are, whether or not you know it), then you have the time to be on His mission! If you don't, then you are probably like most freed slaves—afraid to be free! Go ahead and taste of the graciousness of the Lord! You will not regret it!
Have a wonderful night's sleep!
-Mac
Saturday, July 19, 2008
How Can it Be?
Saturday evening, July 19, 2008
Today was a day to remember! In the first place, today is our 44th wedding anniversary! We celebrated it by taking Carla and Summer to the airport in Atlanta for their return flight to Dayton and on to Yellow Springs (The had been here to get Summer enrolled in Georgia Southern University for the Fall Quarter).
On the way home, we did manage to stop a an Olive Garden in Morrow for lunch and, I must admit, my dish was about as good as food gets! After the meal, I told the waitress that this was our 44th and before we knew it all the waiters and waitresses were at our table singing the Olive Garden version of Happy Anniversary. I cannot remember all of the words in the song but I do know that garlic and pasta were used frequently! After that we made a quick detour in an effort to locate her grandmother's house that had been moved from Reynolds to Morrow for historical restoration. Believe it or not, we found it! She spent many hours in the house during her growing-up days, so it was quite a find for her.
Then, upon arriving at home, I checked the mail and you will never guess what I found! No, not even close! I found my Medicare Card, indicating that I have Part A and Part B with D (prescription plan) in place (Annis already has hers. Go figure!). We are now "insurance poor," unless of course we need it, which I hope we will not! Anyway, we are now officially OLD, but what can you expect on your 44th anniversary.
I thought you would want to know, so I told you!
Blessings and love,
Mac
Today was a day to remember! In the first place, today is our 44th wedding anniversary! We celebrated it by taking Carla and Summer to the airport in Atlanta for their return flight to Dayton and on to Yellow Springs (The had been here to get Summer enrolled in Georgia Southern University for the Fall Quarter).
On the way home, we did manage to stop a an Olive Garden in Morrow for lunch and, I must admit, my dish was about as good as food gets! After the meal, I told the waitress that this was our 44th and before we knew it all the waiters and waitresses were at our table singing the Olive Garden version of Happy Anniversary. I cannot remember all of the words in the song but I do know that garlic and pasta were used frequently! After that we made a quick detour in an effort to locate her grandmother's house that had been moved from Reynolds to Morrow for historical restoration. Believe it or not, we found it! She spent many hours in the house during her growing-up days, so it was quite a find for her.
Then, upon arriving at home, I checked the mail and you will never guess what I found! No, not even close! I found my Medicare Card, indicating that I have Part A and Part B with D (prescription plan) in place (Annis already has hers. Go figure!). We are now "insurance poor," unless of course we need it, which I hope we will not! Anyway, we are now officially OLD, but what can you expect on your 44th anniversary.
I thought you would want to know, so I told you!
Blessings and love,
Mac
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Martin Luther's "The Freedom of A Christian."
Wednesday evening, July 16, 2008
Hopefully, tonight I will finish Martin Luther's book, "The Freedom of a Christian." If you haven't read it, I strongly encourage you to do so, as it is quite worth the read, especially, if you love the gospel. The following is an excerpt that I thought you would appreciate: "When the soul firmly trusts the promises of God, it regards God as truthful and righteous. Nothing greater than this can be said of God. It is the highest worship of God to ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever other qualities ought to be predicated of a power in whom one trusts. When this is done, the soul consents to God's will. It hallows God's name and allows itself to be treated according to God's good pleasure. The soul clings to God's promises, does not doubt them, and trusts that the one who is true, just, and wise will act in a way so that all will be well" (p.60).
You know, when you get to the bottom of the matter, faith is simply ascribing to God the attributes of truthfulness and righteousness; to do anything less is to call Him an unrighteous liar, which is anything but faith. Certainly, none of us would knowingly do that, but when we fail to trust His promises, that IS what we are doing. For example, God unequivocally promised to meet all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus; however, most of us are very familiar with the doubts that come, when it seems that He isn't going to come through in our particular situation. In this example (and many others like it) what are we doing, if we are not declaring that we think He isn't going to prove to be honest?
