A Biblical and Balanced Ministry.

Recently The Session decided that in the next few months, together
with an assessment of my ministry, they would also like to do an
assessment of our church's ministry. We'll be producing a
questionnaire to help our session determine how our congregation may
strengthen our ministries. A friend of mine sent me a great article
about being a Biblical, Christ-First Church, as opposed to a People
Pleasing "Me-First" Church. This is essential as we assess any
ministry because as Christ's own people we want to be people who bring
HIM glory and are faithful to HIS calling. When we do this we will not
always be as "comfortable" as we might wish, but we will be Faithful,
Filled with Worship, and Ultimately Joy. In Short a Real Church. Not
A religious organization.
Check these out. I am grateful to Jim "the Old Gray Dog" Tuckett for
sending this.
Nine Criteria for a Christ-First Church
 CRITERIA 1:  The centrality of the Bible as the infallible Word of God.
"Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and
to teaching"
1 Timothy 4:13

CRITERIA 2:  The centrality of Jesus Christ as the head of the church.
"And God placed all things under His (Jesus') feet and appointed Him
to be head over everything for the church"
Ephesians 1:22

CRITERIA 3:  Scripture-centered, God-centered, Christ-centered worship.
"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.   Sing
and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God
the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"
Ephesians 5:19-20

CRITERIA 4:  Authentic, meaningful fellowship and community.
"All the believers were together and had everything in common…They
broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere
hearts"
Acts 2:44-46

CRITERIA 5:  Sound and mature leadership.
"Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in
faith and in purity"
1 Timothy 4:12

 "Watch your life and doctrine closely.   Persevere in them, because
if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers"
1 Timothy 4:16

 CRITERIA 6:  Ongoing training in the Christian walk.
"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many
witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach
others"
II Timothy 2:2

CRITERIA 7:  Opportunities for every person to serve.
"It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to
be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's
people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built
up"
Ephesians 4:11-12

CRITERIA 8:  A heart of prayer.
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in
authority…"
I Timothy 2:1-2

CRITERIA 9:  An outward focus.
"…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you"
Matthew 28:19-20...

     There are five key questions the leadership of every congregation
should ask about its ministries:

             1.   Does it help people to see their sinfulness and need
for salvation?
             2.   Does it help people see that God is sovereign and
has a wonderful plan for their lives?
             3.   Does it help people see that Jesus Christ died for
their sins; that He paid the full price for their salvation?
             4.   Does it help people see the trustworthiness of God's
irresistible grace . . . to lead them to the good works for which they
were created; to convict them of their sin; to strengthen them when
they become weak or weary?
             5.   Does it help people see they are eternally secure in Christ?

As you examine our church's ministry, my role in it, as well as yours,
keep these Scriptures and questions in mind, and help us become the
church and people God is calling us together to be.

In Christ and on the Shepherd's Path,
Mark
--
Rev Mark R. Simonds
Pastor, Oakdale UP Church
"Declaring Teaching and Living God's Word of Grace"
President, West Allegheny Ministerial Association
"Worshiping and Serving One Triune God Together"

Re: Bridgeville Shootings and Limited Atonement

Someone caught my Calvinism slipping...This is what Blogs and responses are for.

A friend, Brother in Christ and colleague responded to my last post with the quoted text below.  The quotation from Spurgeon is worth reading.

In the text I made the theological misstatement that "He Knew: Christ Paid for every Sin...True."

My friend adds

    "Not true.  He paid the price for those chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world.  Failure to understand this point has misled millions."

My response: Fair enough.  I cannot debate the truth that Christ's atonement is efficient only for the elect. The shooter was perhaps confident either in a Christian Universalism (that in Christ everyone is saved) or in his own belief that Christ's atonement was effective for HIS every sin.  In that sense he believed in the effectiveness of Christ's death to cover any sin no matter how grievous.  This is true.

 However, his actions do not demonstrate his regeneration sufficiently to give us confidence in his inclusion among the elect.

In Christ and on the Shepherd's Path,
Mark
    

"On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 11:59 AM, (Email deleted) wrote:

    In a message dated 8/5/2009 8:30:46 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, (this author) writes:

        The Shooter at the Bridgeville LA Fitness wrote on his Blog, prior to the shootings.

        "Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them."

        I will not post the link because I will not subject others to this man's evil.  The quote above was mentioned on the news and that is sufficient to make the point.

