The Hard Mold of Truth

The following is from a lecture on the “Church Emergent”, delivered by Dr. John MacArthur. He quotes Dr. Donald Barnhouse, writing in a commentary on Romans regarding the intellectually palpable truth of what the Scriptures teach.

Scriptural teaching is not a vague, formless impression of truth. It is a definitive body of teaching. It is a hard mold of truth, into which the Christian is to be melted and poured, until he takes on its shape, whic is the Lord Jesus Christ living in him and controlling him. Because they are part of this divine mold, all the doctrines of the Christian faith are closely related. Therefore if one doctrine be destroyed, the mold is shattered.

A discriminating person

The following is a quote from John MacArthur's series on discernment in the church, part 1 of the transcript – he is discussing how the cultural mileu has contributed to the discombobulation of truth-associated language – in this case, the word "discriminating". 

Now the culture around us doesn't help because we live in a very non‑discriminating culture.  We live in a culture, in fact, that has put a new and unacceptable definition and value on discernment. 

For example, it can be simply noted that it used to be that when someone was a person of discrimination, that was an indication of their nobility, an indication of their wisdom, an indication that they were to be honored and respected, they were desirable.  That was a person of discrimination, one who could discriminate between good and evil, true and false, what is best.  Now a person who discriminates is somebody who is going to get sued by the ACLU.  The word has taken on a completely different meaning.  It isn't even allowable in our vocabulary. 

This is a day that will not tolerate absolutes.  This is a day that will not tolerate discrimination of any kind.  And I'm not talking about racial discrimination which is intolerable to God, I'm talking about discrimination of any kind.  This is not a time that will tolerate convictions.

Along similar lines, GK Chesterton once wrote: "Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions". 

Experience

It seems toothpaste and toothbrush technology is moving faster than PC or ipod evolution. My wife brought home some Aquafresh "Experience" today from the store. Will it explode when I open the box, or do I put some on my five-colored toothbrush and brush the ones I want to keep? I guess "paste" doesn't have the "zing" it once had with American consumers.

In much the same way, the American evangelical is bored with "declaration of truth" and chases after the "experience" of fellowship, community, or "doing what Jesus would do".

John MacArthur has an audio series on discernment that is outstanding. I think it's too old to be in the "oneplace.com" archives where his recent messages are, but it's available through his website, www.gty.org. I commend it highly to you.

Preachers Wanted

Mike Horton and the boys at The White Horse Inn have provided a link to an article written by Horton in 2000 entitled, "Wanted: Ministers Who Preach Not Themselves".

What do churches want in their minister/pastor? He begins with a list of several criteria found in pastor/minister want ads found in evangelical magazines. Here is the list:

Innovative, progressive, change initiating

Team leader/builder

Pastor-coach

People-developer with strong organizational skills

Someone who "can relate well to fast-track commuters" and "design and build infrastructure, envision and create ministry delivery teams"

Approachable, dynamic, catalytic

Relevant

A close walk with the Lord

Able to lead worship through drama, audio-visual technology, banners and dance

Degrees in music or business required, a degree in theology preferred

He then applies each of these to the apostle Paul to see how Paul "stacks up" against today's ministry position applicants who might respond to the ads. What results is a refreshing discussion about what the ministry involves and how scripture should direct our evaluation of those who minister in His name.

The basic difference between Paul’s outlook and the dominant perspective reflected in these ads is quite simple: for Paul, the authority and power rests in the ministry, not the minister. It is the proclamation of Christ, not the skills, personality, charisma, or even personal godliness, that builds Christ’s Church.