It is won on the spiritual battlefield with spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:1-6; Eph. 6:10-18). It is not for those who want to promote retreats and weekend revivals; who desire men of God to go along to get along. It takes men of courage; men of conviction; men of the Scriptures; men of prayer; men of the gospel; and men of the Spirit. They are not men defined by their times; but men defined by the truth!
It is for those who are unafraid to call sacerdotalism's practice sorcery and worldly methodology seduction. Beware of the culturally relevant - for they seek not the will or glory of God, but the building of their own kingdoms. To such a time Spurgeon pens the following powerful words written below. They are designed to unmask Romanism's baptismal rite to infants as false religion and false gospel. They are not for the faint of heart or those who embrace a sentimental form of Christianity. They are straight-forward weighty words; without scatology and without compromise.
We have among us modern day papists promoting still the Galatian heresy - that is a given. But my friends, where are all the Luther's unfazed and unconcerned about the popularity of men and the politics of religion that will speak the truth of God's Word absent of their own agenda to these things once again?
Keep pounding on Wittenberg's Door beloved.
We need a new Reformation today.
Campi
2 Cor. 4:1-7
An Excerpt by C. H. Spurgeon
Why, there are those who pretend to save souls by curious tricks, intricate manoeuvres, and dexterous posture-making! A basin of water, half-a-dozen drops, certain syllables—heigh, presto—the infant is made a child of God, a member of Christ, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven! This aqueous regeneration surpasses my belief; it is a trick which I do not understand: the initiated only can perform the beautiful piece of magic, which excels anything ever attempted by the Wizard of the North. There is a way, too, of winning souls by laying hands upon heads, only the elbows of the aforesaid hands must be encased in lawn, and then the machinery acts, and there is grace conferred by blessed fingers! I must confess I do not understand the occult science, but at this I need not wonder, for the profession of saving souls by such juggling can only be carried out by certain favoured persons who have received apostolical succession direct from Judas Iscariot. This episcopal confirmation, when men pretend that it confers grace, is an infamous piece of juggling. The whole thing is an abomination. Only to think that, in this nineteenth century, there should be men who preach lip salvation by sacraments, and salvation by themselves, forsooth!From Spurgeon's Sermon, "The Soul Winner"
Why, sirs, it is surely too late in the day to come to us with this drivel! Priestcraft, let us hope, is an anachronism, and the sacramental theory out of date. These things might have done for those who could not read, and in the days when books were scarce; but ever since the day when the glorious Luther was helped by God to proclaim with thunder-claps the emancipating truth, "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God," there has been too much light for these Popish owls. Let them go back to their ivy-mantled towers, and complain to the moon of those who spoiled of old their kingdom of darkness. Let shaven crowns go to Bedlam, and scarlet hats to the scarlet harlot, but let not Englishmen yield them respect. Modern Tractarianism is a bastard Popery, too mean, too shifty, too double-dealing to delude men of honest minds.
If we win souls, it shall be by other arts than Jesuits and shavelings can teach us. Trust not in any man who pretends to priesthood. Priests are liars by trade, and deceivers by profession. We cannot save souls in their theatrical way, and do not want to do so, for we know that with such jugglery as that, Satan will hold the best hand, and laugh at priests as he turns the cards against them at the last.
10 comments:
"But my friends, where are all the Luther's unfazed and unconcerned about the popularity of men and the politics of religion that will speak the truth of God's Word absent of their own agenda to these things once again?"
I know a few like this. They don't make 'the grade', they're not generally counted among the popular, and they're often dismissed as ineffective in the "cultural" scene of Christianity.
They say things that deeply offend the ears of those involved in a sentimental Christianity, and they keep saying them despite the unpopularity of them. They keep standing up and speaking out when so many want them to sit down and be silent.
These are my modern day heroes of the faith, because they seek to be God pleasers and not the applause of men.
They are few and far between but they do exist.
"...for the profession of saving souls by such juggling can only be carried out by certain favoured persons who have received apostolical succession direct from Judas Iscariot." !!! Zinger! So, CHS, tell us how you really feel! I love it.
And thank you, Steve for your words of challenge. There's a line in the sand for sure these days.
Hey Steve,
Have you heard PW's 10 Indictments yet?? I just got through listening and reading through the transcripts. I'm going to be chewing on it more, but right off the bat, I think it will go down as one of the greatest cries for Reformation that the Church in our generation has ever seen.
Soli Deo Gloria!!
I just got back from a mission trip in Latin America where this stuff runs rampid. Two quotes that are memorable--after some time in discipleship one older catholic man asked, "Why don't Catholics read their Bibles?" All I could say is, "That's a good question, why don't you read your Bible?"
After another time of discipleship where we went over Eph 2:8-9, he said, "Many in my church teach that if you give enough to the church you'll go to heaven..." You could tell the Spirit was showing him differently.
It's amazing how much pull they still have on people and how they have blinded the eyes of so many.
Thanks Steve,
To All
Great comments! Thank you for wisdom and insights.
May the Lord bring us Reformation in our day.
Campi
2 Cor. 4:5
God bless you Steve, I love you and your zeal!
Practicing cradle Catholic here. More protestants should have difficulties with the doctines of the Catholic Church (and Orthodox churches for that mater).
One correction to the article: baptism need not be conferred by a priest or deacon, and in fact the Catholic Church recognizes all Christian baptism as relevent so long at it includes water and is done in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit.
While we're on the subject, the Church also recognizes the validity of the sacrament of marriage outside the Church.
Finally, anyone who said that donations will earn one salvation was not teaching what the Catholic Church teaches.
The formal teaching of the Church is available to anyone interested in learning it. The Conference of Catholic Bishops website (www.usccb.org) has a searchable catechism which should make it simple for anyone to look up precisely what the Church teaches. Again, there's plenty of room for actual doctrinal disagreement in the Church's true teaching without bringing in misconceptions or even false understanding on the part of her adherents. Priests can certainly be wrong in matters of doctrine just as individual reformed protestants can be wrong. I encourage all who have concerns about Catholicism to object strenuously, but make sure you know what the Church actually teaches (especially since in today's day and age it is imminently accesible).
Pax Christi!
Steve (Not SJ), you say to SJ "I love you and your zeal." that's two things you love. I take it you love SJ in spite of his confusion. Is there anything else you love about SJ besides his zeal, for example something in the theological department?
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