Truth is ancient; it's grey hairs may make it venerable;
it comes from Him who is the ancient of days. --Thomas Watson

 

18 October, 2006   comments: (0) Sound Doctrine   The Relevancy of Doctrine - Part 3 Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains how the great concern of the New Testament Epistles is not about the size of the Church, it is about the purity of the Church. The Apostles never said to the first Christians, "You are antagonizing people by emphasizing doctrine. Say more about the love of God and less about the wrath of God. They do not even like the Cross, and they cannot abide the story of the resurrection! Drop that talk about the wrath of God!" Not so do the Apostles speak! This is Part 3 of 3 in a series of posts from Martyn Lloyd Jones' writings on heresy excerpted from The HighWay website I do not understand that mentality in the Christian Church today which says that we must all come together and sink our differences; and that what we believe does not matter. It is a denial of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and of the story of the twelve ignorant, untutored and unlettered men who knew whom and what they believed, and who had the power of the Spirit upon them, and who 'turned the world upside-down'. This is surely one of the central messages of the Bible. The great concern of the New Testament Epistles is not about the size of the Church, it is about the purity of the Church. The Apostles never said to the first Christians, 'You are antagonizing people by emphasizing doctrine. Say more about the love of God and less about the wrath of God. They do not even like the Cross, and they cannot abide the story of the resurrection! Drop that talk about the wrath of God and Christ's ethical teaching!' Not so do the Apostles speak! There is an exclusiveness in the New Testament that is quite amazing. The Apostle Paul writing to the Galatians says, 'Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached, let him be accursed' (Galatians 1:8). 'My Gospel!', says Paul writing to Timothy. He denounces other teachers. So many of these modern preachers are much nicer people than the Apostle Paul! They never say a word against anyone at all, they praise everybody, and they are praised by everybody. They are never 'negative'! They never define what they believe and what they do not believe. They are said to be 'full of love'. I am not misjudging them when I say that that is not the explanation. The explanation is that they do not 'contend for the truth', they are innocent concerning the 'wiles of the devil'. It is not for us to decide what to leave out and what to drop for the sake of unity. My business is to expound this truth, to declare it - come what may! We must not be interested primarily in numbers, we must be interested in the truth of God. Why are many today denying the glory of the Protestant Reformation? Martin Luther - one man, standing against the whole Church - would be dismissed today as 'just an individualist who never cooperates'. But he stood up and said in effect, 'I am right, you are all wrong!' Without realizing it the moderns are dismissing Luther as a fool, and as an arrogant fool, because he stood alone. But why did he stand alone? There is only one answer. He stood alone because he had seen the truth of God, and had known and experienced the blessed liberation it brings. He had seen the light and had also been awakened to 'the wiles of the devil'. When a man sees this truth he has no choice. He does not force himself to stand alone. He does not even want to do so; but he can do no other. As Luther said, 'Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God!' And God did help him. Of course He did! God will always honor His truth and the man who stands for it. Of course such a man will meet criticism and sarcasm and derision; much mud will be thrown upon him. But that does not matter. The man who continues to stand, and who is ready to die for the truth of God, will have 'the peace of God that passeth all understanding' in his heart and mind. He will say with the Apostle Paul, 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me'. He will 'know both how to be abased, and how to abound; how to be full, and how to be empty'. He will be able to hold on his way quietly, steadily, knowing that God will vindicate His own truth sooner or later. As an individual he may be spat upon and trampled upon, or even be put to a cruel death. But God's truth 'goes marching on!' It will be vindicated, it will be honored by the Spirit; and he knows that ultimately, beyond this temporary, passing world, he will hear the most glorious words a man can ever hear, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant'. There is nothing beyond that - to have the Almighty God and our blessed Lord looking down upon us and in effect saying, 'While you were in the midst of all the confusion, you preached the truth; you stood for it in spite of everything - Well done!' Heresies always result from the wiles of the devil, the efforts of the principalities and powers. Are your eyes open to it? Do you realize the relevance of all this to you as a member of the Christian Church? Are you being carried away by this loose, general, sentimental talk? God forbid that any of us should ever say that it matters not what you believe as long as you are a Christian. May God open our eyes, and having given us to see the truth, then enable us 'to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might'. 'Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.' Related Information and Resources: Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Relevancy of Doctrine Flavel: A Puritan Compass That Leads To Doctrinal Truth Ryle: Gospel-Truth More Important Than Unity & Peace Learn how today's pastors can't answer basic doctrine questions $ Download one of the best presentations on Martin Luther Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.348   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism