Will ALL of the REAL Pastors PLEASE Stand Up!! PART FOUR

Will All of The REAL Pastors

PLEASE Stand Up! PART FOUR

1.The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3.He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5.Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

I have often been guilty of declaring that I believe ‘The Church is in trouble’ & of leaving that statement hanging in the air like a cricket ball spinning in slow motion towards a plate glass window. I can announce that I have been very wrong. As I read my Bible more & more, I am beginning to see more clearly than ever that Almighty God is still sovereign; that Christ Jesus is still Lord & still unrivalled as The Head of The Church; that The Holy Spirit is still definitively exercising His Divine Right to lead, guide & be obeyed. At a time when there are, undoubtedly, clowns to the left of us & jokers to the right, here we are & we ought to be grateful to be stuck in the middle, in Him.

There has never been a time at which God has been without a people. Neither has there ever been a time when His people have ever been without leadership. That leadership has never been without mandate & said mandate should be trusted because it’s handed down by He Who works all things according to the counsel of His own will (Romans8:28, Ephesians1:11).

With the passing of Moses, Israel came under the leadership of Joshua. When Joshua died, Israel came under the leadership of the Judges. When we arrive at the end of the book of Judges, we may be tempted to say, as I have often said of The Church, ‘Israel is in trouble’ because we’re told that ‘In those days there was no King in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes’ (Judges21:25). Cue the slowly spinning cricket ball & cut to the plate glass window. However, God always has a plan A. Once we come to the book of 1^stSamuel it is here that we see The Lord orchestrate the promotion of a man who would become the new Shepherd for His people Israel. It’s no accident that after Judges we have the book of Ruth & as we hop, skip & jump through it, we see the providential lineage of our Messiah & the man whose throne He will inherit. That man was David.

Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a King: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their King; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man’s seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: (Acts13:16-23).

At this point I would heartily recommend that you take some time to read the first 15 chapters of 1^stSamuel as background before going any further. It shouldn’t take you too long, unless you’re reading from the King James Version, in which case you might have to spray your tongue with Mr. Sheen in order to slip through it quickly. I’m joking, please do not spray your tongue with Mr. Sheen or any other type of wax-based, household cleaning product. It will not end well!

The book of 1^stSamuel opens with the story of the miraculous conception of the Prophet of God after which the book is named & his dedication to the service of The Lord by his mother Hannah, who had been barren. She petitions The Lord with her tears, pouring her heart out, asking Him to give her a son & vows ‘O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head’ (1^stSamuel1:11).

I love it when The Lord does stuff, because He’s The Lord & He does stuff like this. True to form, God opens Hannah’s womb & she conceives a child. When the child is born, it is a son & she names him Samuel because he was asked for. As soon as the boy is weaned, he is taken to Eli.

And Elkanah [Hannah’s husband] went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest (1^stSamuel2:11).

Eli had two tearaway sons that he either could not or would not control, they were Hophni & Phinehas. Sons of Belial. These boys would steal from the offerings that were brought to be offered before The Lord & they would also sleep with the women. This was a known fact to all & sundry, yet their behaviour went unchecked by their father. Such was the state of the ministry then at that time & so it remains today. Some of our ministers operate with an unbridled impunity & a diminished fear of God. Everyone can see what’s going on, everyone talks about it, everyone knows. However, nothing is done. Not by man at least.

Samuel flourished. He learned the ropes. He ministered before The Lord in his little Linen Ephod, he wore the little coat that his mother brought for him every year when she came with her offering & he grew in favour with The Lord & with men. Samuel was God’s man, in the midst of everything that was happening, despite the nepotism, blatant immorality & endemic dishonesty. He was exactly where God wanted him, doing exactly what God wanted him to do. The Lord had plans for Eli’s sons & sent a man to tell their father the bad news. I dread to think what went through Eli’s mind as he listened to those terrible words of prophecy which included the deaths of his sons on the same day (1^stSamuel2:27-36).

*Whenever I’m tempted to become frustrated with the state of certain parts of The Church & its leaders, I always re-read this story. Not only is The Lord completely aware, but He extends His grace to these men in order to correct their faults & forgive their sins. Eventually He will judge us all but in the meantime He will always be well able to replace any & every individual as He wills. Again, Almighty God is still sovereign; Christ Jesus is still Lord & still unrivalled as The Head of The Church; The Holy Spirit is still definitively exercising His Divine Right to lead, guide & be obeyed.

And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision (1^stSamuel3:1).

In good time God called Samuel & made no bones about telling him what was going to happen to Eli & his house, as well as what He was going to do, saying, ‘Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end’ (1^stSamuel3:11-12).

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord (1^stSamuel3:19-21).

Well, as we read on we see that the Philistines rear their ugly heads & engage Israel in battle. Israel suffer large casualties & decide to bring The Ark of The Covenant from its place in Shiloh, to Ebenezer. Although the reputation of The Ark preceded it, Israel failed to secure victory against the enemy & worst still, The Ark was captured. It was a great slaughter & among those killed were Hophni & Phinehas, the sons of Eli. True to form, The Lord had performed the thing He had said that he would do; ‘when I begin, I will also make an end’. Their father Eli keels over & dies from a broken neck & Ichabod, Phinehas’ son is born. An entire ministry of 40 years down the drain. The glory had indeed departed from Israel.

God punished the Philistines & eventually The Ark was returned to Israel, then Samuel the Prophet began to come into his own, judging Israel & going before the Messianic figure whose calling & Kingdom would typify that of The Lord Jesus Christ.

And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a King to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a King to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord (1^stSamuel8:1-6).

This may have displeased Samuel, but it came as no surprise to The Lord. He had already said that this would happen when Israel came into the Promised Land & had made provision in his commandments for the time when it did. (Deuteronomy17:14-20). The elders of Israel said they wanted a King because Samuel was old & his sons Joel & Abiah didn’t walk in his ways, but this was a very poor excuse. Eli was old & his sons were reprobate, yet no one cried out for a King during their tenure. It’s amazing that we will tolerate the worst things imaginable in our leaders, but then fail to recognise good men when God gives them to us & we will mercilessly pick them to pieces. As The Lord continues cleaning house & executing His plan, He gives Israel a King & warns them what their new King will do & informs them of the consequences. Israel didn’t listen but instead insisted, so they inherited Saul. His life & ministry is a study in itself, but if you’ve taken the time to read the first 15 chapters of the book of 1^stSamuel for yourself, you’ll see this quite clearly. It sufficeth to say that although he began well, Saul rapidly declined as a King despite his apparent qualifications. This was made quite clear to him by the Prophet. ‘But now thy Kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee’ (1^stSamuel13:14).

Wherever there’s an Eli, God will provide a Samuel & wherever there’s a Saul, He will provide a David. I know that this sounds clichéd & perhaps it is a little, but my point is that The Lord always raises someone up to Shepherd His flock. Samuel grew up and faithfully served The Lord until the time that he was ready to take up his duties as a Judge & Prophet over Israel. Despite the lacklustre performance of Eli & the theft & whoredom of Hophni & Phineas, God prepared Samuel for his calling. Similarly, when Israel asked for a King & rejected The Lord, He didn’t fall to pieces. He continued to execute his plan even though people were slaughtered in battle. God always has a plan A.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a King among his sons (1^stSamuel16:1).

Of course, Samuel obeys The Lord & goes, prepared to anoint the new King. It is here that a most valuable lesson is to be learned. In Samuel’s experience, Saul had been tall, good looking & gifted, but these qualities mean absolutely nothing. Samuel’s experience in the choosing of Saul may have come to bear on his judgement in this situation, but when The Lord had instructed him to go to Jesse, He had said that He would name Saul’s successor.

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (1^stSamuel16:6-7).

Parts of The Church today may not always led by men who are led by The Holy Spirit, but it is certainly led by men who are led by other men. Neither is it always led by men who are convicted of a vocation. However, as I stated previously, God’s mandate should be trusted because it’s handed down by He Who works all things according to the counsel of His own will (Romans8:28, Ephesians1:11). There are plenty of people who are gifted, talented & blessed with attractive attributes. They’re creative, charismatic & imposing, with a delivery that’s as sweet as honey & as smooth as silk. But these things do not a ministry make. God looks on the heart.

Neither Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah or any of the other sons of Jesse that were present, had the stuff that God was looking for & the Lord refused them all. There is never any comparison to, or adequate replacement for, a real Pastor. At his core is a love of & for the flock of God & every gift, talent & attribute that man possesses ought to make him the very best Shepherd of the sheep that he can be in Christ’s stead. The case of David as Israel’s Shepherd is unique in that his Kingdom, throne & Pastoral oversight typified that of the Messiah.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah (1^stSamuel16:11-13).

*David may very well have been physically striking, but it is the heart of a man that is of primary importance to God. We are told that ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ (Jeremiah19:9) & yet The Lord sees the pursuant quality akin to His own heart in the youngest son of Jesse. I contend that any Pastor must have this desire in their heart & life. I would further contend that it has to be The Lord that has placed it there because a true Shepherd of the flock of God will only desire what God desires for His people & he will do everything possible to see that they get it.

The Spirit of The Lord came upon David but left Saul & was replaced by an evil spirit. So the King’s servants have a bright idea. If a musician can be found who’s skilful with the harp, it will sooth the King’s demonised condition.

And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him (1^stSamuel16:17-23).

Now we come to the juicy part of our story. The bit that everyone knows & remembers. The stock of any Sunday school teacher worth their salt. The tale of David & Goliath. I have to confess that until I began writing this series of articles, I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the fetes or fates of the men God had called to serve as Shepherds among His flock. To my shame, I had paid the least attention to David because this tale is probably the best known Bible story there is & yet it is the least known in its significance. Apart from the unrivalled masterclass we receive from Christ Himself, this is easily the most definitive lesson in Pastoral ministry I have ever seen.

It appears that one of the servants of Saul had somehow come to witness David’s exploits & gifts & gave him a glowing reference before the King, saying, ‘I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite’ (1^stSamuel16:18). However, in none of these matters had David become lifted up. He faithfully tended his father’s flock & we will come to see that whatever he had done to earn his reputation, had been done for the sake of the flock, not for himself. Happy & humble servitude is such a rarity in the ministry.

After Samuel had anointed him the new King of Israel, David went back to keeping his father’s sheep & evidently remained there until he was sent for by the King. He did what Saul had failed to do. He remained small in his own eyes. David did not exalt himself, despite his gifts, talents & anointing. Here is a man who was happy in his place of service, doing whatever needed to be done for the flock by whatever means necessary. Being a Shepherd was hot, hard & dirty work but David did it. Shepherds were often shunned & looked down upon & yet a faithful one is worth his weight in Gold. When was the last time you met a Pastor like that? Brethren, men like this are in our midst & The Lord will set them to serve & to Shepherd His sheep.

Once again the Philistines wanted to fight Israel. They still do today, Palestine being a simple Latinisation of the word Philistine. Anyway, they pitch their army on one side of a valley & Israel pitch on the other. Goliath issues a challenge to them & lays down terms.

And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid (1^stSamuel17:8-11).

At this point in the story [in my over-active & extremely vivid imagination], I would skip to the blood & guts in slow motion, as David delivers his Oscar nominated monologue & despatches Goliath with a single, well placed stone, launched from his trusty sling. He then runs, summersaults through the air, lands perfectly in a manner worthy of an Olympic gymnast, unsheathes the giant’s sword & removes his head, all in one fluid movement. However, having read the narrative again more carefully & prayerfully, I see that I’ve missed an entire seam of truth, even though I have been reading it for many, many years.

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days (1^stSamuel17:12-16).