Faith simply declares that God is truthful and righteous—period! Obviously, this "faith" is God's gift to us (we could certainly never muster it on our own!) and when God sees this faith (really His faith) in our lives, He imputes to us His righteousness! Remember: Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness!
To be honest, I am very thankful that God chose to do for me what I could never have done on my own! Thankfully, His strength really is made perfect in my weakness!
Blessings with grace lavished,
Mac
Hopefully, tonight I will finish Martin Luther's book, "The Freedom of a Christian." If you haven't read it, I strongly encourage you to do so, as it is quite worth the read, especially, if you love the gospel. The following is an excerpt that I thought you would appreciate: "When the soul firmly trusts the promises of God, it regards God as truthful and righteous. Nothing greater than this can be said of God. It is the highest worship of God to ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever other qualities ought to be predicated of a power in whom one trusts. When this is done, the soul consents to God's will. It hallows God's name and allows itself to be treated according to God's good pleasure. The soul clings to God's promises, does not doubt them, and trusts that the one who is true, just, and wise will act in a way so that all will be well" (p.60).
You know, when you get to the bottom of the matter, faith is simply ascribing to God the attributes of truthfulness and righteousness; to do anything less is to call Him an unrighteous liar, which is anything but faith. Certainly, none of us would knowingly do that, but when we fail to trust His promises, that IS what we are doing. For example, God unequivocally promised to meet all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus; however, most of us are very familiar with the doubts that come, when it seems that He isn't going to come through in our particular situation. In this example (and many others like it) what are we doing, if we are not declaring that we think He isn't going to prove to be honest?
Faith simply declares that God is truthful and righteous—period! Obviously, this "faith" is God's gift to us (we could certainly never muster it on our own!) and when God sees this faith (really His faith) in our lives, He imputes to us His righteousness! Remember: Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness!
To be honest, I am very thankful that God chose to do for me what I could never have done on my own! Thankfully, His strength really is made perfect in my weakness!
Blessings with grace lavished,
Mac
Monday, July 14, 2008
God Said it and That Settles it!
Sunday evening, July 13, 2008
It seems like it has been ages since I last offered my perspective (at least to me!) but I do have several good (I think) excuses: (1) I was out of town and away from my computer for several days; (2) My computer died, as in "grave yard dead"; consequently, I had to purchase another one and THEN get it up and running (which I may never do completely!); and finally (3) There have been some things going on in my life that took precedence over my writing. Oh well--
This morning my text was from 1 Peter 23-25, where Peter made it clear that the word of our God abides forever: "For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever." I am certain that this means much more than I was able to communicate today but I did, hopefully, make this clear: When He speaks, His word (whatever He says) continues forever and ever--eternally, as a matter of fact! In other words (no pun intended), we can depend upon what God has said and we can do so throughout eternity. A word of caution: there is oftentimes a significant difference between what God said and what we think He said; consequently, we need to be sure we are depending upon what He said, not what we think He said. Just to be safe: Do not wander too far from the written Word!
As I was driving to GCF this morning, I remembered what God said in the first chapter of Genesis, specifically, "Let there be light!" Now I, obviously, cannot speak for you but I can tell you that, although I have wondered about most of what God has said, I have never wondered if that light would ever be extinguished. Never one time in my life have I been concerned that I would awaken one morning to find that that light had gone out, not once! Interestingly, the end result of that light being extinguished would be dire, very dire, but I never worry about having to experience those dire consequences. Sadly, I do worry sometimes (oftentimes, to be honest), if His grace will prove sufficient for me and what will happen to me if it doesn't; if His strength really be made perfect in my weakness and what I will do if it doesn't; if He will really never forsake me or leave me and what will happen to me if He should; if He really will supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus and how I will deal with life, if He should come up short--to mention a few.
I wonder why I put so much confidence in the light He created by His word and so little confidence in the promises He made by the very same word.
It seems like it has been ages since I last offered my perspective (at least to me!) but I do have several good (I think) excuses: (1) I was out of town and away from my computer for several days; (2) My computer died, as in "grave yard dead"; consequently, I had to purchase another one and THEN get it up and running (which I may never do completely!); and finally (3) There have been some things going on in my life that took precedence over my writing. Oh well--
This morning my text was from 1 Peter 23-25, where Peter made it clear that the word of our God abides forever: "For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever." I am certain that this means much more than I was able to communicate today but I did, hopefully, make this clear: When He speaks, His word (whatever He says) continues forever and ever--eternally, as a matter of fact! In other words (no pun intended), we can depend upon what God has said and we can do so throughout eternity. A word of caution: there is oftentimes a significant difference between what God said and what we think He said; consequently, we need to be sure we are depending upon what He said, not what we think He said. Just to be safe: Do not wander too far from the written Word!
As I was driving to GCF this morning, I remembered what God said in the first chapter of Genesis, specifically, "Let there be light!" Now I, obviously, cannot speak for you but I can tell you that, although I have wondered about most of what God has said, I have never wondered if that light would ever be extinguished. Never one time in my life have I been concerned that I would awaken one morning to find that that light had gone out, not once! Interestingly, the end result of that light being extinguished would be dire, very dire, but I never worry about having to experience those dire consequences. Sadly, I do worry sometimes (oftentimes, to be honest), if His grace will prove sufficient for me and what will happen to me if it doesn't; if His strength really be made perfect in my weakness and what I will do if it doesn't; if He will really never forsake me or leave me and what will happen to me if He should; if He really will supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus and how I will deal with life, if He should come up short--to mention a few.
I wonder why I put so much confidence in the light He created by His word and so little confidence in the promises He made by the very same word.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Is it Really July?
Tuesday morning, July 1, 2008
How in the wide-world did it get to be July 1? Why, we still have the Christmas tree up and blinking in my house! Old age must fight against time passing by so quickly and for good reason: we senior citizens are using up our days much too fast. Yes, I know that everyone is looking forward to Heaven, but I still have a few things that I want to do here on good ole Mother Earth before I board the flight that will take me to that Celestial City. The Bible tells me that God has my days numbered (yours too!) but for some reason, it doesn’t tell me how many He allocated to my account. That means that I feel the need to live each day to the fullest, to squeeze every bit of life out of every moment, not to miss any of the good stuff, and finally to arrive at Home completely spent and ready for whatever He has prepared for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose!
I have no idea how he did it but my paternal grandfather managed to do just that. One morning at the ripe old age of 98, after having lived one incredibly full life, he finished breakfast, told his wife that it was good to be alive, sat down to read the morning paper and then and there he boarded the flight that took him to that Celestial City—no pain, no illness, no shortness of breath, no financial woes, no enemies, no regrets (none that I know of!)—where he began living the life for which he was created. Not bad, if you ask me!
There were some things about his life that simply would not fit into today’s society. For example, he owned and operated the business his father started back in 1866, even survived the Great Depression (barely, but he did survive it!); he walked from his office to his house for lunch every day, where he enjoyed the cooking of the best cook I have ever known; after lunch, he enjoyed a brief nap and, then, a time of gardening (he always had a huge garden and gave most of its fruit away), then back to his office; around 4:00 in the afternoon, he either went fishing or quail hunting or dove shooting, depending upon the time of the year, unless, of course, he had a funeral service to direct (during my teens, he took me with me on most of the excursions!); of course, there were the several fishing trips to Florida he made every year (no schedule, he would just wake up one day and decide to go to Florida for a couple of days of fishing!); he meticulously took care of everything he owned—everything—probably as a result of the Great Depression; I never saw him throw anything away—never; he rose early every morning and went to bed early every night but only after a bedtime toddy (Scotch! I never saw him intoxicated—never!); and, finally, he maintained a scuppernong arbor—scrupulously so—for as long as he lived.
In today’s society, well, life is just too busy and too complicated for such an incredible lifestyle and, trust me on this (not much else, but this!): it is a bad thing—really bad! Most people are slaves to their employers, to pride, to peer pressure, to church, to debt, or to something that robs them of life and, sadly, most of them blame someone else for their dilemma. I never heard my grandfather blame anyone for anything; he didn’t have to because he was never anyone’s or anything’s slave, even during the Great Depression. Oh, he had some difficult times—very difficult—but he managed never to lose focus, to get sidetracked, to be drawn into things that tend to enslave.
I really do think Paul was on to something when he mentioned that we should never lose sight of the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ; that we should work with our hands and attend to our own business!
Blessings and Happy July!!
Mac
How in the wide-world did it get to be July 1? Why, we still have the Christmas tree up and blinking in my house! Old age must fight against time passing by so quickly and for good reason: we senior citizens are using up our days much too fast. Yes, I know that everyone is looking forward to Heaven, but I still have a few things that I want to do here on good ole Mother Earth before I board the flight that will take me to that Celestial City. The Bible tells me that God has my days numbered (yours too!) but for some reason, it doesn’t tell me how many He allocated to my account. That means that I feel the need to live each day to the fullest, to squeeze every bit of life out of every moment, not to miss any of the good stuff, and finally to arrive at Home completely spent and ready for whatever He has prepared for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose!
I have no idea how he did it but my paternal grandfather managed to do just that. One morning at the ripe old age of 98, after having lived one incredibly full life, he finished breakfast, told his wife that it was good to be alive, sat down to read the morning paper and then and there he boarded the flight that took him to that Celestial City—no pain, no illness, no shortness of breath, no financial woes, no enemies, no regrets (none that I know of!)—where he began living the life for which he was created. Not bad, if you ask me!
There were some things about his life that simply would not fit into today’s society. For example, he owned and operated the business his father started back in 1866, even survived the Great Depression (barely, but he did survive it!); he walked from his office to his house for lunch every day, where he enjoyed the cooking of the best cook I have ever known; after lunch, he enjoyed a brief nap and, then, a time of gardening (he always had a huge garden and gave most of its fruit away), then back to his office; around 4:00 in the afternoon, he either went fishing or quail hunting or dove shooting, depending upon the time of the year, unless, of course, he had a funeral service to direct (during my teens, he took me with me on most of the excursions!); of course, there were the several fishing trips to Florida he made every year (no schedule, he would just wake up one day and decide to go to Florida for a couple of days of fishing!); he meticulously took care of everything he owned—everything—probably as a result of the Great Depression; I never saw him throw anything away—never; he rose early every morning and went to bed early every night but only after a bedtime toddy (Scotch! I never saw him intoxicated—never!); and, finally, he maintained a scuppernong arbor—scrupulously so—for as long as he lived.
In today’s society, well, life is just too busy and too complicated for such an incredible lifestyle and, trust me on this (not much else, but this!): it is a bad thing—really bad! Most people are slaves to their employers, to pride, to peer pressure, to church, to debt, or to something that robs them of life and, sadly, most of them blame someone else for their dilemma. I never heard my grandfather blame anyone for anything; he didn’t have to because he was never anyone’s or anything’s slave, even during the Great Depression. Oh, he had some difficult times—very difficult—but he managed never to lose focus, to get sidetracked, to be drawn into things that tend to enslave.
I really do think Paul was on to something when he mentioned that we should never lose sight of the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ; that we should work with our hands and attend to our own business!
Blessings and Happy July!!
Mac
Monday, June 30, 2008
Christianity and Liberalism
Monday morning, June 30, 2008
I am somewhat disappointed that more of you did not enter my desired discussion regarding “church” but life is that way and it is OK. Should you decide to offer your comments, I would be happy to hear them, as I really am interested in knowing how you perceive the state of the “church”.
Anyway, until then, I want to share an excerpt from a book I am reading [“Christianity and Liberalism” by J. Gresham Machen; © 1923; page 105]: “According to the Christian view, as set forth in the Bible, mankind is under the curse of God’s holy law, and the dreadful penalty includes the corruption of our whole nature. Actual transgressions proceed from the sinful root, and serve to deepen everyman’s guilt in the sight of God. On the basis of that view, so profound, so true to the observed facts of life, it is obvious that nothing natural will meet our need. Nature transmits the dreadful taint; hope is to be sought only in a creative act of God. And that creative act of God—so mysterious, so contrary to all expectations, yet so congruous with the character of God who is revealed as the God of love—is found in the redeeming work of Christ. No product of sinful humanity could have redeemed humanity from the dreadful guilt or lifted a sinful race from the slough of sin. But a Savior has come from God. There lies the very root of Christian religion; there is the reason why the supernatural is the very ground and substance of the Christian faith. But the acceptance of the supernatural depends upon a conviction of the reality of sin. Without the conviction of sin there can be no appreciation of the uniqueness of Jesus; it is only when we contrast our sinfulness with His holiness that we appreciate the gulf which separates Him from the rest of the children of men. And without the conviction of sin there can be no understanding of the occasion for the supernatural act of God; without the conviction of sin, the good news of redemption seems to be an idle tale. So fundamental is the conviction of sin in the Christian faith that it will not do to arrive at it merely by reasoning; it will not do to say merely: All men (as I have been told) are sinners; I am a man; therefore I suppose I must be a sinner too. That is all the supposed conviction of sin amounts to sometimes. But the true conviction is far more immediate that that. . . The truly penitent man glories in the supernatural, for he knows that nothing natural would meet his need; the world has been shaken once in his downfall, and shaken again it must be if he is to be saved.”
This, my dear friends, explains one of my major concerns for the “church,” one of the major reasons liberalism has become the accepted norm. If what Mr. Machen has said is true, then, obviously, the church has “watered-down” the gospel to the point that all one has to do to be saved is respond to an “invitation,” walk an “aisle,” repeat a “sinner’s prayer,” sign the proverbial “card,” and be baptized.
What ever happened to true repentance and the miracle of miracles—the redeeming work of Christ? Indeed, it is a “world shaking” event—every time! Hallelujah for the cross!
Blessings,
Mac
I am somewhat disappointed that more of you did not enter my desired discussion regarding “church” but life is that way and it is OK. Should you decide to offer your comments, I would be happy to hear them, as I really am interested in knowing how you perceive the state of the “church”.
Anyway, until then, I want to share an excerpt from a book I am reading [“Christianity and Liberalism” by J. Gresham Machen; © 1923; page 105]: “According to the Christian view, as set forth in the Bible, mankind is under the curse of God’s holy law, and the dreadful penalty includes the corruption of our whole nature. Actual transgressions proceed from the sinful root, and serve to deepen everyman’s guilt in the sight of God. On the basis of that view, so profound, so true to the observed facts of life, it is obvious that nothing natural will meet our need. Nature transmits the dreadful taint; hope is to be sought only in a creative act of God. And that creative act of God—so mysterious, so contrary to all expectations, yet so congruous with the character of God who is revealed as the God of love—is found in the redeeming work of Christ. No product of sinful humanity could have redeemed humanity from the dreadful guilt or lifted a sinful race from the slough of sin. But a Savior has come from God. There lies the very root of Christian religion; there is the reason why the supernatural is the very ground and substance of the Christian faith. But the acceptance of the supernatural depends upon a conviction of the reality of sin. Without the conviction of sin there can be no appreciation of the uniqueness of Jesus; it is only when we contrast our sinfulness with His holiness that we appreciate the gulf which separates Him from the rest of the children of men. And without the conviction of sin there can be no understanding of the occasion for the supernatural act of God; without the conviction of sin, the good news of redemption seems to be an idle tale. So fundamental is the conviction of sin in the Christian faith that it will not do to arrive at it merely by reasoning; it will not do to say merely: All men (as I have been told) are sinners; I am a man; therefore I suppose I must be a sinner too. That is all the supposed conviction of sin amounts to sometimes. But the true conviction is far more immediate that that. . . The truly penitent man glories in the supernatural, for he knows that nothing natural would meet his need; the world has been shaken once in his downfall, and shaken again it must be if he is to be saved.”
This, my dear friends, explains one of my major concerns for the “church,” one of the major reasons liberalism has become the accepted norm. If what Mr. Machen has said is true, then, obviously, the church has “watered-down” the gospel to the point that all one has to do to be saved is respond to an “invitation,” walk an “aisle,” repeat a “sinner’s prayer,” sign the proverbial “card,” and be baptized.
What ever happened to true repentance and the miracle of miracles—the redeeming work of Christ? Indeed, it is a “world shaking” event—every time! Hallelujah for the cross!
Blessings,
Mac
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
