Drippings from the Honeycomb
More to be desired are [the rules of the Lord] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
For a century and a half ‘altar calls’ (which is an odd Protestant term in itself) have been seen as important in conversion. First popularized by Charles Finney and perhaps immortalized in Billy Graham’s crusades, the altar call is often unquestioningly seen as a crucial element to sections of evangelical Christianity. However, it might be seen as socially and even emotionally manipulative practice; but what is more a substitute for what God has commanded.
God has already given us an ‘altar call,’ a way to express faith in Christ publically and it is called baptism. We don’t need to come to the front, we need to plunge beneath the waters. Matthew’s Gospel places a clear emphasis of baptism in following Jesus, from John’s baptism of repentance (Mt 3:1–12), Jesus’ own baptism (Mt 3:13–17) to the New Covenant sign of Baptism in the process of making disciples (Mt 28:19–20). It is through baptism that we express our faith and discipleship and the Lordship of Christ. It is through baptism that we become visible citizens of the Kingdom, members of the Church. The first command Jesus ever gave was to be baptized. If we have been convicted of sin through a song or a sermon in a worship gathering and are open to or have trusted in the Gospel (Mt 4:17) then we should seek out or tell a leader and begin the process to be baptized. When we create substitutes, we diminish God’s appointed means. For this reason, I don’t offer ‘altar calls’ but willingly, gladly and regularly urge people to believe and be baptized (c.f. Acts 2:38 and Mk 16:16) and offer necessary supports in this fundamental act of discipleship. There are a lot of words and ideas in the Bible that are taken for granted. One such word in Christianese is ‘the Gospel.’ What is the Gospel (or Good News)? Before we get the Gospel out we must first get the Gospel right. As Paul warned the Galatians of “a different gospel” we must first note that there are false gospels (Gal 1:6). Often there is enough truth in these to make them believable. Some common examples include: As the RCMP used to train officers to identify fraudulent bills by memorizing the facets of a real bill, so too we must know the true Gospel because there are endless counterfeits. In this way we will always be able to identify other gospels. Our energy should be devoted to knowing the one true Gospel.
So what then is the Gospel? Gospel (original god spell, or good news in old English) comes from the Greek word euaggelion (εὐαγγέλιον). It is a proclamation, a message. In the Greco-Roman word the gospel was a proclamation of good news when a new King/Emperor was crowned, a son born to such a man, or a decisive victory won in battle. In the Jewish world the Gospel was God’s intervention to save His people, particularly in His promised Kingdom. Of course, in both cases, it was only good news depending on what you did with the message (c.f. 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15–17). Jesus is God’s King (“the Christ”) who broke into history to bring salvation for His people. Through His life, death and resurrection He won a spiritual victory over sin and death and hell and Satan. Charles Hodge said, “The gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.” Paul defined the Gospel this way: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Cor 15:3–4). Mark spoke of the Gospel call that is closely associated with the Gospel (for every message must be responded to, positively or negatively): “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15b). When we turn and trust in who Jesus is and what He has done, all the benefits the King won (forgiveness [Cross] and life [Resurrection]) are credited to us through faith; our relationship with God is restored and we enter into the New Covenant with Him. The Gospel is a message with a corresponding call to respond. The Church is called to publish these glad tidings universally and without discrimination. We need to get the Gospel right and then get the Gospel out. The Television (TV) was invented in 1927 and became popular after WWII. As a new form of medium (media is plural of medium, meaning mass communication) it engaged the populace’s senses and brain in new ways than traditional written forms. It both enabled positive content yet its addictive power made prey a ready audience to which to broadcast ungodly content, first subtly and then overtly. Today there are many other forms of screened entertainment and information but TV remains popular.