David is chosen above all of his brothers & is anointed King, yet he returns to his flock. David’s reputation precedes him & Saul sends for him, making him his personal musician & also his armour bearer. When battle threatened, David’s 3 eldest brothers went with Saul, but once again David returned to his flock. He never forgets his duty to the sheep, nor his place of service, even though he knew what was going on at the front. Some Pastor’s cannot wait to get away from their congregations, whereas other Pastors cannot wait to return to them. David loved his flock.

Jesse sends his youngest boy back to the battle with supplies for his three eldest sons & their Captain. David leaves his flock with a keeper & goes, shouting for the battle. At this point, Goliath appears & re-issues his challenge to Israel. David hears every word the man says & it is here that his calling becomes evident. It is here that we can see the heart of a man who transitions from being a faithful keeper of his father’s flock, to the defender & protector of the flock of God.

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner (1^stSamuel17:24-30).

David’s touch-paper was now well & truly lit. He was not interested in anything other than the glory of God & the removal of Israel’s embarrassment & the restoration of her dignity. Eliab, David’s eldest brother & the first to have been rejected by God, rebukes his sibling for his boldness, even though his charge of conceit & pride were groundless. What did his youngest brother have to be conceited or proud about? Could it be that Eliab was jealous? He was the eldest & yet The Lord had overlooked him. Indeed, the elder shall serve the younger & the first shall be last.

David had remained a humble & faithful servant despite his calling & anointing, but now his hot pursuit of the heart of God spurred him on. He had left his ‘few sheep in the wilderness’ in order to Shepherd another, greater flock & no one realised it. Is there not a cause?

Saul summons him to his tent & David states quite clearly that he is willing to kill the man. Point blank. No frills. When Saul objects, he demonstrates a side of Pastoral ministry that I had hitherto not seen. Whether it was the flock at home, or here on the battlefield, David was still tending his father’s sheep. He never, ever stopped being a Shepherd.

And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw

of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine (1^stSamuel17:34-40).

I knew a Pastor who was like Saul. The man was a spineless coward. He was only ever out at the front when he was preaching or taking an offering of money. Other than that, he & his wife wanted little or nothing to do with we the people. When there wasn’t enough cash coming in to cover ministry expenses, he made sure that he was taken care of first. He made sure that his wages were paid first. He made sure that his image was untarnished, that he was always well turned out & that his family were always taken care of. On one occasion in particular he had one of his associate Pastors stand up before the congregation & lie about an unexpected bill so that a second offering could be taken. I was there. I saw these things with my own eyes. I heard them with my own ears & I am very sorry to say that it is my observation that there are times when The Church doesn’t need a Goliath arrayed against it because its own ministers are its biggest enemy.

In David’s eyes, this battle was no different to him going out against the Lion or the Bear. Goliath was as much an animal as they; ‘and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them’ He faithfully tended his father’s sheep & killed the predators that came to steal, kill & destroy. Now, as a Shepherd over Israel he would kill this predator in order to protect the flock of God. He was simply doing what any Shepherd would [or ought to] do & that is the reason he returned home to Bethlehem to his father’s sheep time after time. As a matter of fact, I believe that he would have returned to his beloved sheep once again after killing Goliath, had Saul not prevented him from going home (1^stSamuel18:2). King or not, anointed by Samuel or not, David saw that this was a Pastor’s duty. Protect the flock of God. No one else’s. The good Shepherd lays his life on the line, for the sheep.

His humility blinded him to any delusions of grandeur, which is why his brother’s comments didn’t ruffle his feathers. He didn’t care about the money. He didn’t care about the fame. He didn’t care about getting the girl. A Shepherd cares for the sheep. His staff, bag & sling were the only tools he needed for the job because Israel were the flock that needed to be rescued from the big mouth of the Philistine & I would contend that if David had been 25 stone [or 350 pounds], with one eye & a limp, he would have said & done exactly the same things. This was something that he was doing for the God he loved & the people he loved. This is what a true Pastor does.

I want you to notice something else. Samuel is conspicuous by his absence. He didn’t guide David with prophetic words of wisdom or knowledge. He stayed quiet & he stayed away. What David did on that day, he did instinctively & when a Shepherd sees that the sheep are in need he goes to their aid. He was called to be a Pastor. David was humble. David was a servant & he never forgot this fact. He was tender-hearted. He was compassionate. When he sinned he repented quickly. God testified of His servant David with these words, ‘because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite’ (1^stKings15:5).

When he wrote the 23^rd Psalm, I believe that it was a testimony not only to the faithfulness of God, but also to the fact that The Lord had treated him as he had treated his father’s flock & the flock of God. Dear God may we have more Shepherds like this.

copyright © by David Samuel Parkins mmxvi all rights reserved.

no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

An Open Letter to the Open Hearted (the curious case of John Smith & Mary Jones' nose)

An Open Letter

To

The Open Hearted

(The Curious Case of John Smith & Mary Jones’ Nose)

by

David Samuel Parkins

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace (Luke7:36-50).

35 years ago, on the 9^th of September 1981, in the kitchen of number 7 Mensa Close on St. Peter’s Estate in Leicester, I was saved. I distinctly remember being so convicted of my sinful state by The Holy Spirit that I could barely pray, but Jesus received me & I Him. Despite having done more wrong than I’ve done right in my lifetime so far, I have seen the gracious hand of God move on my behalf more times than I can possibly recount. This He has done in spite of me, not because of me. God is so very good. All the time. I’m sure that we can all testify to this.

On balance, our Heavenly Father asks very little of us & yet even in this we fail, often because of our own stiffnecked disobedience & unwavering unwillingness. Ah, the flesh. No wonder Paul tweeted in Romans7:24 ‘Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death’. Ok, Paul didn’t tweet that, but at least I have your attention now.

At the time of this writing, I’ve just been speaking to a dear friend & brother in Christ. Actually, it was the man who witnessed to me & led me to The Lord back in 1981. I called him to thank him. I called him to thank him so very much for sharing the Gospel with me. We both gave testimony to the goodness & greatness of Christ. We both thanked God for our salvation. He who has been forgiven much, will love much.

