It is unfortunate that most pastors today are not as concerned about the biblical doctrine of church discipline as our Lord was (Matthew 18:15-20).
When they debate methods of “doing church,” this subject is noticeably missing from the dialogue. It is the type of music, method of outreach, the question of drama and entertainment that is front and center today.
Let someone else deal with church discipline; we will give ourselves to the ministry of the Word. The trouble with that attitude is that church discipline is a doctrine of Scripture.
To any pastor who is serious about “doing church” and understands that church discipline is a crucial part of his responsibility, there are several informative books that I would like to recommend. These books will lay a firm foundation for him to follow and will help him better understand the biblical mandate and method for church discipline:
1. Beyond Forgiveness: The Healing Touch of Church Discipline by Don Baker, published by Multnomah Press. This book deals with the discipline and restoration of a local church staff member.
2. A Journey into Purity by Richard Belcher, published by Rassbury Press. This book deals with the subject of church discipline in a theological novel format and would be a great book to introduce your congregation to the subject.
3. A Guide to Church Discipline by J. Carl Laney, published by Bethany House Publishers. This book lays out the step by step method of church discipline and answers many questions concerning it. The forward is written by John MacArthur.
4. The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter, published by John Knox Press. This puritan classic is a good source of teaching on church discipline. In chapter two, “The Oversight of the Flock,” section 1, “The Nature of this Oversight,” Baxter has an extended treatment on the method of exercising church discipline.
Together, these sources should give a pastor all of the information that he may need to enter upon the important work of church discipline.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Quotes from "The Expository Genius of John Calvin" by Steven J. Lawson
Preface – “…sad to say, we live in a generation that has compromised this sacred calling to preach. Exposition is being replaced with entertainment, preaching with performance, doctrine with drama, and theology with theatrics.” (p. XI)
“The greatest season of church history---those eras of widespread reformation and great awakening---have been those epochs in which God-fearing men took the inspired Word and unashamedly preached it in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (p. XII)
“By overwhelming consent, he [John Calvin] remains the greatest biblical commentator of all time.” (p. 4)
“…when John was 14, he entered the University of Paris to study theology in formal preparation to become a priest. Calvin’s time at the university resulted in a master of arts degree at age 17.” (p. 6)
“Frail in stature, Calvin suffered many ailments.” (p. 15)
Calvin permitted only the Word of God, the Psalms to be sung in his church. (p. 23)
“Calvin’s deeply embedded convictions about the supreme authority of the Bible demanded an elevated view of the pulpit.” (p. 24)
“This commitment to the undisputed authority of the Bible compelled him to preach verse by verse through entire books of the Bible.” (p. 24)
“It is the expositor’s task, he believed, to bring the supreme authority of the divine Word to bear directly on his listeners.” (p. 26)
Calvin wrote, “God will have His church trained up by the pure preaching of His own Word, not by the contrivances of men [which are wood, hay and stubble].” (p. 30)
“As a faithful shepherd, he fed his congregation a steady diet of sequential expository messages.” (p. 32)
“This verse-by-verse style---lectio continua, the ‘continuous expositions’---guaranteed that Calvin would preach the full counsel of God. Difficult and controversial subjects were unavoidable. Hard sayings could not be skipped. Difficult doctrines could not be overlooked. The full counsel of God could be heard.” (p. 32)
“Whether the biblical book was long and extensive…or brief and short…Calvin was determined to preach every verse.” (p. 34)
“In Calvin’s words, preaching is ‘the living voice’ of God ‘in His church.’”(p. 35)
”In all of life, one supreme passion consumed John Calvin: the glory of God.” (p. 39)
“…this commitment to God’s glory heavily influenced Calvin’ biblical exegesis. When he studied, it was to behold the majesty of God.” (p. 40)
“The pastor, he wrote, “ought to be prepared by long study for giving to the people, as out of a storehouse, a variety of instruction concerning the Word of God.” (p. 41)
Calvin’s personal motto was, “My heart I give to thee, O Lord, promptly and sincerely.”