As a runner I’m permitted a neat cross-section of our culture, particularly on dark winter nights. As I run around Markdale or Flesherton, living rooms and dining rooms are ablaze with light from extra-large flat screen TVs. Canadians spend 20.6 hours/week watching TV, not to mention 5 hours/week on Youtube and more time on other applications.[1] Many people even have it on as background during general family and social time. That is a lot of time in front of a TUBE! When I was a child I watched too much TV. It wasn’t all bad (e.g. history documentaries), however, it wasn’t healthy spending 3 hours a night watching TV. As I grew in my faith I dropped TV altogether (except for some news). Rather, I spent time at church, working, with friends, reading or doing hobbies. While I’ve occasionally watched a movie on the laptop or on a plane or browsed Youtube my adult life has been devoid of TV. In fact we don’t own one! (This surprised a media salesman on a recent visit when trying to sell us bundle deals, we don’t use 60GB on our phone or have a TV for satellite!). As you may guess, I’m not against TV but one must handle it with great discernment. Psalm 115:8 says (speaking of idols), “those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Essentially, we are what we eat! What are we consuming (including music). Ironically, as an over-user, one relative accurately described the TV as ‘the idiot box’; much on TV is not edifying. Just as media can be used by and for Christ to advance His purposes, so too the media is regularly used by Satan to sow lies, dull our thinking and fill our lives with trivial things rather than things that enrich our lives (Phil 4:8). Studies show that our brains and relational skills are negatively impacted by too much media exposure, especially children.[2] (Yet how many parents use media to pacify their children; I even know of a 4-year-old with a TV in their bedroom!). In our media and technologically saturated world we need to be savvy in how and how much we expose ourselves too. Time to go read a book… [1] https://madeinca.ca/television-industry-audience-statistics-canada/#:~:text=Canadians%20spend%20a%20lot%20of,still%20spent%20watching%20live%20TV. [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10353947/#:~:text=However%2C%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,academic%20performance%20in%20later%20years. Godlessness is the absence of God and godly values, even a confusion in them (e.g. calling good evil and evil good). It is thinking yourself God and thereby determininig right and wrong).
In Genesis we see the origin of many things. Particularly we see how a close relationship with God produces godliness whereas a separation and distance from God produces godlessness. *A relationship conveys saving knowledge/grace and a proximity conveys common grace/general benefits. We were created to worship and serve the Lord in love/humility and obedience in accordance with His Word (blessing and life). This is godliness. Godlessness is pride and rebellion (curse and death). We see this pattern unfold in Genesis. Adam and Eve succumbed to the Serpent’s temptation and fell from grace. Cain didn’t stay close to God and so his descendant, Lamech, was even more wicked than Cain (and society sunk to new depths in Gen 6). Noah’s son Ham uncovered his father’s nakedness, his offspring—Nimrod—likely was involved in Babel, and the Canaanites epitomized godlessness with their evil ways. We see this amongst God’s people too. In the time of the Judges ‘everyone did what was right in their own eyes’ resulting in sin. A good King was sometimes followed by a mediocre son and then a wicked grandson. When David wasn’t after God’s own heart he strayed. Think of the ungodliness produced by godlessness in cultures throughout the ages. There is a reason the light of the Gospel lifted untold millions around the world (even merely culturally speaking) from darkness and into civilization. The West often baulks at the present blessings we enjoy (c.f. the cut flower society) yet those blessings derive from our Christian heritage. The Gospel has always been salt and light in a culture as it is in individual lives. The West foolishly thinks it can cast off its Christian roots without dire societal consequences. Christianity is the immune system of the West. Destroy the immune system and instead of life you will have death. I heard a story recently of a great-grandfather who was a Christian, grand parents who were Chreasters (they attended church at Christmas and Easter), grand-children who were atheists and a great grandchild who attacked his grand-mother for drug money. While not all athiests are so ungodly without God godlessness will increasingly prevail. What is the solution to the great and present ungodliness? No matter how far from God we are (or are in our walk with Him if we savingly know Him) we are called to turn and trust. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Ja 4:8). Repent of sin that causes death and trust in/follow Jesus who gives us life, who enables us by His death, Resurrection and Spirit to live godly lives; not only us but whole cultures. The Lord’s Day (secular. Sunday) is an elementary act of Christian devotion. It is the chief public means of grace that is oft neglect, misunderstood and even despised in contemporary church culture. A means of grace is something we do in faith that is the channel for experiencing God’s undeserved favour in our lives. When we pause from our regular routine to worship God is pleased to bless. Our national statement of faith on the subject says:[1] We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s day and that, in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for worship and spiritual exercise. How are we to understand “unique”? The statement was crafted in 1953, a time when the classic Creation Ordinance (Sabbatarian) view[2] was eroding and a view that it was a New Covenant ordinance was gaining an ascendency. Here are the two possible ways “unique” could be understood: [1] Sadly, in our present national review of this item, it has been suggested removing it. This is a case in point to my first paragraph. The LD is such a basic tenant of the Christian faith it is unfathomable why we wouldn’t declare it. [2] C.f. the 1689 and New Hampshire Baptist confessions. However, while different, devotionally the end of both is very similar. Let’s consider the positive and negative aspects of the LD as a means of grace that any Christian should cherish:
Positive
This is the question Cain, very arrogantly, asked God as He investigated the murder of Abel. More than a retort, it raises a very important question, ‘am I responsible and how should I exercise that responsibility’?
