Jason K. Allen's Blog, page 9

Lord’s Day Meditation: “To Whom Be Glory Forever. Amen” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “To Whom Be Glory Forever. Amen” by C.H. Spurgeon (Morning & Evening, November 17, Morning)

“To whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36)

“To whom be glory forever.” This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and tributary to this one. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this–“To him be glory forever.” He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that “To him may be glory forever.” You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord’s glory. As a Christian, you are “of God, and through God,” then live “to God.” Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to him. Let this ambition fire your soul; be this the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your zeal would grow chill; make God your only object. Depend upon it, where self begins sorrow begins; but if God be my supreme delight and only object,

“To me ’tis equal whether love ordain

My life or death–appoint me ease or pain.”

Let your desire for God’s glory be a growing desire. You blessed him in your youth, do not be content with such praises as you gave him then. Has God prospered you in business? Give him more as he has given you more. Has God given you experience? Praise him by stronger faith than you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been restored from sickness, and has your sorrow been turned into peace and joy? Then give him more music; put more coals and more sweet frankincense into the censer of your praise. Practically in your life give him honour, putting the “Amen” to this doxology to your great and gracious Lord, by your own individual service and increasing holiness.

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Nine Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Seminary

One of life’s most important questions for
those pursuing ministry preparation is which seminary to attend. One should not choose a seminary lightly. In fact, I
would encourage anyone considering seminary not to move forward with their
choice without having these questions satisfactorily answered:

What are the
Seminary’s Confessional Commitments?

Every student should know what he can expect to be taught, and he
or she should know that from the beginning. Does the institution have a
confessional statement? Is it actually used as a functioning instrument of
accountability? What does the seminary believe and teach about the Bible, the
gospel, human sexuality, marriage, and gender? As a prospective student, does
the confessional statement align with your convictions? Is the seminary
positioned to undergird, not undermine, your faith?

Midwestern Seminary is
unapologetically a confessional institution, happily teaching in accordance
with, and not contrary to, the Baptist Faith &
Message 2000. Additionally, our professors ink their names to the Chicago Statement on
Biblical Inerrancy and the Danvers Statement on
Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

What is the Seminary’s
Purpose?

 Why does the seminary
say they exist? Can you state plainly its calling, and does that calling
resonate with yours? If you do not know why the seminary exists, the seminary
might not know why it exists either. Every seminary worthy of your
consideration ought to be about the business of serving the church. At
Midwestern Seminary, we have ensconced that front and center. We exist for
the Church.

For the Church is our guiding vision,
shaping every decision we make; every position we fill; every event we host;
every initiative we launch; and, most definitely, every class we teach. A
seminary is not required to have “for the church” as their official mission
statement, but they must be a pre-committed institution—pre-committed to the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who does the Seminary
Serve?

This question is similar to the previous one. Every seminary has
a constituency—someone they look to please and under whose oversight they
serve. For some seminaries, that might be an active alumni base, a generous
group of donors, or some other subset of their denomination.

When you figure out who they serve, that will tell you much,
much more about the school. It will tell you the type of faculty they will
hire, the campus culture they cultivate, the events they’ll likely sponsor, and
a host of other things.

How Much Will It Cost?

In North America, higher education costs are skyrocketing. This
is true in every realm of study, including theological education. Thankfully,
due to the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptist seminaries remain affordable,
especially when compared to other evangelical institutions.

Yet, even for institutions that are generously supported by
their denomination, you should carefully review what they charge. What are
their tuition and fees? What is the cost of living on or near campus? Are there
hidden fees buried within their catalogue? These are urgent questions because
they will impact how much you have to work during seminary, how quickly you can
complete your degree, and the extent to which you may have to take on
indebtedness.

Is the School Spiritually
Vibrant?

Admittedly, this is a difficult assessment to make from a
distance, but it is an important question to consider. Is the seminary a dry
place, which so prizes academic achievement that the spiritual disciplines are
not upheld and celebrated?

