A Voice from the Past - Spurgeon

Faith will work hard for the Lord and in the Lord's way, but she refuses so much as to lift a finger to fulfill the devices of unrighteous cunning. Rebecca acted out a great falsehood in order to fulfill the Lord's decree in  favour of Jacob -- this was unbelief; but Abraham left the Lord to fulfill His own purposes, and took the knife to slay his son -- this was faith. Faith trusts God to accomplish His own decrees.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892, The Treasury of David, Psalm XXVI, (Volume 1, Hendrickson Publishers, p. 415)

How can we go about trying to do God's work in our own way? How can we avoid this?

The Rule of the Kingdom

Re-Posted from "Meditations of a Charismatic Calvinist Who Does Not Speak in Tongues"

The High King instituted the government of the kingdom and then left, promising to return.  In the beginning, the citizens of the kingdom were despised and mistreated.  But later on they became respectable and their rule was applauded by all.  But there arose among the people politicians, who united the kingdom with their own political aims.  Some, to be sure, were conscientious, doing what they thought best for the kingdom.  But others used the kingdom for their own selfish purposes, bringing in debauchery, greed, and corruption.

But there arose a movement to purify the kingdom and restore the good laws of the High King.  To do this, they sought a champion to oppose the politicians and restore the kingdom to proper order.  They bestowed on the champion unlimited authority and allowed none to question him.  But the champion, having unlimited power, began to use it to indulge himself and his companions.  This resulted in debauchery, greed, and corruption at a new, higher level.  Many endeavored to curb the champion and correct his abuses.  But having unlimited authority, the champion avoided every attempt.

Finally, the corruption became so bad many citizens of the kingdom revolted.  They declared their independence of the champion and set up their own governments separate from his.  However, they were not able to agree on a common rule but ended up in many groups, fighting among themselves as well as with the champion.  Many even found the need to ally with the politicians to fight the champion.  Meanwhile, the champion, having cleaned up some of his most blatant abuses, reentered the fray with renewed vigor. This resulted in wars, tumults, and disturbances. Many, as a result of this (or perhaps using it as an excuse), left the kingdom or remained as those who served the High King in name only.  But the divisions in the kingdom continued, and while some threw out all the High King's principles in attempts to reunite it, none seemed able to do so. Therefore, some still followed the champion and some followed the revolution and others held to a mere nominal allegiance.  And the question remains:  Is this what the High King really wanted?

The Struggle - Galatians 5:16,17

The Cultural Catastrophe

The Reformation was a grand rediscovery of true Christian doctrine. But the aftermath was very messy and carries a different type of lesson. It would have been nice if the two halves of western Christianity could have peacefully parted and each gone their separate ways. It would even have been nice if some nations had become Protestant and others had become Catholic and they could have at least separated along national borders. But it did not work that way. There were Protestants in areas under Catholic political control and Catholics in areas under Protestant political control. There were nations which changed from one view to the other, depending on who was in power. There were also divisions between different types of Protestants. All of this became involved in politics, and different groups took sides based on political concerns, and different political leaders took sides based on their political interests.

The result was a series of wars, revolutions, persecutions, assassinations, and plots; and considerable political chaos. It ended up in convoluted confrontations, with multiple sides and with sides frequently changing for political reasons. This resulted, over the long run, in all sides accepting, in most cases, a policy of tolerance. It also left both original sides looking bad and alienating people by their behavior. I do believe (though I admit I am biased) that the Protestants came out of it looking slightly better than the Catholics. But nobody came out of it looking good. The ultimate result of these events was a secularization of society that has continued to this day.

What can we learn from this? We need to be very careful about using violence in promoting the Christian position. I have often wondered if we are not better off being persecuted (as in the early church or under communism), rather than using force to defend ourselves. (Matthew 26:52 may apply here). While I do believe there is a place for Christians to work for just government (Proverbs 14:34), we need to be careful of putting too much hope in the political process. It tends to become entangled in its own goals, which may not accord with any Christian moral concerns. We also need to realize that it is not surprising if the world opposes us (1 John 2:15-17; John 15:18-21; Colossians 2:8). Therefore, we need to be cautious to avoid putting too many of our eggs in the political basket. For we could once more end up falling into the same pit. The best antidote is to remember that God is in control even when the events around us are out of control (Ephesians 1:11; Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20). For it is only this confidence that prevents us from taking things into our own hands and using whatever method, no matter how questionable, to accomplish our purposes.

A Touch of Humor - Letdown

Should our thankfulness depend on circumstances? Can we get a better perspective on this?

Old Erich Proverb - Legalism

Legalism is not the number of rules you have; it is the attitude you have toward those rules.

A Voice from the Past - Anselm

Be it mine to look up to thy light, even from afar, even from the depths. Teach me to seek thee, and reveal thyself to me, when I seek thee, for I cannot seek thee, unless thou teach me, nor find thee, except thou reveal thyself. Let me seek thee in longing, let me long for thee in seeking; let me find thee in love, and love thee in finding. Lord, I acknowledge, and I thank thee that thou hast created me in this thine image, in order that I may be mindful of thee, may conceive of thee, and love thee; but that image has been so consumed and wasted away by vices, and obscured by the smoke of wrongdoing, that it cannot achieve that for which it was made, except thou renew it and create it anew.

Anslem, 1033-1109, Proslogium, Chapter I (translated by Sidney Norton Deane, The Open Court Publishing Company, 1926, pp. 21,22)

How can we find God? How much do we need God's help to do so?