(p. 44)
“Two things are united,” he confessed, “teaching and prayer; God would have him whom He has set as a teacher in His church to be assiduous in prayer.” (p. 44)
Calvin “… preached no less than ten times a fortnight to the same congregation.” (p. 46)
“Calvin was not a silver tongued orator, but a Bible-teaching expositor.” (p. 55).
“When Calvin stepped into the pulpit, he did not bring a manuscript of his sermon with him.” (p. 57)
“Calvin believed spontaneous preaching helped yield a ‘lively’ delivery, one marked by energy and passion.” (p. 58)
“In Bible exposition, substance is to be desired above style, and doctrine before delivery.” (p. 65)
“Calvin is the founder of the modern grammatico-historical exegesis.” (p. 69)
“…Calvin insisted on sensus literalis, the literal sense of the biblical text. He rejected the medieval quadriga, the ancient interpretation scheme that allowed for literal, moral, allegorical, and analogical meaning of a text.” “The true meaning of Scripture is the natural and obvious meaning.” (p. 71)
“When Calvin protested against allegorizing, he was protesting not against finding a spiritual meaning in a passage, but against finding one that was not there.” (p 72)
Calvin declared, “I have felt nothing more important than a literal interpretation of the biblical text. (p. 72)
“Calvin’s purpose in preaching was to render transparent the text of Scripture itself.” (p. 73)
“Calvin used cross-references sparingly. It appears that he desired not to wander unnecessarily from the primary passage that lay open before him.” (p. 73)
In Calvin’s preaching, two kind of cross-referencing are evident. In the first, Calvin cited a passage without attempting to quote it verbatim. (p. 73) “On other occasions, Calvin directly quoted verses or passages, either by reading them, reciting them from memory or paraphrasing them.” (p. 74)
“Throughout his ministry, Calvin kept his preaching singularly focused on explaining the God-intended meaning of the biblical text.” (p. 79)
“While there is only one correct meaning to a passage, there are multiple ways of conveying that meaning in a sermon. This difference accounts for the art of preaching.” (p. 84)
“The Reformer [Calvin] wrote his first book in Latin and preached in his native French from either a Hebrew or Greek Bible.” (p. 85)
“Calvin also spoke in simple sentences that were easily accessible to his listeners.” “As he preached, Calvin’s towering intellect nearly always lay ‘concealed, behind [his] deceptively simple explanations of his author’s meaning.’” (p. 87)
“Calvin will never speak the original Greek word and will rarely refer to ‘the Greek.’” (p.88)
“Another means Calvin employed to explain a biblical text was to restate a verse in alternative words. He would adopt a different sentenced structure and use synonyms.” (p. 88)
“Calvin’s signature formula to introduce a restatement was ‘It is as if he were saying…’” or “in other words…” (p. 93)
“He showed little concern to supplement his exposition with quotations from other authors. For Calvin, nothing must overshadow the Word.” (p. 96).
“Philip Schaff…notes, “[Calvin] lacked the genial element of humor and pleasantry; he was a Christian stoic: stern, severe, unbending, yet with fires of passion and affection glowing beneath the marble surface;.” (p. 99)
“He was by nature and taste a retiring scholar, but Providence made him an organizer and ruler of churches.” (p. 99)
“Calvin rightly believed that he did not need to make the Bible relevant---it was relevant.” (p. 104)
Calvin wrote, “We have not come to the preaching merely to hear what we do not know, but to be incited to do our duty.” (p. 104)
“He preached primarily to edify and encourage the congregation God had entrusted to him. In short, he preached for changed lives.” (p. 104 -105)
“Calvin was never needlessly harsh or domineering with his own congregation.” (p. 105)
“Calvin often utilized first person plural pronouns-- ‘us’ and ‘we’--as he exhorted his congregation.” (p. 106)
“…Calvin was a master of the art of pastoral exhortation with inclusive language.” (p. 106)
“Without a doubt, loving admonishment and reproof were a part of Calvin’s preaching.”