Of course, it’s relatively easy to look back & be grateful in retrospect, but I know & have seen lately that He requires me [more now than ever] to do for others what He has done for me. At a time when the love of many is waxing cold, we who are brothers & sisters in Christ ought to be loving each other with the love of God. Peter puts it this way, ‘Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:’ (1^stPeter1:22) & ‘above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins’ (1^stPeter4:8). Lord Jesus, have mercy on us all. There’s a lot of lukewarm love going around, the kind that will love you as long as you agree with it. This is not the love of God.

The very thing that we are called to do among ourselves, is the very thing that we are not doing & I would hasten to say that it isn’t pleasing to The Lord at all. On this point, I have several things to say, but The Word of God has significantly more to say than I do, so we’ll be safer all ‘round if we go to The Scriptures. I trust that we can agree on that fact at least, if nothing else.

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;…Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not…Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans12:9-10,14,17-19).

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another (Galatians5:13-15).

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians4:1-3). Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians4:31-32).

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves (Philippians2:1-3).

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Colossians3:12-15).

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: (1^stThessalonians3:12). But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another (1^stThessalonians4:9).

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews10:23-25).

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (1^stPeter3:8-10).

When you & I came to God through Christ, we weren’t offering The Lord an apology; we were convicted of our sin & we repented. He didn’t accept an apology; He forgave us for our depravity & sin & He received us. He made good on His Word to us & unconditionally wiped the slate clean of every sin & every offence against us. As I have said, He asks us for very little by comparison, but the little that He does ask seems nigh impossible for those of us who are carnal. Take a moment to think about what He has done for you. When you’ve done that honestly, take another moment to think about the fact that He asks us to do exactly the same thing for others.

This is a bitter pill for some of us to swallow. I know this all too well. The taste of it is still in my mouth.

Loving one another & forgiving one another seems to be in extremely short supply among us. Yet we fully expect the blessing of God & His approval on our endeavours. We expect Him to accept our worship & our gifts. We’re not talking about a deep understanding of biblical texts or wrestling with fundamental doctrinal issues. We’re talking about a very plain & simple reading of The Bible, the commandment of Christ Himself & the constant admonition of the Apostles. God has not withheld His love & forgiveness from us, so why do we withhold ours from each other? Are we really that selfish, bitter, twisted & carnal?

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew5:23-24).

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses (Mark11:25-26).

I’d like to challenge any of us exegete our way out of the fact that Jesus nailed the exits firmly shut on this one, except the route that requires reconciliation. At this point in time I can honestly say that I have never seen such a proliferation of two things in The Church. I have never seen so many causing offence & I have never seen so many who were offended. The Lord has a cure for both ills, but we will not take His medicine.

For some time I scratched my head, trying to figure out whose side God was on in any given situation of this nature. If it were a clear-cut-case of unrepentant sin or a doctrine that was obviously, demonstrably & fundamentally false, there would be no ambiguity whatsoever. The Bible is crystal clear in this regard. However, most of what I see & hear today & have seen & heard for the last 35 years, most especially in my own woefully inadequate life, has not been of that ilk. It has mainly been purely personal. Such is the curious case of John Smith & Mary Jones’ nose.

Mary Jones asks John Smith what he thinks of her nose. She likes it, her friends like it, her dad likes it & her mother kisses her on it every morning when she wakes up. In response, John Smith tells Mary Jones that she has a big, fat nose, with freckles & an annoying hair growing out of it. He says this because he’s a good Christian man & refuses to lie. Perhaps it is big, fat & freckled, but John shouldn’t have said it to her. Mary Jones is understandably upset. She tells everyone what he said. They are shocked & give their opinions. John Smith is in trouble for [as far as he is concerned] simply being honest. Do you see how much trouble a big, fat, hairy, freckled nose can cause?

Despite the size of Mary Jones’ nose, in fairness, it has to be said that John Smith had an equally big, fat, hairy mouth.

We do not have to do or say the things that we do or say, in the way that we do or say them. We don’t & what’s more, we often know that we don’t. The only thing that we seem to care about is being right, but God’s standard requires us to be righteous. Again, these offences are personal more often than not. They’re not moral or doctrinal. The Lord has set His standard & it’s set in righteousness. Whenever we fall short of that we are not right, whether we’re John Smith or Mary Jones. Offences. Scripture gives us clear instructions concerning how to avoid causing them & what to do when they occur, but we ignore these verses because we prefer being right in our own eyes, to being righteous in the eyes of The Lord. There’s little or no mileage in forgiving someone because it takes the fun out of our desire to blow off some steam & vindicate ourselves.

Often, like John Smith, we say & do things with [what we believe to be] the courage of our convictions. Armed to the teeth with Bible verses, we will tear through & fillet another believer in record time, without an ounce of love or concern. We’re right & they’re wrong. That’s it. I’ve done this & I’ve seen it done. I have also had it done to me. God forgave me & so did the brother that I had treated so very harshly. But strangely enough, I carried an offence for years towards the minister who had given me a dressing down in public, even though it was richly deserved. It’s highly interesting that we will happily do unto others the very things that we do not like to be done unto ourselves.

It is also true that the John Smiths among us will claim to be passionate about truth & as such we will give little or no thought to the fragility of another person’s heart when we proceed to authoritatively justify our position. We lead with a fist full of New Testament Greek, followed swiftly with an uppercut of biblical Hebrew. If this doesn’t floor them, there’s the old ad hominem attack to silence any & all objections. We don’t compromise with error. Of course, this position is completely tenable when dealing with false doctrine, but more often than not it isn’t false doctrine that’s the problem. Then, when the gloves come off, we raise those very same hands up to The Lord & the tongue we have used so viciously against our brother & sister, is used to pray. These things brethren, ought not to be so (James3:10).