GENERAL In a general sense, all of humanity are our brothers. We have a responsibility to ‘love our neighbour as ourself’(GC) and “to do good to all people.” (Gal 6:10). Especially, we have the obligation to be faithful in evangelism, not shying from sharing the Gospel with them and generally in truth pointing them toward a better way by word and deed. Important Considerations It is impossible to care for or share with all people. That is why Galatians says “as you have opportunity.” We are most responsible for those God has placed within our immediate sphere. This likewise follows for evangelism with the additional caveat, to do so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet 3:15b), just as God spoke to Cain. PARTICULARLY Gal 6:10 further says, “especially those who are of the household of faith.” Our ‘brothers’ are those who are so in the Lord. We have an obligation within the redeemed community to care for each other’s physical needs as evidenced by Deacons and other pictures in Acts. We begin to practice the 2nd great commandment and learn how to care for others in the church. But life is not simply physical and so there are spiritual considerations. Positively we’re to carry out instructive discipline (discipleship) and negatively corrective discipline. Both aid the spiritual well-being of fellow believers. We all should be disciples helping to make and grow disciples (though there always remains a role for official leaders). With the truth we know we should instruct and live as an example to fellow believers and those newer in the faith. Important Considerations: This we do in truth, humility and love always desiring what is best for the brother, to be conformed into Christ’s image. In love, we all have a responsibility to guard our brothers and sisters from the calamity of sin ruling over them just as God did with Cain (Gen 4:7). The Bible commands us to admonish one another (Ro 15:14), watch out for one another (Eph 4:32), speak to those who’ve sinned against us (Mt 18), even pluck them from destruction (Jude 22). Important Considerations Lest we come to see ourselves as the Christian Gestapo there are a number of items that make for wise counsel here:
“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Ex 33:14)
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps 16:11) It is a wonder we were created to relate to our Creator. We were designed for His presence in our life. His presence means life and light and peace. It is therefore the longing of every human soul that we find rest in the presence of Him who made us. God’s presence, unsurprisingly, is a great theme of the Bible. Presence in the Garden The LORD God was present in His garden. He walked in the cool of the day and spoke with Adam & Eve. There was abundant life in the Garden because God was there. This was symbolized in the tree of life. Presence After the Fall One curse of the Fall is that the Couple were driven from God’s presence. They would know death and decay. However, there remained small ways for God’s people to experience God’s presence: Remembering His Word, prayer, worship and the visitation of Angels. These were all ways in which God’s presence could be mediated. Occasionally God’s Spirit would come upon an individual for a special purpose. All of this was founded upon faith. Presence Under the Old Covenant When God rescued Israel from Egypt He was present with them, leading them by the pillar of cloud and fire. When the Tabernacle was built His glory rested upon the place. This was where God’s people could come to meet with the Lord. Much of the imagery (menorah and artwork of plant life) were reminiscent of the Garden. This was later reflected in the Temple. Presence in the Incarnation God’s people longed for God to be present with them. This longing was finally realized when God became flesh and dwelt among us. The Incarnation or Immanuel, “God with us.” Whoever met Jesus was in the very presence of God and had a taste of life (e.g. healings, etc). Presence in the New Covenant Jesus had said it was to the disciples’ advantage that He return to Heaven for He would send the Helper (Jn 16). They could only be with Jesus if He were with them. When the Helper came, Jesus would be with His followers 24/7/365 and wherever they went. He would come to dwell in their hearts by faith (Eph 4). The Temple was no longer needed for God’s New Covenant people as Christ was our temple (Jn 2:19) who is building us into a spiritual temple (2 Pet 2:15). God’s presence goes wherever the Church goes! (This is why the early Christians forsook the physical Temple; believing its destruction as prophesied by Jesus was a judgement for Jewish unbelief). Presence in the New Heavens and New Earth As wonderful as the Spirit’s help is, we still pine for Jesus to return and physically be with His people. We await Jesus’ return and the New Heavens and the New Earth (a restored Eden) where Rev 21:3 says, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Believers will spend eternity with the Lord! Come Lord Jesus, come! Did God save Adam and Eve or in the curse did they ultimately perish in hell?
The Bible isn’t overly clear but there are some hints to suggest they were saved:
Externals If we surveyed ‘Baptists’ merely externally it would be very difficult to answer this question. Some reach to tradition to create an common denominator acrostic of historic Baptist beliefs to answer this question (e.g. baptism, autonomy of local church, priesthood of all believers, etc). Those who claim the mantle differ so widely (and wildly) in their belief and practice (e.g. Arminian & Reformed, liberal and conservative, open and closed communion, conventional and societal, etc) that at minimum we might define Baptist as a loose movement of visible Christians who embrace baptism by immersion (‘believer’ cannot always be assumed because of liberalism). Such tradition or man centred approaches fail to strike at the heart of Baptist identity. For this we must turn to the plumb line of God’s truth and the Baptistic convictions that men and women have derived from it. Internals There are three types of Baptists. Those who are born into Baptist families, those who attend a Baptist church out of expedience and those who are Baptists by conviction.[1] The latter is the only type to be for we don’t want to base our lives on the traditions of men but the doctrines of God (Mk 7:7). What does the Bible teach? In 1812 three Congregationalist missionaries, Adoniram & Ann Judson and Luther Rice, set off for India. They knew they would meet William Carey and the other Baptist missionaries there. They had to defend infant baptism and so studied their Greek New Testaments. It is a great danger studying the Bible for they were all convinced of believer’s baptism by immersion! Upon disembarking they were all baptized. The Christian denomination called Baptist arose during the English Reformation, a time of religious tumult when people were trying to search the Scriptures (sola scriptura) and rediscover NT Christianity. What was the faith and practice of the early Church? Baptists emerged as a reform movement. Baptist historian David Bebbington puts it this way: “They adopted the same principles of punctilious loyalty to God’s word, of passionate desire to worship the Almighty correctly, and of willingness to restructure the church in accordance with God’s precepts. Their biblical, liturgical, and ecclesiastical priorities drove them through Puritan loyalties into separatism and, eventually, to the further step of repudiating infant baptism. Baptists were the people who took Reformation principles to their ultimate conclusion.”[2] Baptist belief and practice flow from the Bible and the Gospel (sola fide) to form their identity: [1] M. Haykin et al, The Baptist Story (2015), 325‒26. [2]D. Bebbington, Baptists Through the Centuries (2010), 23‒24. A BAPTIST: A believer in the biblical Gospel, who has been baptized by immersion as the New Covenant sign and has covenanted together with an autonomous local church under its officers and the Lordship of Christ to fulfil their place in the body; who participate in the Lord’s Supper; who seek to live a holy life for Christ’s sake/God’s glory in accordance with the Word and by the Spirit; and to make the name of Christ known. Secondarily Baptists believe in religious liberty (no one can be forced to believe) and separation of church and state (the Kingdom of God is not the kingdom of this world) because of Scripture and their experience. Summary One of the most famous Baptists, Charles H. Spurgeon, grew up in a godly Congregationalist family. He was converted in a Primitive Methodist Chapel. Soon after he became a Baptist. The following is his recollection of a conversation with his mother: My mother said to me, one day, “Ah, Charles! I often prayed the Lord to make you a Christian, but I never asked that you might become a Baptist.” I could not resist the temptation to reply, “Ah, mother! the Lord has answered your prayer with His usual bounty, and given you exceeding abundantly above what you asked or thought." Baptists do not hold a monopoly on salvation but are convicted as to the biblical nature of their central beliefs and practices. The name does not matter but rather standing for what one believes the Bible teaches.
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