“All true exposition of Scripture must include such correction.” (p. 112)
”For Calvin, preaching also required an apologetic defense of the faith.” “In Calvin’s view, the full weight of Scripture must be brought to bear against theological error, whether inside the organized church or outside it.” ( p. 112)
“At the heart of this practice was a holy compulsion to guard the glory of God, defend Christ’s matchless character, and protect the purity of the gospel.” (p. 112)
“Calvin took every opportunity to uphold sound doctrine and to refute any and all contradictions to it. He was a staunch guardian of the truth.” (p. 115)
“Calvin’s expositions were approximately one hour in length, some six thousand words each.” (p. 120)
“In the conclusion of each sermon, Calvin first gave a short summation of the truth he had exposited. He then passionately called for his hearers’ unqualified submission to the Lord.” (p. 120)
“Finally, he concluded with public prayer, committing his flock into the sovereign hands of the Lord.” (p. 120)
“These concluding prayers were vertical in their thrust, pointing his listeners upward to God.” (p. 126)
“This was the passion of Calvin’s preaching. Start to finish, it was soli Deo Gloria—for the honor and majesty of God alone.” (p. 129)
“The greatest season of church history---those eras of widespread reformation and great awakening---have been those epochs in which God-fearing men took the inspired Word and unashamedly preached it in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (p. XII)
“By overwhelming consent, he [John Calvin] remains the greatest biblical commentator of all time.” (p. 4)
“…when John was 14, he entered the University of Paris to study theology in formal preparation to become a priest. Calvin’s time at the university resulted in a master of arts degree at age 17.” (p. 6)
“Frail in stature, Calvin suffered many ailments.” (p. 15)
Calvin permitted only the Word of God, the Psalms to be sung in his church. (p. 23)
“Calvin’s deeply embedded convictions about the supreme authority of the Bible demanded an elevated view of the pulpit.” (p. 24)
“This commitment to the undisputed authority of the Bible compelled him to preach verse by verse through entire books of the Bible.” (p. 24)
“It is the expositor’s task, he believed, to bring the supreme authority of the divine Word to bear directly on his listeners.” (p. 26)
Calvin wrote, “God will have His church trained up by the pure preaching of His own Word, not by the contrivances of men [which are wood, hay and stubble].” (p. 30)
“As a faithful shepherd, he fed his congregation a steady diet of sequential expository messages.” (p. 32)
“This verse-by-verse style---lectio continua, the ‘continuous expositions’---guaranteed that Calvin would preach the full counsel of God. Difficult and controversial subjects were unavoidable. Hard sayings could not be skipped. Difficult doctrines could not be overlooked. The full counsel of God could be heard.” (p. 32)
“Whether the biblical book was long and extensive…or brief and short…Calvin was determined to preach every verse.” (p. 34)
“In Calvin’s words, preaching is ‘the living voice’ of God ‘in His church.’”(p. 35)
”In all of life, one supreme passion consumed John Calvin: the glory of God.” (p. 39)
“…this commitment to God’s glory heavily influenced Calvin’ biblical exegesis. When he studied, it was to behold the majesty of God.” (p. 40)
“The pastor, he wrote, “ought to be prepared by long study for giving to the people, as out of a storehouse, a variety of instruction concerning the Word of God.” (p. 41)
Calvin’s personal motto was, “My heart I give to thee, O Lord, promptly and sincerely.”
(p. 44)
“Two things are united,” he confessed, “teaching and prayer; God would have him whom He has set as a teacher in His church to be assiduous in prayer.” (p. 44)
Calvin “… preached no less than ten times a fortnight to the same congregation.” (p. 46)
“Calvin was not a silver tongued orator, but a Bible-teaching expositor.” (p. 55).
“When Calvin stepped into the pulpit, he did not bring a manuscript of his sermon with him.” (p. 57)
“Calvin believed spontaneous preaching helped yield a ‘lively’ delivery, one marked by energy and passion.” (p. 58)
“In Bible exposition, substance is to be desired above style, and doctrine before delivery.” (p. 65)
“Calvin is the founder of the modern grammatico-historical exegesis.” (p. 69)
“…Calvin insisted on sensus literalis, the literal sense of the biblical text. He rejected the medieval quadriga, the ancient interpretation scheme that allowed for literal, moral, allegorical, and analogical meaning of a text.” “The true meaning of Scripture is the natural and obvious meaning.” (p. 71)
“When Calvin protested against allegorizing, he was protesting not against finding a spiritual meaning in a passage, but against finding one that was not there.” (p 72)
Calvin declared, “I have felt nothing more important than a literal interpretation of the biblical text. (p. 72)
“Calvin’s purpose in preaching was to render transparent the text of Scripture itself.” (p. 73)
“Calvin used cross-references sparingly. It appears that he desired not to wander unnecessarily from the primary passage that lay open before him.” (p. 73)
In Calvin’s preaching, two kind of cross-referencing are evident. In the first, Calvin cited a passage without attempting to quote it verbatim. (p. 73) “On other occasions, Calvin directly quoted verses or passages, either by reading them, reciting them from memory or paraphrasing them.” (p. 74)
“Throughout his ministry, Calvin kept his preaching singularly focused on explaining the God-intended meaning of the biblical text.” (p. 79)
“While there is only one correct meaning to a passage, there are multiple ways of conveying that meaning in a sermon. This difference accounts for the art of preaching.” (p. 84)
“The Reformer [Calvin] wrote his first book in Latin and preached in his native French from either a Hebrew or Greek Bible.” (p. 85)
“Calvin also spoke in simple sentences that were easily accessible to his listeners.” “As he preached, Calvin’s towering intellect nearly always lay ‘concealed, behind [his] deceptively simple explanations of his author’s meaning.’” (p. 87)
“Calvin will never speak the original Greek word and will rarely refer to ‘the Greek.’” (p.88)
“Another means Calvin employed to explain a biblical text was to restate a verse in alternative words. He would adopt a different sentenced structure and use synonyms.” (p. 88)
“Calvin’s signature formula to introduce a restatement was ‘It is as if he were saying…’” or “in other words…” (p. 93)
“He showed little concern to supplement his exposition with quotations from other authors. For Calvin, nothing must overshadow the Word.” (p. 96).
“Philip Schaff…notes, “[Calvin] lacked the genial element of humor and pleasantry; he was a Christian stoic: stern, severe, unbending, yet with fires of passion and affection glowing beneath the marble surface;.” (p. 99)
“He was by nature and taste a retiring scholar, but Providence made him an organizer and ruler of churches.” (p. 99)
“Calvin rightly believed that he did not need to make the Bible relevant---it was relevant.” (p. 104)
Calvin wrote, “We have not come to the preaching merely to hear what we do not know, but to be incited to do our duty.” (p. 104)
“He preached primarily to edify and encourage the congregation God had entrusted to him. In short, he preached for changed lives.” (p. 104 -105)
“Calvin was never needlessly harsh or domineering with his own congregation.” (p. 105)
“Calvin often utilized first person plural pronouns-- ‘us’ and ‘we’--as he exhorted his congregation.” (p. 106)
“…Calvin was a master of the art of pastoral exhortation with inclusive language.” (p. 106)
“Without a doubt, loving admonishment and reproof were a part of Calvin’s preaching.”
“All true exposition of Scripture must include such correction.” (p. 112)
”For Calvin, preaching also required an apologetic defense of the faith.” “In Calvin’s view, the full weight of Scripture must be brought to bear against theological error, whether inside the organized church or outside it.” ( p. 112)
“At the heart of this practice was a holy compulsion to guard the glory of God, defend Christ’s matchless character, and protect the purity of the gospel.” (p. 112)
“Calvin took every opportunity to uphold sound doctrine and to refute any and all contradictions to it. He was a staunch guardian of the truth.” (p. 115)
“Calvin’s expositions were approximately one hour in length, some six thousand words each.” (p. 120)
“In the conclusion of each sermon, Calvin first gave a short summation of the truth he had exposited. He then passionately called for his hearers’ unqualified submission to the Lord.” (p. 120)
“Finally, he concluded with public prayer, committing his flock into the sovereign hands of the Lord.” (p. 120)
“These concluding prayers were vertical in their thrust, pointing his listeners upward to God.” (p. 126)
“This was the passion of Calvin’s preaching. Start to finish, it was soli Deo Gloria—for the honor and majesty of God alone.” (p. 129)
Training Men to Lead
“I will therefore that men (Gk. aner – male in distinction to female) pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands (hands unstained – a holy walk) without wrath and doubting (anger and disputing).” (I Tim. 2:8)
Pastors who seldom call others to lead in prayer are missing a tremendous opportunity to disciple men in the assembly. Others should be called upon, not only in Sunday school classes and other weekly Bible studies, but also in the morning worship service. I am not alone in thinking this. Warren Wiersbe, in his little book titled, In Praise of Plodders, says, “Some ministers pray too often in the Sunday service and they ought to invite others to share in this ministry.” Of course if this has not been his custom, he may have to orient the men of the congregation by informing them ahead of time that he would like for them to lead in prayer at the opening or closing of the service.
If the leader would call upon others to pray, he would find that they would begin to develop in the area of leadership. He should call upon men in general and not only those who are aspiring to lead. Of course, there will be occasions when the pastor may need to open or close the service in prayer, but he should not reserve that place entirely for himself.
Don’t be hesitant to call upon men to lead in prayer. It will stretch them. It will help them learn to pray aloud – to pray in public. It will encourage them to lead their own family in prayer before meals and at family devotions. They will become leaders in their families.
If pastors and elders would call upon other men to lead in prayer, the people would be taught that not only the trained clergy is able to address God in prayer in the worship service, but all spiritual men may do so. And visitors would see that the pastor is not the only spiritual man in the congregation.
Pastors who seldom call others to lead in prayer are missing a tremendous opportunity to disciple men in the assembly. Others should be called upon, not only in Sunday school classes and other weekly Bible studies, but also in the morning worship service. I am not alone in thinking this. Warren Wiersbe, in his little book titled, In Praise of Plodders, says, “Some ministers pray too often in the Sunday service and they ought to invite others to share in this ministry.” Of course if this has not been his custom, he may have to orient the men of the congregation by informing them ahead of time that he would like for them to lead in prayer at the opening or closing of the service.
If the leader would call upon others to pray, he would find that they would begin to develop in the area of leadership. He should call upon men in general and not only those who are aspiring to lead. Of course, there will be occasions when the pastor may need to open or close the service in prayer, but he should not reserve that place entirely for himself.
Don’t be hesitant to call upon men to lead in prayer. It will stretch them. It will help them learn to pray aloud – to pray in public. It will encourage them to lead their own family in prayer before meals and at family devotions. They will become leaders in their families.
If pastors and elders would call upon other men to lead in prayer, the people would be taught that not only the trained clergy is able to address God in prayer in the worship service, but all spiritual men may do so. And visitors would see that the pastor is not the only spiritual man in the congregation.
Quotes on Humor in Preaching
While preaching is a serious business - it is God’s means of saving lost sinners (I Cor. 1:21), a good case can be made for the use of humor in preaching. Jesus had a sense of humor, and He often used humor in His preaching. The book of Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time to laugh and a time to cry” (3:4). I have at least two books in my library on the humor of Jesus, one by David Redding and the other by Elton Trueblood. Dr. Larry Michael has a chapter on laughter in his book titled Spurgeon on Leadership.
Our Puritan forefathers were rather stern when it came to preaching, but C.H. Spurgeon, who has been called “the last Puritan,” was known to have had a great sense of humor which he often used in his preaching. A lady once complained to Spurgeon that he used too much humor in his sermons. Spurgeon replied, “Well madam, you may very well be right; but if you knew the number of jokes I do not tell you, and the number of things that I refrain from saying you would give me credit.”
The great evangelist George Whitfield never used humor. John Piper seems to have this view, yet he often injects humor into his sermons. Martyn Lloyd Jones had a similar view of humor in preaching. Others make a great use of humor; Charles Swindoll is a good example as are also Alistar Begg and David Jeremiah. Both Swindoll and Jeremiah offer recordings of excerpts from their sermons of their humor. A humorous story can bring light on a major point. The trick is to keep humor and gravity in balance. Humor should seldom be used for sake of humor, I think.
The great reformer Martin Luther gave nine properties and virtues of a good preacher. First, [he said] he should, “…teach systematically…[and] have a ready wit…”etc.
In his book, Lectures on Preaching, Phillips Brooks called humor one of the most helpful qualities that the preacher can possess.
John Stott, who went to be with the Lord in 2011, said, “We should press [humor] gladly into service in the cause of the gospel.”
John Ortberg believes “…humor must always be the servant of the message. If humor does nothing to forward that purpose, then the preacher must willingly jettison it from the sermon.”
Even Lloyd Jones said, “I would not dare to say that there is no place for humor in preaching, but I do suggest that it should not be a very big place because of the nature of the work and because of the character of this truth with which we are dealing.”
I think that Haddon Robbinson gives the proper balance on the subject of humor in preaching in his book, Biblical Preaching when he writes, “…the cardinal rule of humor is [that] it must serve the truth.”
Our Puritan forefathers were rather stern when it came to preaching, but C.H. Spurgeon, who has been called “the last Puritan,” was known to have had a great sense of humor which he often used in his preaching. A lady once complained to Spurgeon that he used too much humor in his sermons. Spurgeon replied, “Well madam, you may very well be right; but if you knew the number of jokes I do not tell you, and the number of things that I refrain from saying you would give me credit.”
The great evangelist George Whitfield never used humor. John Piper seems to have this view, yet he often injects humor into his sermons. Martyn Lloyd Jones had a similar view of humor in preaching. Others make a great use of humor; Charles Swindoll is a good example as are also Alistar Begg and David Jeremiah. Both Swindoll and Jeremiah offer recordings of excerpts from their sermons of their humor. A humorous story can bring light on a major point. The trick is to keep humor and gravity in balance. Humor should seldom be used for sake of humor, I think.
The great reformer Martin Luther gave nine properties and virtues of a good preacher. First, [he said] he should, “…teach systematically…[and] have a ready wit…”etc.
In his book, Lectures on Preaching, Phillips Brooks called humor one of the most helpful qualities that the preacher can possess.
John Stott, who went to be with the Lord in 2011, said, “We should press [humor] gladly into service in the cause of the gospel.”
John Ortberg believes “…humor must always be the servant of the message. If humor does nothing to forward that purpose, then the preacher must willingly jettison it from the sermon.”
Even Lloyd Jones said, “I would not dare to say that there is no place for humor in preaching, but I do suggest that it should not be a very big place because of the nature of the work and because of the character of this truth with which we are dealing.”
I think that Haddon Robbinson gives the proper balance on the subject of humor in preaching in his book, Biblical Preaching when he writes, “…the cardinal rule of humor is [that] it must serve the truth.”
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The Men of the Titanic
On the night of April 14, 1912, one of the worst maritime disasters in history occurred. The British luxury liner, Titanic, a 46,000 ton ship on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg about 95 miles south of the Grand Banks of New Foundland The ship that had been hailed unsinkable, because of its sixteen water – tight compartments, sank in just three hours. The iceberg had penetrated five of the compartments—one more than was considered possible in any single accident.
The captain of the ship had boasted that not even God could sink the ship. Because of the overconfidence of her builder, lifeboats had been provided for only a fraction of the passengers and crew. Some 2,220 persons were on board the giant ship; of these 1,513 lost their lives.
But as tragic as the disaster was, it has left us one of the greatest illustrations of sacrificial love in history. We are told that while the ship’s orchestra played “Nearer My God to Thee,” 1,513 brave souls, mostly men who had given up their places in the life boats for the women and children, gave their lives in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. It was reported that some 600 widows of the Titanic disaster were left in Liverpool alone!
Recent investigations have shown that the metal of the Titanic was inferior. The mettle of the men of the Titanic was not!
Someone has reported that a recent survey asked the question, “Would you have given up your right to a seat in a lifeboat if you had been on the Titanic?” Forty-eight percent responded “No.” It would seem that this was a much safer place for women to live in, during the days when the Judeao-Christian ethic (or chivalry) was still alive.
How heroic these men of the Titanic were! But what they did was only what God’s Word demands of every Christian Husband. In Ephesians 5:25 we read, “Husbands, love your wives,as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it.” So, the Christian husband is to demonstrate sacrificial love for his wife just as those men of the Titanic demonstrated their unselfish love for the women and children of the ill-fated ship, by giving their lives for them.
February has just passed. It is the month when we think a lot about the real meaning of love. So let me pose this question, “How much do you love your wife.” How have you demonstrated sacrificial love for her? Let me suggest some tangible ways that you can show her you love her. Think for a moment about some things that you are quite sure irritate you wife most and give them up. It may be a habit that annoys her, it may be a hobby that keeps you away too much, or it may be something else. Give it up if you love her. Make it your goal to change these things in order to demonstrate the reality of your love.
On the positive side, do something tangible for her. Send her flowers, open the car door for her, tell her that you love her, take her out to dinner—just the two of you, not just on Valentine’s Day, but all through the year.
Be like the men of the Titanic in demonstrating your love. Better still be Christ-like in your love for your wife. Christ proved His love for the church by paying the supreme sacrifice. How have you demonstrated your love for your wife?
The captain of the ship had boasted that not even God could sink the ship. Because of the overconfidence of her builder, lifeboats had been provided for only a fraction of the passengers and crew. Some 2,220 persons were on board the giant ship; of these 1,513 lost their lives.
But as tragic as the disaster was, it has left us one of the greatest illustrations of sacrificial love in history. We are told that while the ship’s orchestra played “Nearer My God to Thee,” 1,513 brave souls, mostly men who had given up their places in the life boats for the women and children, gave their lives in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. It was reported that some 600 widows of the Titanic disaster were left in Liverpool alone!
Recent investigations have shown that the metal of the Titanic was inferior. The mettle of the men of the Titanic was not!
Someone has reported that a recent survey asked the question, “Would you have given up your right to a seat in a lifeboat if you had been on the Titanic?” Forty-eight percent responded “No.” It would seem that this was a much safer place for women to live in, during the days when the Judeao-Christian ethic (or chivalry) was still alive.
How heroic these men of the Titanic were! But what they did was only what God’s Word demands of every Christian Husband. In Ephesians 5:25 we read, “Husbands, love your wives,as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it.” So, the Christian husband is to demonstrate sacrificial love for his wife just as those men of the Titanic demonstrated their unselfish love for the women and children of the ill-fated ship, by giving their lives for them.
February has just passed. It is the month when we think a lot about the real meaning of love. So let me pose this question, “How much do you love your wife.” How have you demonstrated sacrificial love for her? Let me suggest some tangible ways that you can show her you love her. Think for a moment about some things that you are quite sure irritate you wife most and give them up. It may be a habit that annoys her, it may be a hobby that keeps you away too much, or it may be something else. Give it up if you love her. Make it your goal to change these things in order to demonstrate the reality of your love.
On the positive side, do something tangible for her. Send her flowers, open the car door for her, tell her that you love her, take her out to dinner—just the two of you, not just on Valentine’s Day, but all through the year.
Be like the men of the Titanic in demonstrating your love. Better still be Christ-like in your love for your wife. Christ proved His love for the church by paying the supreme sacrifice. How have you demonstrated your love for your wife?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Quotable Spurgeon
Quotes from The Quotable Spurgeon
Harold Publishing Company
From the introduction:
“The great German theologian and pastor Helmut Thielicke stated,” ‘Sell all the books you have…and buy Spurgeon.’”
“At the age of six…being already well able to read…[he] picked up a copy of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. It fascinated him—actually, he read it over one hundred times during his life.”
“He said, ‘the revealed word awakened me; but it was the preached word that saved me; I now think I am bound never to preach a sermon without preaching to sinners.”
“Spurgeon was also tremendously sensitive to the absolute necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in his pulpit style and ministry.”
“Many things could be said about Spurgeon’s preaching style, but perhaps central to it all was the fact that he was absolutely committed to the full authority of the Scriptures.”
“…for three years there were over one thousand people every Sunday turned away from the ten-thousand-seat-capacity Surrey Gardens Music Hall, where he preached to a packed building before the construction of the Metropolitan Tabernacle building.”
From the section titled “Preaching the Word.” pp. 207 – 232 (other sections include: Evangelism, Prayer, His Holy Word, Living Faith, God’s Grace, Affliction, Sinful Nature, etc.)
“However learned, godly, and eloquent a minister may be, he is nothing without the Holy Spirit.”
“…men love spiritual warmth. Cold truth, even cold gospel truth, is never attractive. Ministers must be fervent, their spirits earnest, and their style energetic, or many will not come to them. Religion is a dish to be served hot; once it becomes lukewarm it is sickening. Our baptism must be with the Holy Spirit and with fire if we would win the masses to hear the gospel.”
“Let the preacher give his people food, and they will flock around him, even if the sounding brass of rhetoric and the tinkling cymbals of oratory are silent.”
“The best teachers are those who have labored to be understood by the dullest capacities. Preachers who all along have aimed to suit the educated never become so simple or efficient as those who have made a point of explaining even the elements [basics] of faith to the ignorant.”
“The church has never had worse enemies than false teachers. Infidels and persecutors do but mild injury to her, but her heretical preachers have been as evening wolves.”
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Quotes on Preaching from Gathered Gold by John Blanchard
“If you shoot over the heads of your congregation, you don’t prove anything except that you don’t know how to shoot.” - James Denney
“If it is bad to preach over people’s heads, not to preach to their heads at all is worse.”
- James S. Stewart
“The Christian ministry exists for the promotion of holiness.” – Donald MacLeod
“My grand point in preaching is to break hard hearts, and to heal the broken one.”
- John Newton
“If we can teach Christ to our people, we teach them all.” – Richard Baxter
“There are three particular temptations that assail Christian leaders: the temptation to shine, the temptation to whine and the temptation to recline.” – Anon
“A pleasing preacher is too often an appeasing preacher.” – Anon
“A self-serving minister is one of the most loathsome sights in all the world.”
- Walter J. Chantry”
“It has always been the mark of false prophets and preachers that they preached what people wanted to hear.” - Peter DeJong
“I had rather be fully understood by ten than admired by ten thousand.” – Jonathan Edwards
“Popularity has killed more prophets than persecution.” – Vance Havner
“No man ought to be in a Christian pulpit who fears man more than God.” – William Still
“A man cannot really preach until preach he must. If he can do something else, he probably should!” – Vance Havner
“A man should only enter the Christian ministry if he cannot stay out of it.”
- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“I cannot recall, in any of my reading, a single instance of a prophet who applied for the job.”
- A. W. Tozer
“Error in the pulpit is like fire in the hayloft.” - Anon
“Preaching is truth through personality.” – Phillips Brooks
“I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.” - Richard Baxter
“I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, every person ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone else gives him his life, I will give him mine.”
- Jonathan Edwards
“A minister without boldness is like a smooth file.” – William Gurnall
“A minister should go to every service as though it were the first, as though it could be the best, and as though it might be the last.” – Vance Havner
“I preach as though Christ was crucified yesterday, rose from the dead today and was coming back tomorrow.” – Martin Luther
“To me, the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can be called.” – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“No man who is full of himself can ever truly preach the Christ who emptied himself.”
- J. Sidlow Baxter
“No man can give at once the impressions that he himself is clever and that Jesus Christ is mighty to save.” – James Denney
“Make sure it is God’s trumpet you are blowing….” - W. Ian Thomas
“We must study as hard how to live well as how to preach well.” – Richard Baxter
“He will make the best divine that studies on his knees.” – John Flavel
“We should begin to pray before we kneel down and we should not cease when we rise up.”
- C. H. Spurgeon
“A preacher should have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child and the hide of a rhinoceros. His biggest problem is how to toughen his hide without hardening his heart.” – Vance Havner
“If any minister can be satisfied without conversions, he shall have no conversions.”
- C. H. Spurgeon
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