Furthermore, when we use Scripture to crush another person’s soul because of a difference of opinion, a secondary or even tertiary issue, we violate the supreme context within which everything we say & do to, with & for each other must be said & done. That context is love. It doesn’t matter how educated we are, how experienced we are, how many friends we have or how many followers there are to our social media platforms. The Lord has made it crystal clear that love, forgiveness & reconciliation are His priorities. Love promotes communication among believers.

I say again, if it were a clear-cut-case of unrepentant sin or a doctrine that was obviously, demonstrably & fundamentally false, there would be no ambiguity whatsoever.

The Mary Jones’ among us also have a part to play. That responsibility is to forgive those who have offended us. At times these toe-crushing-moments happen unwittingly & so they have to be dealt with & diffused. In the meantime, God’s standard doesn’t move an inch. We have to come up to it instead of splashing around in offence infested waters.

Scripture always advocates going to the person involved when an offence has been committed. It never advocates taking the issue public in the first instance. Jesus said, go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother. How much of our praise, worship, adoration, sacrifice, prayer, petition & passion for the things of God go unnoticed by Him because we haven’t obeyed His commandment, neither have we followed His order? My list is a long one. How long is yours?

Do you remember reading the [so called] Lord’s Prayer? Do you remember saying ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’? (Matthew6:12). Here, Romans13:8 makes complete sense when Paul states, ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.’ How much of a debt of love shows on our account?

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican (Matthew18:15-17).

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful (Luke6:36).

Unfortunately, we refuse to do this & we refuse to do it in this way. We take the issue public first & then justify our position with the help of others who are equally carnal. When we mix our carnality with our Twitter account, website, Facebook page, YouTube channel or blog, we open a huge can of worms. This is easily the most unwise course of action to take. It explicitly violates the teaching & instruction of The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Never, ever open a can of worms unless you’re a keen angler or a very hungry Sparrow. Nevertheless, this is what we do, time & time again. Because of our easy access to social media, anyone among us can have a platform from which we can do any number of things. This includes doing damage.

Something rather small in comparison to much larger, eternal issues, can very quickly be blown out of all proportion & what’s worse is the fact that misery loves company. Others who feel it necessary to add their penny’s worth of opinion to an issue that is quite frankly none of their business, come slithering out of the woodwork to comment. How easily we reveal ourselves for what we truly are. If Mary Jones had simply followed the order that came down from the top, from The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the issue could have remained private, been dealt with, then forgiven & forgotten. John’s Smith opened his big mouth about her big nose & now the issue is being treated as if it were something that it is not.

On any given day, at any given time, I can guarantee that there will be someone, somewhere who has been offended & then posted their grievance for all to see on social media. These things happen in real time, therefore it’s pretty easy to conclude that the individuals involved have made no attempt whatsoever at any kind of reconciliation. The knee jerks & hits send. I have to be honest, some of the things that I have seen, heard & read are not becoming of folk who profess Christ. Yet almost daily, there’s something new to say & the distressing thing for me is the fact that other believers can see, hear & read these things, some of whom are much younger in the faith. How foolish, carnal & selfish it is for us to air dirty laundry in such a public way, simply because our pride is hurt & our ego is bruised. Instead of snatching branches from the burning, we are throwing logs onto the fire.

John Smith’s opinion concerning Mary Jones’ nose is just that & it should be treated as such. It isn’t Scripture. However, if he had been asked about the Deity of Christ, the Finished Work of The Cross, Salvation by Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone or any other fundamental & essential tenet of the faith, the matter would be a very different one indeed. Yet even in this, The Lord has given us process. How shameful that so many of us do not know what spirit we are of. We are slow to listen, we are swift to speak & we are soon angry. The Bible instructs us to do the exact opposite of this, but we ignore it.

The truth is this; we take our grievances to other people because we know full well that were we to take them to The Lord we would be greeted with the words ‘SO WHAT?’

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God (James1:19-20).

We have absolutely no justification whatsoever for willingly wounding each other simply because we believe we’re right & another is wrong. Where is our longsuffering? Where is our forbearance? Where is our tender-heartedness? Where is our reflection on the fact that we are to forgive in the same manner that God forgave us for Christ’s sake? Are we so poorly developed in our walk that the character of Christ is nowhere to be seen in us? Really? In His infinite wisdom, The Lord has thrown the sharp-tongued in together with the equally thin-skinned. He has also given us His Word & although most of us should have our tongues beaten into ploughshares, the remainder ought also to consider the fact that our reaction to an offence can in itself be an offence to God too.

In Scripture there are no references to forgiving another only if they repent. Neither are there any verses that cover our classic but-you-don’t-know-what-they-said-or-did excuse. I have yet to find any teaching that encourages us to hold onto our grudges, demonise each other or assassinate each other personally. It’s never us, or anything we have done whenever offences arise. It’s always the other person. This is the sandy premise upon which we build our cases against each other & attempt to justify our vilifications. Soon enough there’s a back-&-forth that is neither edifying or reconciliatory. This is not pleasing to God in the least. Again, The Lord has set His standard & it’s set in righteousness. Whenever we fall short of that we are not right, whether we’re John Smith or Mary Jones.

If it makes us feel good to do & say the things that we do & say regardless of the consequences, if we have no problem breaking with biblical protocol & if we are happy to hear what The Lord has to say about us while we do these things then we should crack on. The truth is that God’s Word has a great deal to say to the contrary, not least of which involves us growing up, putting up & shutting up. Your feelings & mine are not in the equation when juxtaposed to His commandments. They’re not grievous.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another…This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you…These things I command you, that ye love one another (John13:34-35,15:12&17).

Look at Facebook & tell me that this new commandment is being hotly pursued by us. I’ll give you a couple of minutes. I had to delete several things myself, even though I felt that I had valid reasons for posting them at the time. However, if I know nothing else I know one fact; The Lord could care less about your justifications & mine. Our likes & our dislikes are inconsequential to Him. My opinion & yours do not count nor contribute when compared to His wisdom.

