"I was born to fight devils and factions. It is my business to remove obstructions, to cut down thorns, to fill up quagmires, and to open and make straight paths. But if I must have some failing I would rather preach the truth with too great a severity than to ever once act the hypocrite and conceal the truth!" -Martin Luther (cf, 2 Timothy 1:6-18)
"The keys of the Kingdom are a sacred trust from Christ to His church. Those keys symbolize custody of the very entrance to the Kingdom. He has placed the church in the world and commanded us to preach the gospel so that we can stand as a beacon to point the way to that Kingdom. If we compromise His Word or camouflage the gospel, we cease to be that beacon, and we forfeit the only authority we have to use the keys of the Kingdom.
When the church is faithful to God and His word, however, we actually enact heaven's decisions here on earth. We can speak with authority to an unbelieving world. When heaven is in agreement with us, the issue is settled in accord with the highest possible authority. But if we compromise God's Word, we forfeit the very source of our authority. That is why it is so crucial for the church to deal seriously with God, to handle His Word with integrity, and to stand apart from the world. And that is what we mean when we pray, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10)."-John MacArthur, "Ashamed of the Gospel" (cf, 2 Timothy 4:1-5)
As many of you know already, this marks the 40th year of ministry for Dr. John MacArthur. He has been by God's grace a faithful preacher of God's Word and champion for the gospel. To those of us who have been fortunate to know him personally or serve with him, he has been a treasured friend and mentor. Though we thank the Lord for this steadfast servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fruit of the spiritual gifts in ministry we have all benefited from, he would be the first to say that it has been all of grace, all of Christ, all of His sovereign consecration. John would most certainly echo these powerful words of puritan divine Richard Baxter, conclude as he reflected on his own life and ministry, "I was but a pen in my Lord's hands, and what praise is due to a pen?" That is genuine biblical humility personified and rightly reflects the heart of Pastor John MacArthur.
I wrote the song featured below, The Mark of a Man of God, for John's 30th anniversary at Grace Community Church ten years ago. The words are a humble attempt to put into song one of his most requested sermons taken from 1 Timothy 6:11-14. The words of this song, though written for John, may remind you of someone in your life that the Lord has used to mentor you in the faith and disciple you in His Word. A father, uncle, dear friend, older brother or sister, mother, or your spouse.
May I encourage you to thank the Lord today for those faithful voices the Lord has used to encourage you to maturity in the faith. By doing so, we are not exalting them, but honoring the Lord on behalf of them as the Scriptures instruct us to do so (cp, Heb. 13:7).
"In our own day there are many faithful Reformed Bible teachers carrying on in the legacy of Charles Spurgeon. Among the best known is John MacArthur, a fifth-generation pastor. Like Spurgeon, he has committed his life to Bible preaching and teaching. This commitment extends, as Spurgeon’s did, to leading a school to train people for gospel ministry (The Master's College and The Master’s Seminary, which we have benefited from directly since one of our Mars Hill elders is a graduate)...
If memory serves me correctly, I was first introduced to MacArthur’s teaching ministry when I heard him on the radio as a new Christian. I went on to listen to literally hundreds of his sermons on cassette (yes, I am old enough to remember cassettes). His radio program recently includes what I believe is a new twist—answering questions from the people in his church. In my opinion, this is some of his richest teaching because he blends his knowledge of the Bible with affection for his people and the occasional insight from his own life and childhood, all of which is quite compelling."
So take a few moments, beloved, to listen to this song and/or read the lyrics below. If you would like to, feel free to post a brief tribute in the meta here about one of your heroes in the faith.
What a joy to serve the Lord with others to whom He has saved and is using for His glory by His outrageous grace... amen?
The Mark of a Man of God
V1- A godly man is such a rarity today So many start, strong and true, and quickly fall away A godly man will take his stand he can't be bought or sold Hand to the plow, he won't look back though other hearts turn cold
He keeps the faith and keeps his conscience clear He lives this life of grace through all his years
Chorus THE MARK OF A MAN OF GOD IS WHAT HE'S FAITHFUL TO AND WHAT HE'S FLEEING FROM AND WHAT HE'S FIGHTING FOR
THE HEART OF A MAN OF GOD IS WHAT HE DAILY PURSUES HIS FAMILY, FRIENDS, THE WORD, THE CHURCH AND WORSHIP OF THE LORD
THE GODLY MAN DAILY TAKES UP THE CROSS OF CHRIST AND FAITHFULLY FOLLOWS HIM AS A LIVING SACRIFICE
V2 - He’s not ashamed of the gospel, his sufficiency's in Christ The power of integrity is the passion of his life Instead of reckless faith, he has proven that his faith works The ultimate priority, the Master's plan for the church
Saved without a doubt because his first love is the Lord And the gospel according to Jesus is the truth he would die for
(Chorus)
Bridge He lives his life to teach the Word, in season and in not For he fears more than any man, the approval of his God He lovingly, yet firmly leads those placed under his care The power of his ministry is that he is a man of prayer
(Chorus)
Tag THE GODLY MAN TAKES A YOUNG TIMOTHY LIKE ME AND TEACHES ME TO RUN THE RACE TO CARRY ON THIS LIFE OF GRACE HE SETS THE MARK AND WE KEEP THE PACE WITH THIS MAN OF GOD
"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Heb. 1:1-2).
A Samaritan woman declared, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us" (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, affirms that to be true: "God . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Heb. 1:1-2).
The Old Testament had given divine revelation in bits and pieces. Every piece was true, yet incomplete. But When Jesus came, the whole picture became clear, and though rejected by His own people, He was, in fact, the fulfillment of the messianic hope they had cherished for so many centuries.
The Old Testament age of promise ended when Jesus arrived. He is God's final word: "As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us" (2 Cor. 1:20).
God fully expressed Himself in His Son. That's why John said, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" (John 1:14, 18). Paul added that in Christ "all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Col. 2:9).
The practical implications of that truth are staggering. Since Christ is the fullness of divine revelation, you need nothing more. In Him you have been made complete (Col. 2:10), and have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). His Word is sufficient, needing no additions or amendments.
Dr. MacArthur gives a concise clarion call to recover biblical ministry and gospel-centered evangelism to the pragmatic, invitational, Finneyesque, seeker-friendly, seeker-sensible, cool/hip, emerging/emergent, contextualized, gimmick-driven, culturally-relevant-wannabe church leaders of today
in these simple, yet profound words:
"Soft preaching makes hard people;
hard truth produces soft people."
-John MacArthur-
Jeremiah 23:28-32 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord. (emphasis mine)
Luke 24:30-32 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (emphasis mine)
Acts 2:36-38 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (emphasis mine)
2 Timothy 4:1-5 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (emphasis mine)
If you couldn't attend the 2008 Shepherds Conference this year, there is still a way to enjoy the great hymn singing in worship and powerful expositions from God's Word by Pastor John and the guest speakers he has invited this year: LIVE STREAM IT!. And here is the best part - it's FREE!.
Simply click on the icon above and follow instructions. The conference schedule will be listed as well. I am looking forward to being ministered to greatly by these times in God's Word.
"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. ¶ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves."-2 Corinthians 4:1-7
In these few brief words, the Apostle gives us the blueprint for genuine ministry: humble servants of Christ, proclaiming the treasure of the gospel. It is the marriage of humility and orthodoxy; demeanor and doctrine brought into partnership through the ministry of the Holy Spirit so that we may be vessels fit for the Master's use.
IMHO, this is John MacArthur's manner and mandate wonderfully exemplified in the above YouTube clip.
John MacArthur does an excellent job at speaking biblically, authoritatively, succinctly, in confronting the "twisted Yoga infused faith" (pun intended) of EC leader Doug Pagitt. The interviewer at CNN rightly quoted from the Merriam-Webster definition of yoga:
"A Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation."
And Pagitt thinks this can combined with biblical Christianity in order to feel whole in body, soul and mind?
Orthodoxy Proclaimed Boldly This video clip also helps crystalize an issue being discussed in various ways today pertaining to the phrase "humble orthodoxy." This phrase combines two important words for all of us today: the character we are to have in ministry: humility; and the uncompromising dedication to the truth claims of God's Word: orthodoxy. The phrase was created by Eric Simmons with New Attitude. NA is doing great things today for the gospel in equipping young adults with solid doctrine and tools to address and minister to a postmodern moral pluralistic culture. I thank the Lord for them and all they are doing for the kingdom.
At the same time, I have struggled with the phrase "humble orthodoxy" at face value because so many within the EC movement have hijacked those terms to mean that truth must be uncertain and therefore, "modest"; that truth is to be liquid, changing, fluid, adapting, ever-changing, etc. (their words - not mine). IOW, can we really know what is orthodox or not? Can we really know what Scripture is truly saying? Is truth subjective and dependant on the culture to find its interpretation, or is it something that is objective, knowable, and not dependant upon the shifting sands of any culture of any generataion? I believe the later and reject the former.
Theology matters; doctrine matters; truth matters.
I personally like a phrase that was emailed to me this morning in helping to put legs to "humble orthodoxy" that simply says, "humble servants proclaiming orthodoxy boldly." That weds perfectly the character of humility and the uncompromising biblical truth claims of our faith; and I want to wholeheartedly affirm and believe that this is what I think our brothers at NA are saying.
Pagitt (as well as McLaren, Ward, Burke, Sweet, Jones, etc.) denies much of orthodox Christianity to reinvent the faith by the lens of postmodernity (I won't go into his errant distinctives at this time). I have heard people say of him, "he is so humble and he represents truth that is also humble; he doesn't speak authoritatively at all and doesn't claim to know everything; he seems to respect all faiths and beliefs..." blah, blah blah. I.e. - the philosophical claims of Yoga.
So while we all, by God's grace, strive to have a "humble - orthodoxy.", may we take the time to unfold the meaning of those two tremendous words; for the devil is in the details and in today's postmodern world, clarity is to be cherished. Amen?
"Lord Jesus, grant us humble men of God who are not afraid to speak the truth in a biblical, uncompromising way--."
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Musicianary; Bible teacher/preacher; religious satirist; biblical reformer; Protestant, and evangelical provocateur. After twenty-nine years in CCM, you get introduced in concert in the most odd and yet, memorable ways.
My personal favorite? John MacArthur once introduced me at Grace Community Church as: "Keith Green with theology." Keith was a dear friend of mine... I was very honored. I started in music ministry in 1978 with the release of "Saying It With Love"-my first album. Since then, by God's grace, I have released a total of 18 CDs/albums.
