Six-Days Later
It has been almost a week since I last posted. I wanted to take an abrupt time off from the rigors of blogging. I am missing out on a discussion of Luther at Masstheology.com. Sad day. But while I was away, I did some good reading and listened to a great CD. The CD is Barlow Girl’s latest release of “Another Journal Entry.” I first heard these three beautiful ladies at Crossover this past summer. I will admit I came thinking that they were going to be the typical group of girls in Christian Music. But they surpassed Superchic[k] and became my favorite female act. In fact they are my favorite group right now. Their music energetic, their vocals passionate, and their lyrics smart, sassy, truthful, and moving. When I saw them in concert I was blasted by their incredible performance. I now own both the self-titled release and their sophomore album. Keep it up girls if you ever read this. God has really blessed my ministry by your music. In fact, you gave me my direction in Sunday’s sermon when I was struggling. I heartily recommend their music to all who read this post.
I felt the need to get back to my roots a little bit. So I busted out some sermons by Jonathan Edwards, who by the most anti-Christian university was labeled the greatest mind ever produced by America, which deal with the call to the ministry the job of the minister and deacon. On sermon is entitled “Ministers to Preach not their own Wisdom but the Word of God.” This sermon was preached at an ordination in February of 1740. There is one quote that really made me laugh and cheer him on because I love how he writes. He is very straight forward and doesn’t beat around the issue. Read this following quote in this sermon.
If ministers ought to proceed by such a rule in their preaching, no wonder that such confusion has followed on their proceeding by a contrary rule. Seeing that man’s own reason, blind as it is, has of late been so much set up as man’s highest rule in judging of divine things—and even a rule superior to revelation itself—no wonder that Arminianism and Arianism, deism and atheism have come in like a deluge. When once men come to that, as to set up their reason as their highest rule, ’tis no wonder that they hasten to the same state of darkness that they were in when they had no other rule, when they had no revelation and nothing else to guide ’em but their own reason, when they were in a state of heathenism.
When men come to make God’s revelation to be only the handmaid or bondmaid, and to set reason over it as its mistress, no wonder that it soon comes to that, that the mistress casts out the bondmaid and all her progeny, insisting that the mistress’ off.”
I love Edwards. That’s all I can say. He lays it all open for all to see exactly what he believes. He doesn’t color it up to not offend anyone. He says what he is convicted. I pray that I will have the boldness of Edwards in my preaching. Too many preachers want to color everything so that people will like what they say. I want to preach the Scriptures and nothing else.
Another book I began reading was a sci-fi book about Darth Bane. If you are a Star Wars fanatic like I am you probably know who he is. For those of you who have no idea of who he is, let me fill you in. In the movies, there was only Vader and the Emperor in the original trilogy. In Episode I, we learn the the Sith, the bad guys, only operate in a master-apprentice relationship. There are no Sith outside of these two so that there are only two Sith in existance at all time. Darth Bane is the Sith Lord who implemented this philosophy. This novel is the life story about Darth Bane. While I was reading the book, I was very excited to see the hero/villan (depending on how you view the Sith, I am a fan of them but its up to you) reading the old manuscripts of the Sith Lords that had passed before him to learn from his past. In the book, this study enabled him to pass beyond the power of any of his teachers and fellow students at the academy where he studied.
I immediately saw the truth in that. There is great wisdom in those great biblical scholars that are here with us today. We should listen to them and learn from them–either what to believe or not to believe and how to defend those beliefs. However, we should not forget the greats like Edwards, Luther, Calvin, Athensasius, Aquinas, Chrystosom, Eusebius, Tertulian, Justin Martyr. But more than that, we must realize that all the wisdom that these great scholars have is nothing compared to that which is found in the Scriptures. We can only have true wisdom from God’s word and that is where we must spend most of our time. Learn from all of the great teachers, both past and present. But never neglect learning from the great Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit.
Related posts:
No comments yet. Be the first.
Leave a reply