It may seem clever to pretend that our indignation is righteous, but just in case we forget that The Lord can read the secrets of men’s hearts, He’s quite adept at reminding us. We often exaggerate in order to lend credence to our cause but the truth is that the way in which we say & do what we’re saying & doing reveals more about us than it does about the people in our crosshairs. If we can honestly say that we would confidently defend our words & actions before Jesus Christ concerning these petty issues, crack on. However, every post, tweet, upload, email & article will be upon your head & mine. Having a social media platform does not a ministry make my friends & much of what I see & hear has more akin to the idle words for which we’ll give account, than it does to Godly edifying.

Defend the faith by all means. Pull no punches there whatsoever. Give no quarter to false teachers & their false teachings. But do not pretend that your hurt feelings, pride & bruised ego are on a par with the fundamentals of the faith just so that you can launch a tirade against other believers. This is rank hypocrisy. This is stinking sanctimony. The Bible is crystal clear on this issue. Let brotherly love continue (Hebrews13:1).

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away (1^stCorinthians13:1-8).

Without the love of God, we are just a loud noise going somewhere to annoy someone. For those who wish to continue on their mission & tear others down with no biblical mandate to do so, crack on. You’ll have to skilfully avoid a lot of Scripture in order to feel justified in what you’re doing though. Don’t be surprised when the only people in your life are those who are equally loveless & I want you to know that in my 35 years I have seen the same thing happen to those of your ilk time & time again, without fail.

It is far better & more pleasing to God for us to deal with these matters privately, to forgive one another & be reconciled. I have also found that when I’m criticised (which I am regularly), the person doing it is quite often absolutely right & this always brings us closer together. Pride is a destructive thing. Those of you who strive to walk in love may be perceived as weak, lacking backbone & cowardly simply because you’re unwilling to jump on someone else’s bandwagon. You may be accused of taking sides & this will be a fair accusation. However, it’s The Lord’s side & the side of proper biblical practise that you’re on, The Lord Jesus Christ being your chief example (John2:24-25).

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: (1^stPeter2:21-23).

In God’s economy He expects us to walk in love, yet we cannot seem to manage this for very long without us crying out like children who’ve been wronged in something inconsequential. Whenever we’re told to love one another it’s never with exceptions to the rule. Are we told to love one another if? No we are not. Are we told to forgive one another if? No we are not. It’s a sign of maturity to seek restoration & reconciliation & it’s equally a sign of immaturity for us to engage in the public vilification of others with whom we simply disagree. We will be judged for this & in truth, we’re judged already because the fruit of our lives is on display.

I thank God for dealing with my heart on this matter & I pray he continues. My views on this matter have already caused me to part company with some, but so be it. Amen.

SO LONG, SCRIPTURA - A Clarion Call to Defending the Faith Once Delivered to The Saints PART THREE

So long, Scriptura

And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision (1^stSamuel3:1)

Just grab your Bible for a moment & hold it in your hand. I don’t know how many copies you may own, but apparently [at the time of this writing] there have been approximately some 4 billion Bibles sold to date. The copy that you hold in your hand right now is most likely one of them.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to a great many individuals for the privilege of being free to hold, read & believe the copy of the Bible that usually sits unread for most [if not all] of the week in its convenient place, so that we don’t forget to pick it up on our way out to church on Sunday. Don’t forget to clean away the dust that gathers around it eh.

All of us are at liberty to find & choose a particular Bible version that suits us, after all, no translation into any human language will accurately convey the mind of Almighty God, however, through the ministry of The Holy Spirit, Who is the author of the book that we hold to so dearly, we can begin to understand God’s Word (2^ndTimothy3:14-17) & although we may sometimes disagree about the validity of some versions & the superiority of others, our passion has to be more than something egotistical or intellectual. As my first Pastor often said to me about my Bible, ‘..don’t have it & not read it; don’t read it & not believe it; don’t believe it & not obey it..’. How often I have failed to take his sterling advice.

He would sometimes take my Bible from me & look through the pages to see where they were worn. He would read through the scribblings that I made in the margins or on the multi-coloured post it notes that I had stuck to the pages & he would giggle before handing it back to me. I never discovered what had made him laugh.

Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (Hebrews4:11-13).

My Pastor always placed a strong emphasis the fact that our faith in God must come out of our relationship with a living Saviour, the Son of the living God (Matthew16:16, Revelation1:18). As well as this, he taught us that our faith must be rooted & grounded in the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Word & as such The Word lives & breathes. This understanding of faith was far removed from the classic, more forensic word-of-faith-mythology that I eventually [& unfortunately] embraced later on in my believer’s walk.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not…He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John1:1-5,10&14).

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the

word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Hebrews11:3).

Are you still holding your Bible in your hand? You & I possess a volume of writings unlike any other body of work ever written down. What these sacred books of the canon of Scripture say to us & who they reveal to us are of a paramount importance if our faith in God & His Word are to be genuine. A contrived belief that springs out of simply learning Scripture by rote is quite honestly the stuff of cults. The Word of The Lord must once again be precious, especially in these last days.

Each faction, denomination, movement or ism within The Church, has a different view of The Word of God & consequently of Christ. On a sliding scale there are those who believe in the complete verbal inspiration of Scripture, right through to those who believe it to be nothing more or less than a collection of writings, only sacred in their ideal, but not in their essence & certainly no more or less inspired than the other texts of other religions.

Well, just as the very best tool for interpreting Scripture is Scripture itself, I think it wise to see what Scripture says about itself in order to determine whether it’s God’s Word or not. This determination is vital because God’s Word is consistently being held in decreasing esteem. What happens when The Word of God [& its place among us] is diminished & what replaces that which ought to be irreplaceable?

On a small scale & in limited measure I have seen this happen; even in my own life. The subtle groundwork for such a travesty is laid in advance of any onslaught on God’s Word & seldom do we see its approach, sense its danger or discern its deadly ruination. Nevertheless it comes. In this regard, before any of us take to the Scriptures with a view to reading them, we have to first establish why it is that we would even do such a thing. In other words, is The Bible required reading for us who believe? Are you still holding your Bible in your hand my friend? Please ask yourself why it is that you have it, why it is that you read it, why it is that you believe it & ultimately why it is that it possesses the authority to command & demand your obedience & mine. I can only answer this question for myself, but there’s a good chance that the reasons I cite may be similar to yours.