        Why do I blog this.  Because it so struck me when I heard it on Fox News This Morning that I had to comment.  Obviously this person had some facts right but chose to abuse grace. 

    Obviously.
    
    What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
    Rom. 6: 1-2



        He Knew: Christ Paid for every Sin...True.

    Not true.  He paid the price for those chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world.  Failure to understand this point has misled millions.
    

    Christ's Limited Atonement
    Charles Spurgeon


            Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, "It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself," they say, "to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty." I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood. There is much which I might admire in the
    theory of universal redemption, but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins.

            Once again, if it was Christ's intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood. That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption.

           To think that my Savior died for men who were or are in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain. To imagine for a moment that He was the Substitute for all the sons of men, and that God, having first punished the Substitute, afterwards punished the sinners themselves, seems to conflict with all my ideas of divine justice. That Christ should offer an atonement and satisfaction for the sins of all men, and that afterwards some of those very men should be punished for the sins for which Christ had already atoned, appears to me to be the most monstrous iniquity that could ever have been imputed to Saturn, to Janus, to the goddess of the Thugs, or to the most diabolical heathen deities. God forbid that we should ever think thus of Jehovah, the just and wise and good!
           There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer-I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it. But far be it from me even to imagine that Zion contains none but Calvinistic Christians within her walls, or that there are none saved who do not hold our views. Most atrocious things have been spoken about the character and spiritual condition of John Wesley, the modern prince of Arminians. I can only say concerning him that, while I detest many of the doctrines which he preached, yet for the man himself I have a reverence second to no Wesleyan; and if there were wanted two apostles to be added to the number of the twelve, I do not believe that there could be found two men more fit to be so added than George Whitefield and John Wesley. The character of John Wesley stands beyond all imputation for self-sacrifice, zeal, holiness, and communion with God; he lived far above the ordinary level of common Christians, and was one "of whom the world was not worthy." I believe there are multitudes of men who cannot see these truths, or, at least, cannot see them in the way in which we put them, who nevertheless have received Christ as their Savior, and are as dear to the heart of the God of grace as the soundest Calvinist in or out of heaven.

     I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours."

Bridgeville Shootings (edited from original)

Some thoughts on last night's Bridgeville PA shootings  (a few miles from my home).

The Shooter at the Bridgeville LA Fitness wrote on his Blog, prior to the shootings.

"Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them."

I will not post the link because I will not subject others to this man's evil.  The quote above was mentioned on the news and that is sufficient to make the point.

Why do I blog this.  Because it so struck me when I heard it on Fox News This Morning that I had to comment.  Obviously this person had some facts right but chose to abuse grace. 

He Knew: Christ Paid for every Sin...True in the sense that Christ's death is sufficient to cover any sin no matter how grievous.

Eternal life Does not depend on works...True.

However where he missed the point is that what we receive if we are truly in Christ is a regenerated Spirit where we are truly repentant of Sin and seek to avoid sin at whatever the cost.  There is no repentant heart in the shooter's writings.  The is a premeditated willingness to do others harm, to take life of those who had offended him by their very existence.  There is a self absorbed focus on what he was not getting from others (women).  None of these give us an confidence in this man's regenerated condition. 

He misses the commandment of Luke 6: 27-37

 ²⁷"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 ³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 ³⁷"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

He finds freedom in disregarding human judgment yet disregards the requirement to forgive.  Even if all women everywhere had harmed him, he (as it is with the rest of us) is required to forgive just as he has been forgiven.

To believe you can commit premeditated mass murder and still hope for heave in to abuse Grace.  While we are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone and not by works, even forgiveness of our enemies,  the evidence of our conversion (faith) is found in our ongoing pursuit of a life obedient to God's word.  We cannot do whatever we wish and expect grace to cover it. 

I know some might say, "Are you saying he's in Hell."  It is never mine to say.  That subject now, since he took his own life, is in God's hands.  What I am saying is we have no way to be certain that he is in heaven as his life did not demonstrate the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. To say it another way, if you wish those you leave behind to have confidence in your salvation, your life must show the transforming work of Christ.

In Christ and on the Shepherd's Path,
Mark
--
Rev Mark R. Simonds
Pastor, Oakdale UP Church
"Declaring Teaching and Living God's Word of Grace"
President, West Allegheny Ministerial Association
"Worshiping and Serving One Triune God Together"