Is there a warmth and vibrancy to chapel hour? Is prayer,
Bible-intake, worship, evangelism, personal holiness, and other spiritual
disciplines cherished? Do you get a sense that godly men are leading and
attempting to build a God-honoring institution?

Will There Be Ministry
Opportunities?

Every seminary worth its salt will have formal, local-church
expectations for its students. Minimally, this will include active church
membership. Yet, students ought to desire much more than this. The best
ministry preparation couples classroom instruction with the weekly local-church
service.

Therefore, you should not only look for a healthy seminary, but
healthy churches near the seminary in which you can plug in and, perhaps, enjoy
a paid ministry position.

What is the School’s
Faculty Like?

It is impossible for a seminary to rise beyond its faculty. They
are entrusted with the sacred responsibility to pass on the truth of Scripture
from one generation to the next. Therefore, you should ask yourself, who
teaches there? What are they known for? Would you like to study with them? Will
they be accessible to you? Are they willing to invest in you personally?

This is more than a rundown of who has published what (though
writing is an essential part of a faculty member’s work). If theological
education was merely about publications, you could just buy books, read them,
and save yourself a lot of time and money. Rather, does the faculty actually
invest in students? Are internships available? Are leading professors present
and accessible? Does the faculty view students as an interruption to their
calling or as their calling?

What is the Campus
Community Like?

Seminary is so much more than the formal teaching that takes
place in the classroom. Yes, ministry preparation is taught—but it is also
caught. This takes place over coffee, in chapel, at campus events, in student
housing, and in countless other venues. Is the campus community one in which
you can envision yourself growing in Christ and in your ministry pursuit?

This is more than an assessment of amenities and events, but
what is the vibe on the ground? Is it a cheerful institution? Are the faculty,
staff, and students happy to be there and encouraged about their future? Is the
seminary a natural place of encouragement, organic discipleship, and group
synergy toward kingdom matters?

Is the Great
Commission Celebrated?

Lastly, is personal evangelism and the Great Commission a box to
be checked or is it actually an essential part of the seminary community? Does
the institution long for the Lord to call out workers of the harvest? Are
outreach opportunities and international mission trips front and center? Does
the faculty engage in personal evangelism and let it shape their classroom
instruction? Do you sense a burden for lostness, a love for the community, and
a heart for the nations? If not, you will probably be best served by another
seminary.

In Conclusion

Ministry is too high a calling to enter it ill-prepared, and
seminary is too serious a decision to choose lightly. There are other
considerations one should make in choosing a seminary, but these nine are
essentials.

I am grateful to God for the institution that he as entrusted to
me—Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. By his grace, these nine questions
can all be answered positively. As well they should, the needs of the church
are too urgent for any other outcome.

Do not enroll in a seminary without carefully considering these
nine points. Nothing short of your ministry calling—and the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ—is at stake.

*This article was originally published on 4/27/16*

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Thine Eyes Shall See the King in His Beauty” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Thine Eyes Shall See the King in His Beauty” by C.H. Spurgeon (Morning & Evening, November 16, Evening)

“Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” (Isaiah 33:17)

The more you know about Christ the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of him; and the more deeply you study his transactions in the eternal covenant, his engagements on your behalf as the eternal Surety, and the fulness of his grace which shines in all his offices, the more truly will you see the King in his beauty. Be much in such outlooks. Long more and more to see Jesus. Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of agate, and gates of carbuncle, through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the telescope to the eye, and enables us to see Jesus after a better sort than we could have seen him if we had lived in the days of his flesh. Would that our conversation were more in heaven, and that we were more taken up with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation, and the beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence. Beloved, it is very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never had before, when we come to die. Many saints in dying have looked up from amidst the stormy waters, and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea, and heard him say, “It is I, be not afraid.” Ah, yes! when the tenement begins to shake, and the clay falls away, we see Christ through the rifts, and between the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in. But if we want to see face to face the “King in his beauty” we must go to heaven for the sight, or the King must come here in person. O that he would come on the wings of the wind! He is our Husband, and we are widowed by his absence; he is our Brother dear and fair, and we are lonely without him. Thick veils and clouds hang between our souls and their true life: when shall the day break and the shadows flee away? Oh, long-expected day, begin!

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Living in Light of Jesus’ Return

“There are two days in my calendar: this day and that day,”
quipped Martin Luther in reference to Christ’s second coming. We have come a
long way since Luther’s statement, with most believers erring dramatically in
one of two directions.

Second coming sensationalists are the most egregious, and widely
lamented, offenders. They predict the timing of Jesus’ return; but, of course,
they do so in vain. Jesus stated no man knows the day or hour of his return.
The most infamous prognosticator in recent years has been Harold Camping, who
on multiple occasions has predicted the specific date of Jesus’ return, thus
embarrassing himself—and the name of Christ—before a watching world.

As irresponsible as Camping and his ilk are, one can argue the
greater danger facing the church is not hyper-expectancy about Jesus’ return,
but a slumbering church that acts as though Jesus isn’t returning at all. This
seems especially to be the case in the year 2013. Twenty years ago, sermons and
literature on the second coming were plentiful, but such interest seems to have
gone the way of the el Camino car or the waterbed, an out of style fad from a
previous generation.

This ought not be the case, for Southern Baptists are a second
coming people. Though we hold differing positions on both the millennium and on
the tribulation, Southern Baptists are unified on the literal and soon-coming
return of Christ. For Christians, though, the most important questions to ask
are not if Jesus will return—that is settled—and not when he
will return, that is unknowable. The most helpful question to ask is: “So
what?”

Jesus’ second coming is not an abstract doctrine with no bearing
on the Christian life. Rather, the New Testament refers to Jesus’ return with
applicability. The Bible is replete with references to Jesus’ second coming.
These passages come not as an eschatological data dump, but as a forthcoming
event that is to shape a Christian’s life. The Pauline corpus speaks with
special relevance. Paul frequently references, and even elaborates on, the
timing and circumstances of Christ’s return. In studying Paul’s many references
to the second coming, one finds that the Apostle gives special emphasis not
only to Jesus’ return but to the church’s posture as the bride in waiting. What
Jesus will do and when he will do it are not unimportant considerations, but
they are not the most urgent. The most pressing consideration for believers is
how we should live in light of his impending return.

An Expectant Hope

In Titus 2:13, Paul describes Jesus’ second coming as the
church’s “blessed hope.” For most Christians throughout church history,
expecting the second coming was more than the hope of moving from a good life
to a more perfect eternal state. Rather, it was a yearning for deliverance from
pestilence and war, a yearning for deliverance from death and destruction, and
a yearning for deliverance from poverty and persecution, or even deliverance
from martyrdom.

In the Western world, Christianity in the 21st century finds
most believers enjoying life in relative comfort. Religious freedom, modern
medicine, bourgeois lifestyle, and other modern-day conveniences have proven to
bring not only earthly comfort but also spiritual complacency. This comfort
often diminishes our yearning for Jesus’ return.

This complacency is frequently found in the local church as
well. Many congregations act as though Christ’s return would interrupt their
building program or contravene their long-range strategic plan. Too many young
adults seem content for material pursuit, while senior adults are too busy
enjoying retirement to long for Christ’s return. I sense that for many
Christians today, heaven is too distant, eternity too abstract, and Jesus’
return too theoretical. In complete contrast, we need to live life on a
first-century footing, yearning for something so beautiful and eternally
satisfying—to see Jesus and be made like him—that it eclipses and transcends
all other longings and expectations.

A Sanctified Life

In expounding upon Jesus’ return, Paul frequently references the
church’s need to prepare individual’s lives to see Jesus. In fact, Paul calls
the church to live as “sons of light and sons of the day, not as of the night
or of darkness” (I Thessalonians 5:5), in anticipation of Jesus’ return. Truth
be known, if our longing is not right, our living will not be right either.