I was raised as an Anglican, joining the church choir when I was 7 years old & [under duress] accepting confirmation when I was 16. However, I’d been born again at the age of 13 & on the night that I had received Christ as my Saviour I went home, got my mother’s Bible & read all four Gospels, the book of Romans & the entire book of revelation in one sitting. Although I didn’t understand most of what I’d read, I had an almost insatiable appetite for it, but why? It’s very simple.

The brother who had led me to Christ told me that I should read The Bible. He told me that it was God’s Word & that as I read it, The Holy Spirit would open my understanding of it. He told me that I should pray & read Scripture daily. This I did. However, when I spoke to my parish Priest, he had something altogether different to say about The Bible & my study of it. This is the juncture at which Scripture’s declarations concerning itself become the proof of the pudding.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they (Hebrews1:1-4).

I had learned very early on in my believer’s walk that The Bible is essential for growth (1^stPeter2:2). Yet there were those [like my parish priest] who preferred a more liberal view of The Bible’s role in Christian life & church doctrine. Because St. Peter’s was very ‘High Church’ there were elements of the liturgy that resembled Roman Catholicism. It was here that I used that age old, classic Pentecostal phrase ‘where’s that in The Bible?’, much to the annoyance of the vicar. I questioned the necessity & role of a priesthood, the biblical basis for their particular administration of the sacraments & the nature of their ecclesiastical garb. All of these questions & more had arisen within me simply because I had been reading my Bible.

For those attendees who didn’t read Scripture, although there were several saints who did, these questions were absolutely irrelevant. They saw no need whatsoever for a literal belief in The Bible, but rather for an ‘in-principle’ acceptance of it; Scripture contained God’s Word but was not His Word in its totality. I pondered this point of view, which made logical sense to me. However, those with whom I fellowshipped in Pentecostal circles took the view that it wasn’t enough for the issue to make logical sense; it had to make theological sense.

Despite my objections to certain [but not all] elements of Anglican theology & ecclesiology, my name was sneaked across the desk of the Bishop of Leicester as a likely candidate for a ceremony known as The Boy Bishop. Beyond this of course, was a plan to encourage my entrance into the ministry of The Anglican Church. This was never to happen. However, the ceremony went ahead & enrobed in Bishop’s paraphernalia, with Mitre & Crosier to boot, I delivered a wee homily & had my picture taken by the local newspaper. My message was a simple one; So Long, Scriptura. Of course, this was my attempt at a play on the words Sola Scriptura; Scripture alone.

The basic thrust of my [less than ten minute] sermon was this: the church we have now, is a direct result of our building upon whatever foundation we as followers of Christ have believed to be sound. In support of this I cited the words of Christ Himself in Matthew16:15-18 ‘And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ Given the choice, I would take the words of The Lord Jesus Christ over the words of anyone else, on any day of the week.

*I cannot stress how important I believe it is that we as believers in Christ receive a revelation of exactly who Jesus is. However, I’m not promoting an experience as any kind of subjective proof. I’m seeking to provoke believers to delve further into their Bibles because it is right there that the written Word reveals the Living Word.

Here, Peter declares a truth revealed to him by The Father concerning Christ & it is upon this rock that Jesus is building His Church. However, Peter was not the only disciple of The Lord who knew this. In chapter one of the Gospel that bears his name, we see that John has a revelation of Christ as The Word (John1:1-5,10&14). We also see John’s revelation of Christ’s deity quite clearly throughout his account of The Lord’s ministry. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, knew Who Jesus was.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me; for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God (John1:29-34).

Here we see John the Baptist, a cousin of Christ, testifying that he didn’t know who Jesus was until God revealed it to him. In verse 6 of this first chapter of John’s Gospel, John the Baptist is described as ‘a man sent from God’ & here in verse 33 John tells us that he that sent [him] to baptize with water told him how to recognise The Messiah. John saw & bore record that Jesus was the Son of God. John the Baptist knew who Jesus was.

As we go further, we see Jesus beginning to call His disciples & the narrative here is amazing. It is to me anyway.

Again the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.  The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John1:35-51).

This narrative, although different to the accounts given by the other Gospel writers, nevertheless reveals something quite remarkable & notable. John’s Gospel is not synoptic. From the very beginning of His life & ministry, Jesus’ identity was revealed by God to certain individuals. Mary & Joseph knew. The Shepherds & Wise Men knew. Anna & Simeon knew. Satan & demonic spirits knew. The Bible that you’re holding in your hand is a veritable treasure trove of truth concerning Christ & who He is. The knowledge of who He is, is the rock upon which Christ builds His Church & the transformative power of that truth, with He Himself being the cornerstone, gives us an assurance of trust because He is The Word of God.

John, Andrew & the unnamed disciple, Peter, Philip & Nathanael all had this knowledge of Christ. They were among the first, but were certainly not the last. Faith in the Living Word must be reflected in our faith in the written Word.

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians2:18-22).

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed (1Peter2:4-8).

If we consider Matthew’s account of the revelation of Christ once again, we will see that Peter re-affirms what he & certain of the other the disciples certainly believed. We also see that Jesus re-affirms what He had said to Peter when his brother Andrew had taken him to meet The Lord. The Church that Jesus Christ is building must have the Living Word as it’s foundation & it must have what Paul describes as ‘..the word of his grace, which is able to build [us] up..’ (Acts20:32).

The Church is built on The Word as well as by The Word. Those twelve men [eleven of whom finished their course] were students of the greatest Rabbi who ever lived; Rabbi Yeshua ben Yosef. After His death, burial & resurrection, they taught believers what He had taught them. This was the Apostles’ Doctrine & the basis of our New Testament in His blood (Matthew26:28). However, none of the teachings of Christ were manifest out of thin air. They had their basis in Scripture.

*Sadly there are those who never delve into the Old Testament because they haven’t realised that both covenants are inextricably linked by a glorious unfolding of fulfilment. The Old Covenant makes up two-thirds of The Bible that you’re holding in your hand my friend & before you discard it as irrelevant to you, I would encourage you to study it. It’s the meat. Many of the New Testament truths that we hold dear as fundamental doctrine, have their root in the Old Testament & we would do well to heed it.

The validity & relevance of the New Testament is clearly taken for granted by The Church. Yet, Jesus Himself & the New Testament writers continually reference the Old. We have been told that the New Testament writings, especially those of Paul, are for The Church & that we should concentrate our efforts in studying it, but this approach partially robs us theologically. However, if you don’t believe me that’s fine. Believe Jesus. Do you still have your Bible in your hand?

As you thumb through the Gospels, you’ll see that Jesus references the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Dueteronomy. What decent Rabbi worth his salt wouldn’t? He also quotes from the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zachariah, Daniel, Micah, Hosea, Malachi & The Psalms. His validation of the Old Testament spanned its entirety.

*The Law (Torah) - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy. The Prophets (Neviim) - Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel (one volume), 1 & 2 Kings (one volume), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the 12 Minor Prophets (one volume). The Writings (Kethubim) - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah (one volume), 1 & 2 Chronicles (one volume). In Rabbinic tradition, quoting one book from any of these biblical collections validated the entire collection. Christ’s handling of the TaNaKh is a masterclass.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things (Luke24:44-48).

If Jesus opened their understanding in order that they might understand the Scriptures, will He not do the same thing for us, who also believe? Both the Old & New Testaments that you hold in your hand right now contain the revelation of Jesus Christ, including the very last book of The Bible that bears that very name. Sadly, however, there are those within The Church who are ‘foolish & slow of heart to believe’ (Luke24:25-27). I must admit to being one of the above, but thankfully The Lord hasn’t finished with me.

Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John5:39-47).

It is here, at this point that The Church has seen an increasing number of its leadership & membership rapidly leave the rails of orthodoxy. The relevance of Scripture as a basis for belief & practise is completely undermined when The Bible is no longer considered absolute truth. If it isn't believed & obeyed, it has no authority & if it has no authority it isn't relevant.

We have seen a systematic waving goodbye to God’s Word as parts of The Church have said ‘So Long, Scriptura’ to biblical truth.

During the 1970s & into the 1990s, The Charismatic Movement was in its ascendancy. Traditional Pentecostalism followed in its slipstream & there were adherents within other branches of established fundamentalism & nominal denominations also. Their theology differed, but those who believed still believed that The Scriptures were a vital & integral part of Christian life, doctrine & practise. It was here, within Bible believing fundamentalism, that post-modernism began to take root & grow. It incubated seeker sensitivity & eventually it gave birth to emergence, but seeker sensitivity was more of a method than a movement in & of itself. Nevertheless, in an effort to reach out to a generation that was perceived as lost in translation, a new way of ‘doing church’ was sought out & formulated.

Pentecostalism had its own particular dogma, as did Charismania. However, the leading lights within both movements began to lose a generation of youth who either became bored with the same-old-same-old, grew beyond their respective movements theologically, or who simply left altogether. I was in the midst of one such generation. There were questions that The Church either would not or could not answer & as a result of this many began to adopt a more liberal view of their faith & of The Bible.

I strongly contend that if Scripture is being taught effectively & is endorsed & validated far above & beyond spiritual experience as a barometer, folk will only leave our churches because they’re answering the call of God to do something, somewhere else. In this, we have failed for the most part & in that, I’m afraid rather miserably. Remember, we’re to be built upon The Word of God & by The Word of God.

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies,

and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1^stPeter2:1-3).

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? (1^stCorinthians3:1-3)

Notice that both of these Apostles indicate the provision of milk for the immature. Milk is nevertheless an initial part of our diet while we grow & by which we grow. This growth however, will never transpire while we remain in a state of carnality & mere manhood. One of the reasons for this, apart from the ‘malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings [&] envying, and strife, and divisions’ mentioned by Peter & Paul, is the very real fact that much Bible teaching within The Church has been milk masquerading as meat. Beyond that, there are those who have formulated their own particular brand of theology [if it can be called that] & are feeding their congregations nothing more or less than mutton dressed up as lamb.

Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews5:11-14).

When we depart from Scripture, we drift into unlit territory. We’re in the dark (Psalms119:105). Again, we are to begin with the foundation of God’s Word, continue with it, grow & mature by its agency & come to know its sufficiency. Are you still holding your Bible in your hand? The Apostle Peter, a fisherman when Christ had called him, recalls those moments on the mount of transfiguration. He remembers the voice of God speaking out of the heavens. He was right there. However, it wasn’t the value of the experience that he promotes. He points us directly to Scripture.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2^ndPeter1:16-21).

But Peter doesn’t only point us to the inspired Scripture of the Old Testament, he incorporates Apostolic Doctrine too as having the same Divine weight, as did the Apostle Paul also.

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: (2^ndPeter3:1-2).

If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant (1^stCorinthians14:37-38).

Peter continues, speaking of the Apostle Paul’s epistles, saying, ‘as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are

unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen’ (2^nd Peter3:16-18).

The unlearned (ignorant) & unstable (carnal) are more likely to relinquish their hold on Scripture than those who are maturing on strong meat. There are popular moves afoot today, intent on replacing God’s Word completely. There are widespread trends that encourage a more liberal theology. There are messages with more akin to Secular Humanism than the Gospel. The importance of Scripture is being systematically eroded & those who once championed The Bible are now slowly waving goodbye to it in order to embrace compromise. So Long, Scriptura.

Are you still holding your Bible in your hand my friend? Take to it once again & as never before.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little (Isaiah28:9-10).

copyright © by David Samuel Parkins mmxvi all rights reserved.

no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser