“The Christian preacher, therefore is not a prophet. No original revelation is given to him; his task is to expound the revelation which has been given once for all. And however truly he preaches in the power of the Holy Spirit, he is not ‘inspired’ by the Spirit in the sense in which the prophets …
An Intersection of Tests
We have been considering and distinguishing the various tests for genuine Christianity. We now come to the portion of the epistle of John where it becomes evident that while these things may be distinguished, they cannot be separated. We have come to the intersection of the tests. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love …
The Spirit At Work Before the Spirit Falls
“The right way to look upon the unction of the Spirit is to think of it as that which comes upon the preparation” (Lloyd-Jones, Preachers and Preaching, p. 304).
Real Assurance
Every careful Christian has considered the vexing question of assurance. What is the ground of my salvation? What is the ground of my confidence in salvation? How can I know that I am right before God? “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him . …
Distinguishable, Not Separable
“My contention is that there should be no such disjunction between the ‘appeal’ and the preaching, any more than there should be between the sacraments and preaching” (Lloyd-Jones, Preachers and Preaching, p. 274).
No Traffic in Grays
Recall that John gives a cycle of tests for genuine Christianity. That three-fold cycle includes righteousness, love, and doctrinal integrity, and in this place he begins working his way through this cycle for a second time. A true Christian may be described as one who does what is right, loves his brothers, and believes certain …
Preaching Through an Uplifted Nose
“Above all; do not put on a ‘parsonic’ voice. What a terrible thing that is, and yet how common. Young men develop this bad habit; they hear others and they begin to use the same affected parsonic unnatural voice. It offends people. Still worse is to put on a false appearance of piety — sanctimoniousness. …
Salt and Light
Last Lord’s Day we began a series of exhortations on our civic responsibilities. We considered the fact that we have an important local election coming up, and we balanced that against our repeated emphasis that politics is not to become an idol. At the same time, we are not supposed to flee from our civic …
AntiChrist and Beast
Few teachings in the Bible have been as wildly misunderstood as the teaching of the apostle John on the Antichrist. Opinions and speculation about him are commonplace. Unfortunately, the assumptions made about Antichrist are usually far away from the actual teaching of the Bible on the subject. “Little children, it is the last hour; and …
Get a Bit and Bridle on Your Gifts
“Watch your natural gifts and tendencies and idiosyncrasies. Watch them. What I mean is that they will tend to run away with you. It can all be summed up in a phrase — watch your strength. Not so much your weaknesses: it is your strength you have to watch, the things at which you excel, …