Few things focus one’s life like impending judgment. This is why
Jonathan Edwards resolved “never to do anything, which I should be afraid to
do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last
trumpet” (Resolutions of a Saintly Scholar). Therefore, it is urgent
that we recover a robust and expectant eschatology. As we do, we will find that
a healthy anticipation of Jesus’ return infuses the Christian life with focus
and urgency, proving to accelerate growth in the spiritual disciplines.

Cause and effect can be difficult to disentangle, but in the New
Testament there is a clear correlation between anticipating Christ’s return and
living a more sanctified Christian life. Expecting to meet Jesus occurs with a
sober intention to purify one’s life, and the call to purify one’s life occurs
in concert with anticipating Jesus’ return. This is why one preacher famously
said we should live as though “Christ died yesterday, rose from the grave
today, and is coming back tomorrow.”

A Renewed Witness

The more Christians contemplate Jesus’ return—and the final
judgment associated with it—the more we will be renewed in our evangelistic
witness. This is rooted in the gospel and the Great Commission itself. The lost
urgently need to hear of Christ before they meet him. After all, as Peter
reminds us, God has delayed Christ’s return and final judgment to allow time
for a greater harvest of souls. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow about his
promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any
to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The second coming of Jesus and the renewal of our personal
witness is precisely where the inerrancy of Scripture and the exclusivity of
the gospel intersect. To embrace the total truthfulness of God’s Word—including
the soon-coming return of Christ and the corresponding truth that all must
repent and believe in Jesus to be saved—should propel us into a renewed fervor
for the Great Commission. The Christian who confesses Jesus is coming and that
salvation is found only in his name must be dynamic, not static, in his
witness.

Conclusion

The church’s attention to Jesus’ return seems to be seasonal,
with interest rising and falling based upon a host of issues, most especially
current geo-political events. The need of the hour is not for more end-times
speculation or an unhealthy preoccupation with the sequence of eschatological
events. Such interests should give way to an eschatological anticipation that
impacts how we live the Christian life until he returns.

Perhaps there should be a touch of Harold Camping in us all:
hoping, yearning, and even expecting Jesus’ return. Until he comes, we find
ourselves with the saints of the ages, longing for the day when the kingdom of
this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and praying with
the saints of the ages, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

*This article was originally posted on 5/8/2013*

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Lord Is My Portion, Saith My Soul” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Lord Is My Portion, Saith My Soul” by C.H. Spurgeon (Morning & Evening, November 16, Morning)

“The Lord is my portion, saith my soul.” (Lamentations 3:24)

It is not “The Lord is partly my portion,” nor “The Lord is in my portion”; but he himself makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not his grace merely, nor his love, nor his covenant, but Jehovah himself. He has chosen us for his portion, and we have chosen him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we shall never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing–

“Lov’d of my God for him again

With love intense I burn;

Chosen of him ere time began,

I choose him in return.”

The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills himself; and if God is all-sufficient in himself, he must be all- sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man’s desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, anon he wakes to the perception that there is somewhat yet beyond, and straightway the horse-leech in his heart cries, “Give, give.” But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” Well may we “delight ourselves in the Lord” who makes us to drink of the river of his pleasures. Our faith stretches her wings and mounts like an eagle into the heaven of divine love as to her proper dwelling-place. “The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage.” Let us rejoice in the Lord always; let us show to the world that we are a happy and a blessed people, and thus induce them to exclaim, “We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

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Has God Called You to the Ministry?

I well
remember the swirling emotions that filled my heart as I processed God’s call
to the ministry. Though I grew up in a Bible-believing, Southern Baptist
church, I resisted the gospel throughout my childhood and adolescent years. It
was not until my freshman year in college that I committed my life to Christ.
After many months convicting my heart, the Spirit of Christ invaded my life,
saved me, and redirected my life’s ambitions.

Yet, for
me, God’s call went beyond His summons to salvation. Over the next three years
I increasingly sensed His call to ministry as well. Looking back now, it seems
so clear, so inevitable, and so right. Then, however, it was much more
confusing, even daunting. Spiritually, I felt as though I was navigating my way
through a maze, incrementally gaining clarity and direction, but unsure of what
would be my final destination.

I spent
some two years in suspended animation, feeling called to ministry but unsure
how that was supposed to feel. I desired the ministry, but I wondered if that
was an appropriate desire. I felt at once wholly unworthy of the call, yet
disobedient if I did not pursue it. I heard the testimonies of others who had
surrendered to ministry and I could identify with them, but only in part. From
a distance, the whole process looked imperceptibly mystical.

Further
complicating matters, I had watched others publicly declare their intent to
pursue ministry, yet never follow through. Every time this occurred I felt in
some small way that God’s reputation was sullied. I did not want to jump the
gun and add my name to the list of those ministers who failed to launch.

Moreover,
certain questions kept haunting me:

How could
I know for sure this was not just a temporary zeal for Christ?

What if my
passion was only a phase of life—like many experience during their college
years—which would wane with age and other responsibilities?

Might God
simply be calling me to be a committed layperson?

How,
exactly, does God issue His call?

Would
surrendering to ministry mean a life of sacrifice and hardship?

If I
spurned God’s call, was I inviting His punishment?

Wanting
answers, I searched the Scriptures and sought wise counsel. I daily devoured
the Pastoral Epistles and intuitively sought out opportunities to minister. I
taught Sunday School, led evangelistic outreach, became a summer youth intern,
ministered in prisons, preached in half-way houses, and went on an overseas
mission trip, sensing that if God were indeed calling me, I would increasingly
desire the work.

My desire to
do other things withered, and my desire to serve Christ flourished. My appetite
for ministry became insatiable. The more I preached, the more I longed to
preach. The more I served, the more I desired to serve. The more I witnessed,
the more I wanted to be Christ’s witness.

Ultimately,
Paul’s air-tight argument on the necessity of gospel preaching sealed it for
me: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are
they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear
without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As
it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
(Romans 10:14-15).

If my
deliberative process had been a set of scales weighing divine confirmation, it
was as though God placed his finger on the side of ministry, pushing the
balance down with overwhelming, irrefutable consent. Fear gave way to
confidence, answers displaced questions, and doubt was replaced by assurance.
God was indeed calling me to the ministry.

Now,
nearly two decades later, I find myself on the other end of these queries and
conversations. As a seminary president, I regularly visit with those wrestling
with a call to ministry—and they are experiencing questions and feelings I know
all too well.

Like I did
many years ago, most Christians have an undeveloped, insufficiently informed
understanding of what it means to be called to the ministry. They are often in
their own state of suspended animation, seeking certainty and assurance yet
feeling ill-equipped to follow God’s call.

Then, I
desperately needed a roadmap. Now, I want to offer you one. If God has indeed
called you to the ministry, clarity should crowd out confusion. Assurance will
displace doubt. Consider these ten questions, which serve as ten indicators God
has indeed called you to ministry.

1. Do you
desire the ministry?

2. Does
your character meet God’s expectations?

3. Is your
household in order?

4. Has God
gifted you to teach and preach his Word?

5. Does
your church affirm your calling?

6. Do you
love the people of God?

7. Are you
passionate about the Gospel and the Great Commission?

8. Are you
engaged in fruitful ministry?

9. Are you
ready to defend the faith?

10. Are
you willing to surrender?

These are
urgent and consequential questions. After all, what could be more unsettling
than to embark on the ministry unsure if God is indeed leading you? Even the
best of ministries can be challenging enough, but to undertake ministry without
a clear sense of God’s call, accompanied by God’s power and God’s favor, is too
much to bear.

At the same time, God’s call is too noble, too consequential, and too glorious to neglect. You need to know for sure whether or not God has called you. And you can.

*This article was originally published September 2016

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Strengthen, O God, That Which Thou Hast Wrought for Us” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Strengthen, O God, That Which Thou Hast Wrought for Us” by C.H. Spurgeon (Morning & Evening, November 15, Evening)

“Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.” (Psalm 68:28)

It is our wisdom, as well as our necessity, to beseech God continually to strengthen that which he has wrought in us. It is because of their neglect in this, that many Christians may blame themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit which arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks to flood the fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but it is also true that many Christians leave open the sluice-gates themselves, and let in the dreadful deluge through carelessness and want of prayer to their strong Helper. We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the Preserver of it also. The lamp which was burning in the temple was never allowed to go out, but it had to be daily replenished with fresh oil; in like manner, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil of grace, and we can only obtain this from God himself. Foolish virgins we shall prove, if we do not secure the needed sustenance for our lamps. He who built the world upholds it, or it would fall in one tremendous crash; he who made us Christians must maintain us by his Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and final. Let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the grace and strength we need. We have a strong argument to plead, for it is his own work of grace which we ask him to strengthen–“that which thou hast wrought for us.” Think you he will fail to protect and sustain that? Only let your faith take hold of his strength, and all the powers of darkness, led on by the master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow over your joy and peace. Why faint when you may be strong? Why suffer defeat when you may conquer? Oh! take your wavering faith and drooping graces to him who can revive and replenish them, and earnestly pray, “Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.”

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Three Ingredients for Faithful Preaching

Faithful preaching has three primary ingredients. Creativity and homiletical polish are helpful, but the key ingredients of faithful preaching are preset and established by God. The three ingredients touch on who is qualified to preach, why one should preach, and what one should preach.

Who may Preach?

Though the gospel call is promiscuous, the call to preach is not. In fact, preachers are a conscripted force, mustered by God’s Spirit into service for the church.

As Spurgeon observed, the call to preach begins with an intense, internal, and all-absorbing desire for ministry work.[1] In addition to this internal aspiration, the Apostle Paul set forth sterling character and the ability to teach God’s Word as pastoral non-negotiables (I Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9).

From man’s perspective most anyone can enter ministry by donning clerical garb, speaking in religious platitudes, and receiving church-based compensation. However, from God’s perspective only those called by his Spirit, qualified by his Scriptures, and affirmed by his local church can preach faithfully.

Why do we Preach?

Those called to preach should do just that—preach. Preaching is God’s divinely ordained means of communicating his Word, nourishing his church, and redeeming his people. Other pastoral activities may complement preaching, but nothing should displace it.

God only had one son, and he made him a preacher. Scripture tells us “Jesus came preaching” (Mark 1:14) and then he sent his disciples out to preach. From the prophets of old, to Pentecost, to the end of the age, preaching is God’s appointed means of reconciling sinners to himself.

As Spurgeon warned, “I do not look for any other means of converting men beyond the simple preaching of the gospel and the opening of men’s ears to hear it. The moment the church of God shall despise the pulpit, God will despise her. It has been through the ministry that the Lord has always been pleased to revive and bless his churches.”[2]

Whether in the first century or the twenty-first century, man will find signs attractive and wisdom appealing, but God has always been well-pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.

We preach because God ordained it. We dare not do anything else.

What do We Preach?

Faithful preaching requires sermons be preached from God’s Word. Both prescriptively and descriptively, Scripture is clear—the preacher’s task is to preach God’s Word. We do not look to the news cycle, social media, or pop culture for sermon fodder. We look to the Scriptures. Illustrations, analogies, and applications can be helpful, but they must illuminate and underscore the text, not distract from it.

Biblical exposition—sermons that explain the text, place it with in its biblical context, and apply it to God’s people—is preferable because God has predetermined not only what, but also how, we preach.

There is a measure of latitude here. Whether the expository sermon is 30 minutes or 60 minutes, the sermon series counted in weeks or years, we can find joy when God’s Word is honored, explained, and authoritatively preached.

“The Bible says” remains the most beautiful refrain in the church house. Explaining and applying the Bible to God’s people remains the most noble—and urgent—ministerial task, which is why Paul’s dying words to Timothy bind and instruct preachers in every generation—preach the Word.

Conclusion

Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously observed preaching is “the highest, the greatest, and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.”[3] It is too high and too glorious a calling for just anyone to preach just anything for just any reason in just any way. Preaching is to be done by a man, called of God, who is compelled to herald the Bible with full conviction and faithful interpretation.

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[1] See C. H. Spurgeon, “The Call to Ministry,” in Lectures to My Students (repr.; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2014), 23–42.

[2] C. H. Spurgeon, Autobiography, Volume 1: The Early Years (London: Banner of Truth, 1962), v.

[3] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1972), 9.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “It Must Not Be so Done in Our Country” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “It Must Not Be so Done in Our Country” by C.H. Spurgeon (Morning & Evening, November 14, Evening)

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not to learn from the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they must first be wedded to the tender-eyed Leah of repentance. Every one falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully serve twice seven years to enjoy it, but according to the rule of the Lord’s kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be beloved of our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second, and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in his humiliation, or we shall never rest with him in glory.

My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to break through the heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward without labour, or honour without toil? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content to take the ill-favoured things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense thee for all. In such a spirit, labouring and suffering, thou wilt find bitters grow sweet, and hard things easy. Like Jacob, thy years of service will seem unto thee but a few days for the love thou hast to Jesus; and when the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come, all thy toils shall be as though they had never been–an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and labour.

Jesus, to win thyself so fair,

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

The first I’ll wed the next to gain.

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In Spirit & in Truth: Bringing Balance to Christian Worship

In the Christian life, balance can be
difficult to achieve. Whether it’s reconciling God’s sovereignty and man’s
responsibility, conceptualizing the divine and human natures of Christ, or trusting
God without slipping into personal complacency, the one who finds balance finds
a good thing. Similarly, the 21st-century church would do well to
find balance in its worship of Christ.

Survey the Christian landscape in North
America and you often find churches leaning too heavily in one of two
directions. Some churches are inclined towards truth, emphasizing doctrinal
straightness, in-depth preaching and rigorous Bible study. These disciplines
are good, but not enough. As A. W. Tozer said, “You can be straight as a gun
barrel theologically, and as empty as one spiritually.”[1] Conversely, other
churches tend toward the emotive and affective. Careful Bible study and
biblical, expository preaching are displaced by emotional impulses. Either of
these overreaches can tilt the worship service in an unhealthy direction,
hindering the growth of God’s people and leaving the worship service in want.

Yet, what Christ has joined together—worship
in spirit and truth—no man should separate. Rightly
understood, biblical truth and heartfelt worship complement each other. Indeed,
theology does inspire doxology.

This balance is precisely what Jesus expressed
in John 4 in his famous encounter with the woman at the well. At first glance,
this lady looks ill equipped to worship God. A Samaritan by birth and an
adulteress by choice, she’s unlikely to be on the shortlist for any first
century church’s worship committee.

Though the Samaritan woman inquired of Jesus
as to the proper location of worship, Jesus points her to the real components
of worship, saying, “An hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be
His worshipers. God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth” (John 4:23–24).

“In spirit” is a call to worship the Lord from
one’s inner person, from the heart, so to speak. Though not necessarily
emotional, such worship touches the emotion and impacts the affection. Having
been converted and filled with the Holy Spirit does not ensure that one
worships in spirit, but it does mean one is capable of worshiping in spirit.

“In truth” means faithful worship is done in
accordance with and in light of God’s revelation, his holy Word. The public
reading of Scripture and the preaching of God’s Word bring the truth to bear on
the gathered congregation, thus informing and inspiring worship. Like two wings
on an aircraft, both spirit and truth are essential for biblical,
Christ-honoring worship to occur.

Worship is not a condiment, meant merely to
flavor the Christian life. The worship of Christ is at the heart of the
Christian life. As followers of Jesus Christ, we await the final worship scene,
when for all eternity the redeemed will declare, “The kingdom of the world has
become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever
and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

In the meantime, let’s be found faithful to
worship—in spirit and in truth—and to be about extending the number of
redeemed, thus enhancing the worship of Christ for time and eternity.

[1] A. W. Tozer, Fellowship of the Burning Heart: A Collection of Sermons by A. W. Tozer (ed. James L. Snyder; Aluchua, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2006), 8.

*This article was originally published November 2013

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